Schematic design is the first design phase of an architectural project, sitting after programming and before design development. During it the architect fixes the building's size, massing, layout and circulation, then tests those decisions against the budget. The output is a set of plans, sections, elevations and a preliminary cost estimate the client approves.
The phase has a reputation for being the enjoyable one, which is only half true. It is where a project is cheapest to change and most expensive to get wrong, since every later phase inherits the geometry set here.
Where Schematic Design Sits in the Project Timeline
The American Institute of Architects divides basic services into five phases in its B101–2017 Owner and Architect agreement: schematic design, design development, construction documents, procurement, and construction. SD is the first, so everything upstream of it is technically not design at all.
Upstream sits pre-design: the brief, the space program, zoning and code research, and the survey work. A serious site analysis belongs here rather than inside SD, because you cannot test a massing option against setbacks you have not measured.
Downstream sits design development. Western Michigan University's facilities office draws the split cleanly in its design phase guidance: SD translates the project program into physical drawings of space, while DD expands those plans into the details and specifications required for construction.
📌 Did You Know?
The term schematic design is North American. UK practice runs on the RIBA Plan of Work 2020, where the equivalent moment is Stage 2, Concept Design, and its output is an architectural concept plus a cost check. Put SD on a CV in London and the interviewer reads it as Stage 2.
What Is Schematic Design Deciding, and What Is It Not?
The phase answers the questions everything else depends on, and leaves alone those that can be settled later without moving a wall. Getting that boundary right is most of the skill involved.
Decisions That Get Locked In
By the end of SD the project has a footprint and a massing: how many floors, how tall, where the building meets the site. It has an organizational scheme explaining why rooms sit where they sit, and a circulation strategy with entries, cores and vertical movement placed rather than implied. A clear architectural diagram lets a team argue about the scheme instead of a rendering.
The rough area distribution gets fixed too. Each programmed space gets a number, those add up to a gross, and the gross is checked against the brief. Materials and major systems appear as an approach rather than a specification: masonry or curtain wall, steel or concrete.
Decisions That Stay Open
Almost everything with a product name attached stays open. Window manufacturers, door hardware, wall build-ups, luminaire schedules, ductwork routing, member sizes and connection details belong to later phases, as do the drawings carrying them. An SD set has no finish schedules and few dimensions.
💡 Pro Tip
Use one test on every SD decision. If changing it later would move a wall, a slab edge or a core, decide it now. If it would only swap a product or finish, leave it. Teams that apply this spend SD on geometry, not catalogue browsing.
The Schematic Design Deliverable Package
A typical SD submission carries a site plan, floor plans for every level, at least two sections, the main elevations, a massing model or 3D study, an area tabulation against the program, and a preliminary cost estimate. Public clients publish their expectations, which makes their checklists useful.
The US National Park Service lists its schematic design deliverables for design-bid-build projects: a concepts assessment of sketches, massing models and diagrams; schematic alternatives including site, grading, floor, elevation and utility plans; a cost estimate for each alternative; then a developed preferred alternative with plans, elevations, sections and an energy use estimate.
Note what the list assumes: alternatives are required, not optional, and each is priced.
The physical massing model still earns its place, settling arguments about height and proportion faster than any view. The model making techniques from studio transfer directly to a client meeting, and our diagram templates cover the drawings that carry an SD narrative.
Schematic Design vs Design Development: The Resolution Gap
Look at the same drawing at both stages. The subject does not change. The resolution does.
SD and DD Compared, Item by Item
| Item | Schematic Design | Design Development |
|---|---|---|
| Walls in plan | Single generic thickness | Real build-ups, layer by layer |
| Structure | Grid and system chosen | Members sized by the engineer |
| Materials | Family and intent | Named products and finishes |
| Areas | Rounded, checked against program | Measured, fixed, contractual |
| Cost estimate | Order of magnitude, per alternative | Elemental, tied to real assemblies |
| Typical question | Is this the right scheme? | Can this scheme be built? |
Read the last row first. SD asks whether the scheme is right, and DD assumes the answer is yes. That is why the approval between them carries so much weight.
