Courses / Space Planning

Space Planning for Interior Designers

Learn how to plan multifamily amenity spaces in Revit, from early layout options to more detailed plans and coordination.

In residential work, you design for a small group of people who live with the result. In a multifamily or commercial project, hundreds of people move through the space every day and the plan has to hold up to that traffic. Marcy Sagel, founder of DesignerBank and principal of MSA Interiors, teaches designers to read a large project as pockets of space: the lobby entry, the mail room, the amenity areas, the unit corridors. The questions that drive the plan are physical. Where do people move? How do they get their mail? What do they see in the first thirty seconds inside the door?

THE METHOD

From early options to a developed plan

Start with schematic layouts

In Space Planning 101, you use Revit to create block diagrams and compare layout options for multifamily amenity spaces.

Develop the selected plan

Space Planning 102 takes a preferred option into a more detailed layout, adding walls, doors, furniture, and room area schedules.

Space Planning 103 builds on that work with accessibility, mail and package planning, construction tolerances, and coordination between floor plans and reflected ceiling plans.

What strong space planning covers

  • Movement mapping. How residents and guests actually flow from entry to mail to amenities to units.
  • Amenity layouts shaped by room requirements, circulation, and the architect’s model.
  • First impressions. What a prospective renter sees the moment she walks into the lobby.
  • Room areas and clearances checked as the plan becomes more detailed.
  • Pocket-by-pocket planning, so the mail room and the corridor get the same attention as the lobby.

The honest learning curve

Space planning judgment is built through repetition. Start by comparing layout options and thinking through how each space will be used. As your plans develop, you’ll need to account for room sizes, accessibility, and coordination with the rest of the project.

COURSE

Space Planning 101, 102, and 103

Three self-paced courses covering schematic layout options, developed amenity plans, and advanced planning considerations such as accessibility and coordination. $49.50 a month for a single course, $126 a month for all three.

Explore the Space Planning courses

Common questions

How is commercial space planning different from residential?

Scale and traffic. Residential serves a small group. Commercial serves constant movement by many people, so the plan is organized around flow through lobbies, mail rooms, amenities, and corridors.

Do I need Revit to learn space planning?

Yes. DesignerBank’s Space Planning courses teach the planning workflow in Revit, so you’ll need access to it to follow the exercises.

Can I learn commercial space planning without working at a commercial firm?

Yes. The courses walk you through multifamily amenity planning in Revit, from schematic options to more detailed layouts and coordination.

What will I work on in the courses?

You’ll create schematic layout options, develop an amenity plan, and explore advanced considerations including accessibility, mail and package areas, and construction tolerances.

Does space planning matter for getting hired?

Space planning is a valuable skill in multifamily interior design. At MSA Interiors, it’s one of the skills designers use alongside documentation and rendering.

How long does each course take?

Each self-paced course includes approximately 25 to 45 minutes of video instruction. Allow additional time for the workbook, assessment, and practice.

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