STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR LAND USE
The Looping® is a strategic planning approach designed to guide a space planning project before discussing drawings, furniture or aesthetic choices. At VAD, we believe that a workplace, institutional environment or commercial space must first be aligned with the real needs of the people who use it.
This approach creates an essential pause to understand the organization’s objectives, ways of working, human considerations, occupancy habits, current pain points and opportunities for improvement. The Looping® helps transform these insights into a clear, useful and engaging vision for the next steps of the project.
By involving the right people from the start, this process encourages alignment, supports decision-making and makes it possible to design spaces that are more coherent, more efficient and better adapted to the organization’s reality.
A method for understanding before designing
The Looping® is much more than a reflection workshop. It is a collaborative method that brings forward the needs, perceptions, expectations and ideas of the teams who will experience the space every day.
Through a series of structured activities, our team guides leaders, managers and employees through a strategic reflection on their environment. The goal is to create an open dialogue around use, organizational culture, collaboration, concentration, circulation, employee experience and space performance.
This step is especially relevant for a redesign, growth project, relocation, organizational transformation or reflection on new ways of occupying a place. It allows us to move beyond basic square footage requirements and better understand what the space truly needs to support.
The Looping® therefore becomes a design driver. It helps establish guiding principles, identify priorities, reduce blind spots and give the project a clear direction. The decisions that follow are better grounded, better understood and easier to support.
Our experts
Martine Drolet, vice-présidente & associée
Designer d’intérieur certifié APDIQ®
Andréa Veilleux, associée
Designer d’intérieur certifié
APDIQ®, PA-LEED, PA-WELL, NCIDQ
Strategic expertise led by space designers
The Looping® is led by experts who understand both the human considerations and the functional realities of a space planning project. Their role is to guide the reflection, ask the right questions and translate the discussion into concrete directions for design.
This expertise in space planning strategy may include analyzing the current occupancy of your spaces, identifying optimization opportunities, determining real space requirements, developing planning standards and aligning business objectives with the needs of your teams.
At VAD, this process creates a bridge between the organization’s vision and the experience lived by users. It helps design environments that support collaboration, well-being, efficiency, flexibility and corporate identity.
With an approach that is structured, creative and human, our experts support organizations through the key steps that come before design. The result: a strong strategic foundation for creating spaces that are more relevant, more sustainable and better adapted to the people who use them.
Frequently asked questions
The Looping® is a strategic planning approach developed by VAD to guide space planning projects from the very beginning. It helps clarify needs, uses, objectives and human considerations before moving into design.
The Looping® should be included in the early stages of a project, before detailed design begins. It is especially useful for redesigns, relocations, growth projects, organizational change or reflections on how spaces are used.
Depending on the project, The Looping® may involve leaders, managers, employees, internal teams and other stakeholders. The objective is to gather a variety of perspectives to better understand the organization’s reality.
A strategic workshop helps clarify real needs, avoid decisions based only on assumptions and better align the space with the organization’s objectives. It also helps engage teams throughout the change process.
The Looping® helps optimize spaces, define priorities, support decision-making, strengthen team alignment and create a clear direction for the design project.