Programming
Defining what the project is — spaces, square footages, adjacencies, code-driven occupancy requirements, and what success looks like. Done before any paper goes to design.
Programming · Schematic · DD · CDs · CA
Design that respects code, cost, and constructability.
Architectural design from schematic through construction documents, with structural and permitting realities considered at every stage. Drawings that leave Apice are coordinated, buildable, and permit-ready — not design exercises that get rebuilt during CDs or permit comment cycles.
Design phases
From concept to permit-ready package.
AIA-standard phasing with the structural and permitting layer integrated from the start.
Schematic design
Massing, site layout, floor plans, exterior character. Tested against site constraints, zoning envelope, FBC code path, and project economics before further investment.
Design development
Detailed plans, sections, elevations, exterior materials, primary interior layouts, and structural + MEP coordination that makes the project actually buildable.
Construction documents
Permit-ready and bid-ready drawing set. Plans, details, schedules, specifications, and code-required documentation. Coordinated across A / S / civil / MEP disciplines.
Permitting alignment
Drawings produced with the jurisdiction's review patterns built in. Submittal package designed for first-review approval — not multi-cycle revision back-and-forth.
Construction administration
RFI response, submittal review, field consultation, and design coordination through construction. The architects who drew it remain available for the build.
Code disciplines we coordinate
FBC compliance is built into the drawings.
Code work doesn't wait until permit submittal. It informs the design from schematic forward.
FBC-B
Building & Existing Building
Occupancy classification, type of construction, allowable area / height, separations, egress, accessibility (FBC Accessibility).
FBC-FS
Fire & life safety
NFPA 101 / FBC Chapters 7-10 compliance — egress, separations, suppression, alarm, smoke management where required.
FBC-EC
Energy conservation
FBC Energy Conservation Code — envelope performance, glazing ratios, mechanical efficiency, ComCheck / ResCheck submittals.
ANSI
Accessibility
2017 FBC Accessibility (ANSI A117.1 + ADA-aligned). Common-area access, dwelling-unit accessibility ratios, route compliance.
Project types
Where design moves the needle.
Apice's architectural work concentrates on projects where coordinated design + structural + permitting matter more than splashy renderings.
- Custom single-family + spec residential
- ADU design — detached, attached, garage conversion
- Small-to-mid multifamily (garden, wrap, podium mid-rise)
- Commercial tenant build-outs (retail, office, restaurant / F&B)
- Ground-up commercial (free-standing retail, office, light industrial)
- Mixed-use (ground-floor commercial with residential above)
- Adaptive reuse (existing-building conversion to higher-and-better use)
- Live Local Act multifamily (statutory framework integration)
Related services
Design rarely travels alone.
Engineering
Structural Engineering
Coordinated from schematic so the structure isn't an afterthought.
Approvals
Permitting & Approvals
Submittal strategy and comment response to land first-review approval.
Presentation
3D Visualization
Renderings tied to the actual drawings — not generic marketing assets.
Have a site, a program, or just an idea? We'll start by defining the project before drawing it.
Start a Design Conversation FBC 2023 · Permit-Ready Packages · (407) 674-2415