Developing, designing and actually accomplishing a successful building project is a complicated, multi-layered process. An experienced master planner can ensure that the developers¹ best interests are always taken into consideration and reflected in the design and building process.
Most every building, remodeling, expansion or relocation project requires a master plan. A master plan can be defined as a long-range site and floor plan that allows a facility to expand and grow in phases as required by projected population growth. More specifically, a successful master plan is a carefully crafted tool to examine complex issues and propose a set of solutions, serving as a link to the growth, change and ultimate success of a project.
The inclusion of a master plan is required on most non-residential projects in order to ensure health and safety compliance. Relating to space and facility needs, the master planning process often requires a professional planner, typically represented by an architectural or land planning firm. Experience with a wide variety of project types with diverse needs add to the creativity and sensitivity the planner brings to each project.
| A myriad of site related issues must be addressed by the master planner, including aesthetics, landscaping, parking, recreation, zoning restrictions, utilities, movement and retention of water, accessibility, signage, exterior lighting, separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, biological, and archeological requirements. |
A myriad of site related issues must be addressed by the master planner, including aesthetics, landscaping, parking, recreation, zoning restrictions, utilities, movement and retention of water, accessibility, signage, exterior lighting, separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, biological, and archeological requirements. However, a master plan is not intended to be a precise plan. It is a tool for successful development and the preliminary activity that establishes an orderly pattern and system for either current or future development.
Smith Consulting Architects, a multi-discipline, LEED Accredited design and land planning firm in San Diego, Calif., has provided master planning work for a variety of projects in San Diego County. These include the Palomar Forum Industrial Parks, Bressi Ranch, Seagate Corporate Center Business Park, Nuevo Business Park, as well as conceptual work for the Intuit and Petco campuses. Each of these architectural projects faced a wide range of challenges; the key to their success was accurately identifying, addressing and resolving these conflicts. The following two campus projects illustrate successful master planning.
Working for a developer in order to attract Intuit, Smith Consulting Architects created a conceptual master plan for Intuit's new 500,000-square-foot campus. The project presented an ideal opportunity for the firm to create a wonderful pedestrian-scale campus in nearly an ocean of parking. In the design, the five-story office buildings will be clustered around grand-scale plazas with water features and employee amenities, such as basketball and volleyball courts. Due to the low allowable site density, large expanses of parking surrounded the core building plaza. Those areas were divided into smaller scale parking zones, linked with pedestrian paths to the plaza, and allotted a higher landscaping density.
The result of this preliminary and conceptual master planning project is a more park-like experience that goes beyond the City of San Diego's requirements for tree density in parking areas. The higher tree density could help prevent the ³heat island affect² found in large urban areas, ultimately reducing cooling loads and benefiting both Intuit and the surrounding community.
| Primary Questions That Should Be Answered
1. What is the final image the client is trying to achieve?
2. What are the key goals necessary to accomplish the image?
3. What kind of time frame is necessary to accomplish the goals?
4. What kind of budgetary constraints does the client have?
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Another example of how the developer benefits from expert master planning can be seen in the Petco campus. This project presented the opposite challenge to density as the Intuit Campus, adding a six-story 190,000-square-foot office building and a 400,000-square-foot parking structure into the preexisting campus. This had to be accomplished in addition to accommodating the preexisting 90,000-square-feet of building occupants and their parking requirements. This forced the architects to look beyond the design itself and to visualize how the campus would be physically constructed. The result is a projected four-phase construction process.
The Petco campus ultimately will provide an interesting variety of building massing, plazas, and gathering spaces that exceeds Petco's people- and pet-friendly requirements. A ³Pedestrian Pro² concept links the entry plaza, waterfalls, outdoor cafe and lunch patio. The campus also will feature dog walks, a pedestrian bridge, and a fabric tent-covered amphitheater, all illustrating the cohesive and playful theme requested by Petco. This theme is integrated into the building interiors, culminating with a sixth-floor rooftop plaza large enough to accommodate large groups of people.
The developer should ask a number of questions in order to move fluidly through the master planning process. These considerations allow all parties involved with the project to reap the maximum project potential.
Working with the master planner, most developers understand the needs of their tenants, and go out of their way to provide the amenities requested. Finding the right architecture firm is one of the most important pieces of the master planning puzzle in accomplishing these goals. The chosen architectural firm should have proven master planning expertise, particularly in the project type to be undertaken -- whether it be office, industrial, commercial, educational, or municipal.
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