Specifying – Meeting Performance Requirements
Welcome to the second stop in the 9Wood Field Guide.
At the first stop, discovery led the way. You explored form, materiality, and the role a ceiling or wall might play in shaping experience. This stop builds directly on that foundation by turning attention to the conditions every project must respond to, including geographic, structural, regulatory, and operational considerations.
These conditions define the environment in which design succeeds.
Here, the perspective shifts slightly. Rather than focusing on what you need to decide next, this stop asks a more grounding question:
What jobs does the proposed system need to do in order to belong in this building?
While these requirements are often seen as the most daunting part of the journey, this stop is designed to make them navigable. The functional needs you surfaced earlier are translated into clear, sequential considerations that guide selection. These are realities you respond to. When they are understood early, they stop feeling like obstacles and begin to function as guardrails.
Before moving forward, take a moment to orient yourself.
Why You’re Here
At this point in the design process, your role shifts from open exploration to informed evaluation. The job is to define the performance requirements the proposed system must meet:
- What geographic conditions must the system perform within?
- What life safety and code requirements must it meet?
- How does the system attach to the building?
- How will it integrate with MEP systems?
- When and how can wood contribute to acoustic performance?
- What sustainability and sourcing requirements apply?
- How do you explain these factors clearly to clients and collaborators?
By framing these as jobs the system must perform, this section helps you evaluate options based on the performance criteria they must satisfy.
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Specifying – Meeting
Performance Requirements
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