Why Client Approval at the End of SD Matters
Signing off the schematic design is the moment the client accepts the shape of the project. A change of mind at DD then costs more than the redrawn sheets. It costs the coordination the engineers already did on that geometry, plus the schedule slip while they redo it.
The asymmetry is simple. Moving a core during SD costs a week of one architect's time. Moving it during construction documents costs coordination across every consultant, and moving it on site costs demolition. Experienced architects therefore treat the SD presentation as a decision meeting rather than a reveal. Our guidance on presenting an architecture project applies directly, and the presentation board templates suit that comparative layout.
💡 Pro Tip
Write the SD approval down. A one-page sign-off listing the approved gross area, floor count, structural system and budget figure takes ten minutes and settles most disputes that surface later. Verbal approval in a meeting is not approval.
How Long Schematic Design Takes and Where It Sits in the Fee
Duration varies with project size, procurement route and client decision speed, so no single number is honest. The shape holds across most projects: SD runs shorter than construction documents and lighter in fee, because it produces fewer sheets and less coordination. Published fee schedules give it a smaller share than documentation, though the split differs by office.
The bigger scheduling risk is the approval loop rather than the drawing. An SD package sent to a board or a user group can sit for weeks, and that waiting time belongs in the programme.
Fee and duration figures vary by region, project type and contract form. Confirm the phase split in your own agreement rather than assuming a standard percentage.
Studio Projects and Real Schematic Design
A studio project sits closer to schematic design than to any other phase, which is why the skills transfer. Both work at the scale of massing, circulation and organization, both live on plans, sections and diagrams, and both are judged on whether the idea holds together.
Three differences matter. A real SD has a client whose brief cannot be edited to suit the scheme, a budget from day one, and a package another professional will build on. A studio board can carry an argument with one strong image. An SD set cannot.
⚠️ Common Mistake to Avoid
Modelling window mullions, door hardware and floor patterns during schematic design feels productive and is not. Detail added before the massing is agreed gets deleted when the massing changes, and it quietly discourages anyone from proposing that change. Keep the model coarse until sign-off.
Common Schematic Design Mistakes
Beyond premature detail, three failures repeat across offices and schools.
Missing the area target is the first. Teams design a scheme they like, tabulate the areas at the end, and find themselves over the programmed gross. Tabulate after every significant move, so the number acts as a constraint rather than a verdict.
Losing touch with cost is the second. A scheme that has never been priced is a hypothesis, and the longer it stays unpriced the more painful the correction.
Presenting one option is the third. A single scheme invites the client to approve or reject, which turns a design conversation into a referendum. Two or three alternatives, each priced, let the client engage with the reasoning.
The Bigger Picture
Bottom Line: Schematic design is where a building's geometry gets agreed and priced, and its value lies in what it deliberately leaves undecided. Spend it on massing, organization, circulation and area, get a written sign-off, and let design development resolve the rest.
Frequently Asked Questions
What comes before schematic design?
Pre-design: the brief, the space program, code and zoning research, and site analysis. These sit outside the five basic service phases, but no SD can start without them. Skip programming and schematic design ends up doing that work late.
What is the difference between schematic design and design development?
Resolution, not subject. SD establishes the scheme: massing, layout, circulation, rough areas and a material approach. DD resolves it into buildable detail, with real wall build-ups, engineered members and named products.
What drawings are included in a schematic design set?
A site plan, floor plans for each level, at least two sections, the principal elevations, a massing model or 3D study, an area tabulation and a preliminary cost estimate. Public clients often add alternatives and an energy estimate. Detail drawings and finish schedules are not.
How many design phases are there in an architecture project?
Five in standard US practice under AIA B101–2017: schematic design, design development, construction documents, procurement, and construction. Pre-design sits outside that count. UK practice uses the RIBA Plan of Work, which runs Stage 0 to Stage 7 and places the equivalent at Stage 2.
Can the client change the design after approving schematic design?
Yes, but usually as a billed additional service. Once SD is approved, consultants coordinate against the agreed geometry, so a later change ripples through structural, mechanical and cost work.
Is schematic design the same as concept design?
They describe the same moment. Concept design is the UK term, from the RIBA Plan of Work, where Stage 2 carries that name. Schematic design is the North American equivalent, defined in the AIA agreements.
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