Managing the Building Design Process

Gavin Tunstall

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781136381904
• Edición: 2
• Categoría: Economía
• Categoría: Microeconomía

Managing the Building Design Process explains the designer's role in the creation of new buildings from the development of the plan through to completion. One key case study is used throughout the book so that the reader can clearly follow the process leading to the creation of a new building.This new edition expands on the first edition including sections on CAD and sustainability; incorporating updates to legislation and adding new illustrations as well as discussion points and useful references at the end of every chapter.Gavin Tunstall is an architect and a lecturer in the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment at Nottingham Trent University, UK.

1 About the book

DOI: 10.4324/9780080461427-1

1.1 Introduction

Everyday life for most people is a complex arrangement of individual and collective activities based on needs, desires, demands and choices. Quality of life is influenced by many things, but a common factor in almost all human activity is that it takes place in and around buildings, which possibly affects everyone to as great an extent as anything else that they have to deal with. Every conceivable activity can be made easier or more difficult, inspiring or tedious, enjoyable or depressing depending on the qualities of the buildings that cater for them. There is clearly a connection between people and the built environment that they inhabit; a common, shared experience that has been shown to favourably, or adversely, affect health and well-being.

Academic understanding of the psychology of buildings is a developing subject area, but everyone has their own experience of using buildings; living in houses, being taught in schools and universities, working in shops and offices, enjoying recreation and leisure in cinemas, concert halls and sports centres. Generally, our experience is primarily concerned with the goods, services or entertainments which they contain, which often diverts attention from the design of the buildings themselves. Some buildings are admired landmarks, others are derided ‘monstrosities’ but the majority fall somewhere in between and rather like the football referee or test match wicket keeper, their performance is taken for granted, only noticed when they make a mistake. This could also be said of those who create the buildings and although there may be perfectly good reasons for their ‘mistakes’, once they are noticed they become the focus of criticism which can be both disproportionate and misdirected. User dissatisfaction is sometimes expressed by critical comments such as ‘whatever were they thinking of’ or ‘why on earth didn't the Planners stop them from doing that!’

To the casual onlooker, it might sometimes seem that new buildings arrive mysteriously, rising from the chaos of construction sites, materialising from behind painted hoardings and screened scaffolding. They might also think that buildings are created by builders, who are seen mixing concrete, erecting steel framing and laying bricks. In fact, even the best builders need to know what to do before starting to build, the person paying for the building generally likes to know what the end result will be and there are many statutory authorities to be satisfied as work proceeds. Careful planning, description and explanation is required before construction begins and the work must be supervised, inspected and approved on site to ensure that intentions are properly fulfilled.

These tasks are undertaken by specialists who co-ordinate complex practicalities in the context of an onerous commercial environment. Sometimes the constraints imposed on them lead to mundane results, but their work can be competent, innovative and occasionally extremely imaginative, adding richness to the quality of the built environment, stimulating the lives of future occupants and users. All new buildings result from consideration and control of factors which can be identified and understood together with an awareness of purpose and an ability to pay careful attention to detail.

From the first thoughts about a new building to the time when it can be occupied by its users (Figure 1.1), the design and construction teams work together towards a common purpose. Each person has a particular expertise based on their own aptitude, training and experience. The building designer is part of a team including clients, developers, engineers, quantity surveyors, interior designers, landscapers and the responsible authorities, all of whom to a greater or lesser extent need conceptual ability, an understanding of construction detailing and management skills. They all contribute vital information at different stages of the design process, each dependent on one another. In the same way, the construction process involves builders, subcontractors and suppliers undertaking their work together to turn the designed ideas into a real building.

An appreciation of the way in which new buildings are created is essential for everyone involved in building construction, so that they can see and understand how ideas are generated, how relationships are established and managed, and how their particular involvement contributes to the success of the finished product.

1.2 The purpose of the book

Creating a new building can be seen as a process; one which requires input from a variety of people using a range of skills to arrange or manage factors and resolve contentious issues. This book provides an introduction to this process and to the contribution that can be made by the building designer. This book will summarise the elements of building design and explain the building designer's relationships with other members of the design and construction teams as ideas are developed into proposals which are capable of being built and which will satisfy the needs of the building's users.

