NCARB Competency Standard #1 - Assess Regulatory Design Requirements

Design & Documentation Domain

"This domain encompasses the intelligent, creative, iterative, and culturally and environmentally responsive design processes. The design process involves research, analysis, and exploration of approaches, ideas, and alternative solutions that lead to a final design proposal. The final design must be cohesive, integrated, adequately described, and coordinated to achieve value objectives, cost objectives, and compliance with planning controls and construction codes.” - NCARB

When you start a new design project, is assessing regulatory design requirements the first thing you think of to do? Assessing regulatory design requirements is one of the first things to do when you start a design project. That is why NCARB listed first.

NCARB Competency Standard #1: Assess Regulatory Design Requirements.

At the point of initial licensure, architects with this competency can …

• Identify local, state, and federal authorities having jurisdiction over a project.

• Understand the regulatory and jurisdictional approval process applicable to a project in order to obtain the necessary approvals.

• Determine the specific regulations, codes, and rules (e.g., zoning rules, building and environmental codes, historic preservation requirements, design covenants, etc.) that apply to a project.

When you're first starting a project, where is it? This is the design criteria that is first established.

Who's responsible for checking the plans and for giving authority or authorization entitlement to actually do the project and understand regulatory and jurisdictional approval process involved.

What can you do right now?

Contact the jurisdictions in the area of your projects and find out what their process is. If it's not on their website, you can email somebody there or call them, and ask for them to email back to you a list of all the requirements for entitlement or submittals on a particular project.

It's likely that different kinds of projects may have different processes. Remodels compared to new builds, often have a different process. Check on that and then determine the specific regulations, codes and rules, zoning, building, environment, historic preservation that apply to a project you are working on right now. Every project is different. Not all codes, applied to every project, and you have to sort out which ones apply to which.

Start now doing things you actually have to know to become competent as an architect. Build your experiences around the NCARB Competency Standard.