Design Analytics: Notes on Facility Programming and Building Evaluation

by Edward T. White

This new publication includes nine monographs written between 1988 and 1991 as a guide to the techniques and practices of pre-design analysis (defining the design question) and post-occupancy evaluation (determining the degree to which that question was answered). It explores the degree to which building designs serve the social, functional, occupational, political, and economic needs of their varied occupants, visitors, managers, and other users over the lifespan of the buildings. The tasks of figuring out what a design needs to achieve and then confirming that it has done so have the potential to empower architects in three their role in the real estate development and construction industries, a role not filled by other professions, with the result that we see far too many projects that fail to maximize their potential; the value they bring to design and the quality of their design work; and their profitability and the skill of their workforce.

Reading these monographs now makes clear just how timeless, relevant, and rarely addressed are the issues they raise and the directives they draw for contemporary architectural education and practice.

324 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2026