Breaking Down Silos: A Smarter Approach to Site Design

Architects and site civil engineers both play critical roles in bringing a development vision to life. Yet, when these professionals work in isolation—often due to differences in design mindset—it can lead to costly redesigns and project delays.

Preliminary layouts typically focus on maximizing density and may not take into consideration local land use regulations or unique site constraints. Further down the road, the team could discover limiting factors that impact the feasibility of the initial concept.

By fostering collaboration early in the conceptual phase, architects and civil engineers can align site design with development goals from the start. This proactive approach not only streamlines the design process but often mitigates the risk of expensive revisions—saving time, money, and headaches throughout the project lifecycle.

Key Areas for Collaboration

• Zoning Requirements: Zoning regulations vary across jurisdictions. While architects maximize building capacity, engineers focus on surface parking and landscaping requirements throughout the site. Height restrictions impact unit numbers, and setbacks determine usable space, including emergency vehicle access. Missing just a couple of required spaces can derail an entire project.
• Site-Specific Conditions: Natural features like wetlands, protected trees, and grading elevation changes affect design feasibility. Sites with significant grade changes may need retaining walls or stepped building designs—requiring close coordination. Identifying these constraints early can prevent expensive revisions later.
• Infrastructure Integration: Existing drainage patterns, access points, and circulation paths must work with architectural designs. In mixed-use or healthcare settings, vehicle and pedestrian pathways need careful planning to minimize conflicts and create intuitive navigation.
• Client Operational Needs: Some clients need more parking than code requires or have specific access preferences. In higher education projects, there could be longstanding drainage or accessibility concerns that need to be addressed. Understanding operational requirements allows the final design to satisfy both aesthetic vision and practical functionality.

Room for Improvement

When architects and site civil engineers work separately, these critical considerations and site-specific conditions can be overlooked—often leading to costly redesigns, permitting delays, and, in some cases, an unfeasible project.

For a multifamily project in Georgia, a routine adjustment to the unit mix by the architect changed parking requirements substantially. Because the site civil team wasn’t promptly informed, they continued working with outdated information, eventually requiring a complete redesign of the parking layout, drive aisles, and site circulation. This rework not only extended the timeline but added costs that likely could have been avoided.

Similarly, during an ADA upgrades project at a Pennsylvania university, the site civil team’s exclusion from pre-bid meetings meant they missed critical information about existing stormwater drainage issues on campus. The team designed according to the original scope, only to discover these challenges later. The resulting redesign costs were so substantial that the entire accessibility initiative had to be shelved—an outcome that proper collaboration may have prevented.

The Power of Partnership: Successful Collaboration in Action

The key to a successful project is early collaboration between architects and site civil engineers, starting in the conceptual phase. Involving engineers from the outset ensures alignment on zoning, site constraints, and the project’s overall vision, which works to prevent delays and costly changes later in the project.

A kickoff meeting with the entire team allows both parties to understand each other’s needs and sets the stage for effective coordination. Involving engineers in pre-bid discussions helps shape the architectural design to address site issues and adapt to constraints, positioning engineers as true partners in the process.

One approach is for the engineer to conduct a quick review to establish site constraints, allowing the architect to proceed with the design. Alternatively, the developer can be informed on the risks of not involving civil engineers early, setting clear expectations for what could be missed, and when they will need to engage.

Combining the perspectives of architects and engineers creates the design is feasible, permit-ready, and buildable, while balancing aesthetics, functionality, and technical requirements. This approach also presents opportunities for value engineering, helping to avoid redesigns and costly mistakes by addressing potential challenges early in the process.

At Bohler, we’ve seen how early architect-engineer collaboration transforms projects. These success stories demonstrate the approach in practice:

Spectrum Health Systems, Westborough, MA

This healthcare campus expansion showcased true collaborative problem-solving. From the outset, Bohler worked alongside the architect and client to address the unique challenges of integrating new buildings with existing structures at varying elevations.

The architectural team adapted designs with walkout basements and stepped buildings, while Bohler focused on optimizing the patient experience through thoughtful drop-off zones, emergency vehicle circulation, and strategic parking solutions.

The Related Group, Tampa, FL

When faced with protected grand trees that couldn’t be removed, BDG Architects brought Bohler in early to develop creative solutions. Rather than presenting finished plans to city officials, we advocated for sharing design iterations throughout the process.

This transparent approach made regulators partners rather than gatekeepers. By leveraging our local knowledge and relationship-building expertise, we guided the client towards a more collaborative strategy that prevented delays and resulted in a smoother approval process.

Lehigh University Cundey Varsity House, Bethlehem, PA

Weekly design meetings brought Bohler, Alloy 5 Architects, and the University’s athletic department together with a shared vision. This consistent communication ensured everyone remained aligned on project goals from concept through construction.

The result? A seamless transition from design to implementation with minimal surprises or costly changes—proving that intentional collaboration isn’t just good design practice; it’s good business.

Moving Projects Forward, Together

Day-one collaboration between architects and site civil engineers delivers measurable results. By integrating design vision with permitting expertise from the start, development teams can transform how projects unfold.

On the design side, a collaborative approach brings a broader understanding of how users will actually navigate and utilize spaces, while establishing critical boundaries for grading and site limitations. Permitting guidance ensures early coordination with utility agencies and local municipalities, which may significantly compress approval timelines.

Together, architects and site civil engineers serve as true land development consultants—providing the guidance clients need to make informed decisions about project finances, timelines, and strategic planning. This integrated approach doesn’t just prevent problems—it uncovers opportunities that might otherwise remain hidden when disciplines operate in isolation.