The design development phase consists of deeper examinations of the proposed design elements and building systems. Structural solutions, electrical and mechanical systems, materials, finishes and colors, as well as many other aspects of the design are further explored. During this phase the bones of the construction documents are laid down as these explorations demand drawn solutions. Another cost estimate is advisable during this phase to insure that budgetary goals are intact.
Another crucial and seemingly ever-expanding portion of this phase of the work is to prepare documents for planning department approval. Depending on the locale the level of scrutiny entailed varies greatly. Approval may be ‘administrative’, meaning that it is carried out amongst the planning staff; or it may be a process requiring a public hearing. The latter route is a very unpredictable one, fraught with uncertainty, but it is one that is increasingly common as municipalities become ever more timid with regard to the question of detriment. Many municipalities are instituting a formalized design review process, a mechanism which usually insures mediocrity by outlawing the wonderful for fear of the awful. This process is also time consuming and less than predictable.
The design development phase dovetails with the next phase, construction documents, in such a complex way that the threshold between the two is often blurred. Certainly a landmark in the design development process is planning approval.