How do I integrate structural and mechanical systems into my design?

You can design a beautiful space, and then the structure and the mechanical systems arrive and it all feels overwhelming, like a second hidden building you have to fit inside your first. That overwhelm is normal. Design school teaches the visible space far more than the systems that must live behind the walls holding it up and running it. Start by treating structure and systems not as intruders on your design but as part of it from the beginning. Bring them in early, ask the engineers what they need before your ideas harden, and design with those needs in mind rather than around them later. Most of the pain comes from integrating too late, when the space is already fixed and the systems have to be forced in. On your next project, sit down with a structural and a mechanical person before your design is locked, and ask what they need from you and when. Let their answers shape your early choices. Integration stops overwhelming you when the systems are partners in the design from the start, not problems you inherit at the end.