Master Planning | The Framework for What Comes Next

In architecture, the building gets most of the attention.

But long before a form is drawn or a façade takes shape, there’s something more fundamental to design: the framework. The big picture. The logic behind it all. That’s where master planning lives and it’s where we do some of our most critical work.

At ABM, we don’t view planning as paperwork or pre-design. We view it as the act of setting an idea in motion.

Planning is Movement, Not Maps

A master plan shouldn’t just describe where things go. It should describe how things work today, five years from now, and into the unknown.

We think of plans as dynamic systems. They guide how people move, how neighborhoods grow, how spaces evolve. It’s choreography at a district scale. When done well, a plan doesn’t just contain a project it gives it room to adapt, breathe, and stay relevant.

Our job is to shape that system with intention, flexibility, and precision.

Designing With, Not Against, the Site

We don’t impose order onto a site. We study it. We listen to it.

Topography, infrastructure, sun, wind, noise, traffic, history, people—all of it becomes part of the design process. These aren’t constraints. They’re raw materials. Every line we draw is in conversation with what already exists—and what might emerge.

Whether we’re planning a modular housing campus or a civic corridor, our goal is to make the site smarter. More connected. More livable. Without overcomplicating it.

Anticipating Use, Not Just Growth

Most planning documents focus on density, yield, and regulation. Those matter. But what we’re really interested in is use—how people will experience and interact with a place over time.

We design spaces that can support the unplanned. Community events. Informal gatherings. Shifts in demographics or infrastructure. We think about edge conditions, soft zones, and leftover space—not as gaps, but as opportunities.

A great plan doesn’t prescribe everything. It leaves room for the unexpected.

A Framework That Holds Vision and Detail

At ABM, we see master planning as both visionary and surgical. It has to inspire. But it also has to work. It’s the framework for a thousand decisions still to come structure, landscape, traffic, utilities, phasing. It has to hold complexity and still feel clear.

That’s what we build:

Not just maps.

But frameworks for what comes next.

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Planning Something That Needs to Last?

Let’s create a framework that supports the life of your project—not just the layout.

Talk to our team →