What to Expect When Expecting a Building

Wednesday, July 29, 2026
By Matt Sutter, Chief Executive Officer
In Design, Planning

What to Expect When You’re Expecting is a longtime best seller for those who are going to have a child. The book helps people to understand the process of pregnancy and what is normal during that time. Like pregnancy, it is useful to have a guide to help understand what to expect when bringing a new building to life. While a child takes approximately 9 months to develop in the womb, a building can take well over a year to design and construct.

Most people will experience a building project only once in their lifetime. Being part of a building project can seem complicated and overwhelming. While each building is essentially a one of a kind prototype, the same process is generally used to work through the design and building process. Let’s take a look at the process that is experienced during the beginning stages of a project…

EARLY PROJECT STEPS:

PROGRAMMING - We start with What are we building? And Why?

Having a clear picture of what spaces will be needed in the building and how the building needs to function helps the Architects develop a design. Uncertainty needs to be worked through to achieve a clear direction. Multiple meetings with the Design Team and Owner refine the requirements to enable the design to begin.

SCHEMATIC DESIGN - Then we figure out “How the building lays out” and “what it will look like”

Multiple layout options are presented to encourage conversation about the pros and cons of each unique layout. Discussions with the Owner regarding appearance and overall feel of the building bring the Owner’s often unspoken preferences into focus. The Design Team can then take the input and focus the design into one final design that is approved by the Owner. Refinements will continue to take place over the course of the design process.

COST ESTIMATING - The big question: How Much will it cost? Can we have everything that we want or do we need to scale back expectations?

Cost estimates are being developed at the same time as the initial layouts. Informed decision making is key at this stage of the process. Making the design and budget fall into alignment with the goals of the project is a critical step of the process. The budget is one of the greatest stressers of a building project. If cost estimating is handled well, this stress will be greatly reduced.

FINANCING - How is the project being paid for/financed?

The needed cash for the project can come from multiple sources: Investors, Historic Tax Credits, Demolition Grants, Façade Grants, Tax Financing with Tax Abatements, etc. Assembling the necessary cash for the project is an art. Knowing where to look and the process for these options can make or break the financial statement for the project.

SCHEDULE - How long will it take? When is the best time of the year for it be completed?

Taking into account the weather, especially in northern climates, is critical in the start of the project. If the project begins in the late summer or fall, will it be weather tight prior to bad weather in the winter? If the project starts in early spring, will it make earthwork difficult, expensive and take extra time? Combine this with a need for the building to be completed at a certain time, for example, a school opening in August, or a golf clubhouse opening in the spring. Scheduling becomes extremely important. The schedule can affect the cost of the project as well. In addition to work schedule, the bidding timeframe also has to be considered. Bidding conditions are traditionally better in late winter when contractors are looking to fill up their work schedules for the coming year.

EXPECTATIONS - The expectations coming into the project determine scale of the emotional rollercoaster of a project. Shouldn’t the building be perfect?

Each building is unique, the very first one that functions and looks the way it does. In addition, each building has a custom site which creates its own set of challenges. Buildings are a kit of more than a million parts, put together by hundreds of tradespeople and designers. There will be some errors made during the process. A great team confronts the errors and works together to overcome these challenges.

Just as no two pregnancies are exactly alike, no two building projects follow the exact same path. Every project presents its own opportunities, challenges, and decisions, but understanding the process from the outset can make the journey far less intimidating. With the right team, careful planning, and realistic expectations, what may seem like a complex undertaking becomes a series of manageable steps leading to a successful outcome.

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