An architect and chief design engineer explains how late integration of engineering solutions into architecture affects building aesthetics and safety.

In early February, at the international AHR Expo 2026 trade show, leading manufacturers of engineering equipment showcased modern climate control and automation systems that allow modeling of engineering systems even before construction begins. This is now one of the key trends — creating digital solutions that enable integrating engineering into architectural projects as early as possible. It emerged as a response to the industry’s rather conservative approach, where engineering solutions are often brought in too late — after the building’s form and volume have already been approved.

To understand why engineering systems must be considered in a project from the very beginning, we spoke with architect and chief design engineer Vitalii Minchenko. Vitalii is involved in field and engineering processes at GPA, Inc., an American company specializing in building engineering systems. The principle of early engineering integration is the foundation of his work — it allows viewing a project holistically — from the perspectives of architecture, engineering solutions, and future operations — and making informed decisions about utility placement, routing, equipment selection, and their alignment with the architectural concept.

In this article, we explore why Vitalii Minchenko’s approach to engineering is crucial for project quality, how it affects building aesthetics and safety, and why it can still be challenging to implement in practice.

What comes first: engineering or architecture?

In traditional practice, architectural design has long followed a linear logic: first form, then structure, and only then — engineering systems. However, given modern requirements for energy efficiency, comfort, and safety, this approach is increasingly proving unviable.

According to Vitalii Minchenko, engineering systems determine a building’s basic spatial parameters even before detailed architecture emerges. This isn’t just about room layouts, but also floor heights, slab configurations, facade solutions, and HVAC systems—which Vitalii designs for GPA, Inc. projects, an American engineering firm involved in implementing large-scale commercial, institutional, and high-rise buildings.

“If these things aren’t built in from the start, architecture begins adapting retroactively—and almost always loses quality,” he emphasizes. Early engineering integration allows architects to work not with an abstract form, but with a real, functioning object where space is initially designed for operation rather than adapted to it after the fact.

When the engineer ruins everything

The common tension between architects and engineers often centers on the idea of “limiting freedom.” Engineering requirements are perceived as a set of restrictions that prevent realizing the vision. However, in Vitalii Minchenko’s experience, this feeling arises not from the requirements themselves, but from the fact that they appear at late project stages.

“When an engineer joins too late, they’re forced to intervene in already-formed architecture. At that moment, they really do look like the person who ruins everything,” says Vitalii Minchenko. In reality, however, the expert adds, errors arising from lack of early engineering coordination constrain architecture far more: forced add-ons appear, technical shafts, spaces with awkward proportions.

Engineering and safety

The question of early engineering systems integration is particularly acute in projects with high functional and regulatory demands—from underground complexes to special-purpose facilities. Any late changes here trigger a cascade of consequences: reworking layouts, revising structural solutions, and even correcting facade designs.

“In such projects, engineering systems shape scenarios for space usage, evacuation, and autonomous operation. They’re not just supporting architecture—they define its logic and determine the building’s viability,” says Vitalii Minchenko, recalling his experience designing bomb shelters in Ukraine. For example, in underground bomb shelters where people may spend many hours, ventilation takes center stage—it must provide constant fresh air supply and maintain comfortable climate conditions for living. If architects don’t incorporate systems from the start, their late integration can be difficult, directly affecting safety and essentially depriving the space of the ability to fully perform its function.

Engineering and aesthetics

When engineering systems are considered at the concept stage, the architectural result is often fundamentally different. Not only technical parameters change, but the very logic of spatial thinking.

Vitalii Minchenko cites the Pompidou Center in Paris as an example: “There, engineering became the architecture itself — systems were moved to the facade, each got its own color, routes became legible, and the interior space was completely freed up. This is a classic case where early integration determined the building’s form and logic.”

In his own practice, he sees similar effects: leading the development of ventilation and climate scenarios, he made decisions about engineering route and node placement. This made it possible to eliminate massive suspended ceilings, preserve natural room proportions, and make engineering systems an organic part of the architectural structure.

Engineering and legislation

An additional complexity is that regulatory frameworks often don’t account for all real-world building operation scenarios. Designers must balance compliance with regulatory requirements and the logic of building functionality, consider critical situations, and plan for decades of operation ahead.

In Vitalii Minchenko’s assessment, this requires architects to have a deep understanding of engineering processes, as well as the ability to build flexibility and adaptability into projects. “Today, solutions that allow transforming space without losing quality and functionality, that account for changing regulations and technological updates, are critically important,” he explains.

Successful design under modern conditions, for Vitalii Minchenko, is built on the principle of early coordination: as an engineer, he participates in shaping the concept; as an architect, he immediately accounts for how engineering solutions affect the building’s form, structure, and functionality; and understanding regulatory aspects helps do everything right the first time, avoiding errors and rework. In his work, he also uses new digital tools and believes that only this approach ensures creating buildings that are simultaneously aesthetic, viable, and resilient to changing requirements and regulations.

Content Writing by : Yamini patil