Architectural Study

Architectural Study: The First Step That Shapes the Entire Project

When people hear the term architectural study, they often imagine a few attractive images of a house or interior.

In reality, it is one of the most important phases of the entire project.

This is where decisions are made that will influence everyday life for years to come. It is also the cheapest place to make changes. Moving a wall on paper takes a few minutes. Moving it during construction means extra work, extra cost and often additional compromises.

An architectural study is not a construction project. You cannot build from it, and it is not enough on its own to realise a project. It is, however, the foundation on which everything else is built.

If you are interested in what comes after the study phase, we explore it in our article Why a Design Alone Is Not Enough.


 

We create it together

One of the most common misconceptions about architects goes something like this: The client comes to a meeting, explains what they want, and two months later receives a finished design. That is not how we work. An architectural study develops gradually and collaboratively. Not because we are unable to design a house or interior on our own, but because we are not the people who will be living there.

At the beginning of every project, we spend a great deal of time understanding the brief. Our clients complete a detailed online questionnaire that goes far beyond the number of rooms or the size of the house. We want to know how they live. Who gets up first. Who cooks. How often guests visit. Whether they work from home. What a typical day looks like. These details may seem insignificant, but they are exactly what good layouts are built upon.

In the past, this process involved countless emails, phone calls and attachments. Today, most of our projects run through our client platform, where clients can access all documents, comments and design updates in one place. The study no longer develops behind closed doors. Clients can follow the process as it happens. You can read more about our approach in the article Client Platform.

Life happens inside

Whether we are designing an apartment or a family house, we always start in the same place. With the interior. Life happens inside. Not on the façade. Not in a rendering. Not in a magazine photograph. That is why we start with the layout. How people move through the space. Where activities take place. How everyday life functions. Only then do we start thinking about what the project will look like from the outside. In an apartment, that process usually ends at the entrance door. In a house, it extends further — to terraces, outdoor spaces and the garden. But the direction is always the same. From the inside out. The layout has the greatest influence on how a home feels to live in. A good floor plan works every day. A poor one becomes an everyday frustration. 

If you are planning a new home, you may also find our article When to Start Designing the Interior of a House useful.

Visualisations are not the goal

This may sound unusual coming from a studio that publishes so many finished projects. But visualisations are not the goal of an architectural study. They are a tool. From the very beginning, we work in a 3D model. This helps clients understand scale, proportions and relationships between spaces far more clearly. In most projects we use SketchUp because it allows us to test ideas quickly and explore alternatives together. Visualisations are also part of the study process. Today we often use AI tools, but not because we are trying to create a perfectly accurate image of a future house or interior. What interests us is atmosphere. We want to verify that clients feel comfortable with the direction of the design. That the materials, lighting and overall character of the space align with their expectations. The most important decisions usually happen in the floor plan, not in the visualisations.

What to expect from an architectural study

Every project is different, but the fundamentals remain similar.

• The study includes a detailed analysis of the brief, layout design, a basic material concept and, in the case of new houses, the overall massing and form of the building.
• We also devote significant attention to lighting. Light often has a greater impact on an interior than people expect. The study includes a 3D model and visualisations that help verify the overall direction of the design.
• We also discuss budget considerations from the beginning. With houses, it is usually possible to estimate the overall investment reasonably well. Interiors are different. There is no upper limit to what can be spent on an interior. There is always a more expensive floor, a better stone, a more interesting light fixture or another detail worth investing in. At a certain point, the architect stops being the limiting factor and the client's bank account takes over.

Even so, the study phase is often the most enjoyable part of the entire project. It is full of possibilities, ideas and anticipation. We do not yet have to solve every detail or account for every expense, even though we are already thinking about them in the background. The difficult decisions and the real confrontation with the budget usually arrive later, during the following project stages and ultimately during construction.

What you will not find in an architectural study

This is where misunderstandings sometimes occur. An architectural study is not construction documentation. You will not receive quotations from joiners. You will not order a kitchen from it. You will not select specific lighting fixtures, tiles, taps or furniture. The study defines the direction. It explains how the space should function, what it should feel like and which principles will guide the next phases of the project. Detailed furniture drawings, technical solutions, material selections, lighting specifications and contractor documentation are developed later. We describe these stages in more detail in our articles Construction Documentation I and Construction Documentation II.

And because even the best documentation is not enough on its own, it is followed by Project and Construction Management, where all consultants, suppliers and contractors are coordinated. In simple terms:

The study answers the question: What are we going to build?

Construction documentation answers: How are we going to build it?

Project management ensures: That it is actually built correctly.

At the beginning of every good project

An architectural study is not construction documentation. It is not a schedule of materials, furniture or lighting. It is the moment when we search for the right direction together. We explore how a home should function, how people will live in it and which ideas are worth developing further. It is also the phase most clients enjoy the most. Construction has not started yet. There are no invoices arriving every week. No site problems to solve. There is still room to explore possibilities, compare options and imagine what the future home could become. That is why we consider the architectural study one of the most important steps in the entire process.

FAQ

• What is an architectural study? The fundamental design phase that forms the basis for all later project stages.
• What does an architectural study include? A layout, design concept, 3D model, visualisations and an initial budget review.
• How long does it take? Usually between 1.5 and 3 months, depending on the size and complexity of the project.
• How many design options do you prepare? We do not create three completely different studies. Instead, we explore alternatives throughout the process and develop the strongest solution together.
• Can you build directly from an architectural study? No. It is the foundation for the following project phases, not construction documentation.
• How much does it cost? Every project is priced individually. We do not use a fixed fee structure for architectural studies.

by Radka - 10. 8. 2023