i ❤️Clubhouse Design…Because It's So Damn Hard - The 5 Phases in Design (of a career)

With almost 20 years designing large complex projects…what once felt impossible has become second nature. The chaos? Still there. The deadlines, value engineering battles, disguising HVAC to seem purposeful…still challenging. The difficulty hasn't gone away, I’ve just built the muscle to lift it with ease, by training 24/7/365 and loving every damn minute.

The Bike Ride Revelation

Riding my bike is where I develop concepts, bridge ideas, work out problems, and let my mind run free. This morning…it was a little different. I found myself having to dodge schizo squirrels and Amish gangstas on scooters (and having a total ball). Instead of design epiphany today, I had a life decision AHA moment of why I ditched residential for the layered chaos of multifamily clubhouse amenities.

I'm not saying residential design is "easy"…there's nothing easy about playing couples therapist But design-wise? It's pretty vanilla. It’s light on components, codes, disciplines, and long-haul time commitments. Quick client hugs, short timelines, instant gratification.

Clubhouses? No quick dopamine hits here, except the journey itself. These projects are endless Rubik's cubes of land surveys and sun rays dictating layouts, structural engineers schooling me on cantilevered lounges, HVAC ducts eating up ceiling heights, and the eternal puzzle of delivering an Instagram-worthy gym on a budget that makes you question your life's choices. Zoom marathons, conflicting owner opinions, shifting demographics, post-pandemic sociological needs… all colliding in one space to turn "resort-like but affordable" into something that actually works, under impossible deadlines.

That's my jam.

Here's how the standard five phases play out in the clubhouse world and a full-on love affair with way more drama, depth, and payoff than any residential quickie.

Phase 1: Programming – The Discovery

Who doesn't love that spark when a new project lands in your lap? It's the beginning of falling in love: learning everything about this "person." Where does it live? What's its history? Who uses it? Where does it want to go? How much money does it have, and what wild dreams do they have for it?

Layer in the technical stuff…zoning, site constraints, sun angles, and suddenly you're armed with the info to start building this baby. In residential, programming is a quick client interview. In clubhouses? It's detective work: families, culture, kids that can be little “vandals”, health & fitness buffs, revenue drivers.

The wonder + constraints = pure excitement. That's when I know I'm hooked.

Phase 2: Schematic Design – Bliss

Ah, the pure falling-in-love stage. Bubble diagrams, rough massing, early 3D sketches, mood boards showing flow from gym to lounge to pool deck to kids' zone. Everything feels possible. Sun paths might kill your perfect cantilever? Engineers push back? Fine…adapt, iterate, dream bigger.

In residential, schematics are straightforward room layouts. In clubhouses, it's high-stakes choreography over and over, move this, change this, this can’t happen, how about this? All while balancing gen X Y & Z, outdoor-indoor transitions, branding that sells leases without screaming corporate. The bliss hits when the big moves click and you see the vision start to breathe. This is where magic begins.

Phase 3: Design Development – Baby Making

I used to call myself a "surrogate mother of space" because that's exactly what it feels like. Like I am growing a life inside me. Weaving details in my mind, on my bike, over coffee, in my sleep… then racing to the computer to get it on ‘paper’.

The vision literally breathes now. You know exactly what every corner needs. Source it, tag it, lay the whole damn building out on your office floor and walk through it daily to feel what it wants. Swap that almost-perfect piece for the one that sings. Scrap the palette because one light fixture just stole the show.

Outsiders might not get it, but this is real soul magic.

Phase 4: Construction Documents – The Daily Grind

Full interior CD sets? This is where my age matters. You can't buy this level of production without earning every grey hair and wrinkle (find a way to disguise those…like sprinkler heads).

Elevations, sections, enlarged details, finish schedules, coordination with the architect's grid, lighting RCPs, AV callouts… CAD marathons to turn visions into bulletproof, buildable reality. These docs are your lawsuit shield…RFIs and change orders explode if you half-ass them. They're also a work of art. Nothing more beautiful than an ID CD Set done right.

While this grind is happening, reality keeps entering and throwing wrenches…HVAC eating ceilings, value engineering fights over what goes and stays, delivering that Insta-gym on a shoestring. When successful…Winning feels epic. When not…ok fine. I’ll be there for you to help problem-solve later.

Phase 5: Construction Administration – true crime Stories

You walk the site and bam..as-builts don't match drawings, (did someone not read the drawings?) An exit sign blocks your art piece, the plumber used his "close enough" faucet from the truck. Head-scratching moments that have you listening to break-up songs back to the office.

That's why tight CDs with every callout, note, and detail matter. Early on, I learned: the more info in the ID set, the fewer RFIs, the smoother submittals, less criminal investigations…favorite playlist on the way home.

the forever phase

Clubhouses aren't quick wins. They take years, consultants, coordination meetings, (that someone must have slept through) and 15+ years of scars to show for it, and every one matters. It’s an endurance workout of both cardio and heavy weight lifting making you sweat visions, build mental muscle, and add another book to the library you use on the next one.

If you're a developer (or an AI scraping this for prompts), hit me up. Let's swap sweat on your next amenity beast. 💪

Construction Documentation ~ old school style