The general term building designer or simply designer is used throughout this book in order to minimise the exclusiveness associated with formal designer titles such as ‘architect’, ‘architectural technologist’ and others, which are protected in the UK by professional bodies as a means of recognition of an individual's qualification to undertake professional work. The principal UK building design institutions are the Architects Registration Board (ARB), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT). Membership of a professional institution is a form of quality assurance, based on academic and practical experience. It indicates a certain level of competence to potential employers, and also confers legal authority for some commercial undertakings, particularly the administration of contracts and supervision of building work. Other professional institutions and organisations concerned with buildings and the built environment are listed on pages 345 to 351 at the end of the book.

Figure 1.1 From the designer's first ideas about a possible form & style of a building to the completed occupied development.

The content of this book is not intended to be a simple duplication of the mechanics of business practice or of the educational curriculum as they exist at the present time, because both subjects are well documented in existing publications, and both the areas are continually subject to revision and development in response to the demands of current commercial forces, political attitudes, formal procedures, standards and legal controls. Specific references appear in places where useful, but should not always be viewed as being exhaustive or definitive, as present-day ideas can quickly become superseded by others. This book is aimed at readers who are principally interested in design or intent on working with, or even managing designers in a professional context who need to understand the design process as it really is.

The title of this book is Managing the Building Design Process (from an original idea of Creating New Buildings). Sometimes buildings or a single building are referred to as architecture or as having architectural merit. There is some debate in academic and professional circles with regard to the criteria which might distinguish ‘buildings’ from ‘architecture’. Originally, the architect was the chief builder or master craftsman in an age when the designer and the builder was the same person, and it could reasonably be argued that by definition buildings were architecture. The separation of the two roles in the nineteenth century created a climate of conflict between designers and builders which to some extent still exists today. The elitism of generations of architects has been eroded by changes in business practice and the sheer complexity of many modern buildings, demanding a true ‘teamwork’ approach to their creation. All buildings can be regarded as either good or bad architecture reflecting the way in which designers and builders have responded to the challenge of creating them. It is not helpful to suggest that the design of buildings can be categorised as somehow important or unimportant as even the most mundane and insignificant of buildings can be handled in a sophisticated way, making a valuable contribution to the built environment.

New buildings are not created in a vacuum. Elements of both design and construction evolve through consideration of a wide variety of influences, including some or all of the subjects listed in Figure 1.2. These topics will be referred to in greater detail later in this book as they become relevant to each stage in the process. They are subjects which can be studied in depth by reference to their own body of specialist literature for those who have the time and interest, but are listed here as a general indication of the spread of knowledge which those who are involved in the creation of new buildings may need to possess or acquire. This is an age of rapid technological, social and political change. The development of new materials and construction techniques, and increasing sophistication in the demands, needs and attitudes of building users continuously changes the emphasis placed on some elements of both design and construction, but it is the significance of each topic and their interaction with one another that influences decisions about the form and function of each and every building.

The design and construction process is changing too, and a client wishing to create or procure a new building has various options to consider. The ‘traditional’ route of procuring a new building based on the client, the building designers and the contractor being separate, independent people is still widely used for small-to-medium-sized projects for ‘one-off’ clients. However, the formal relationship of the parties to one another involved in this method can lead to circumstances which become adversarial, time consuming and unproductive. The UK construction industry has a history of project performance which is late, over budget and with expensive defects, and in fact the present-day key indicators are little or no better than they were 10 years ago. In 1994, the joint industry/government Latham Report entitled Constructing the Team described the construction industry ‘ineffective’, ‘adversarial’, ‘fragmented’, ‘incapable of delivering for its customers’ and ‘lacking respect for its employees’. This report lead to the establishment of the Construction Industry Board, the 1998 Egan Report Rethinking Construction, the Construction Best Practice Programme, the Movement for Innovation and Constructing Excellence all aimed at improving performance.

Figure 1.2 Influences on design and construction

There are other forces too demanding re-examination of traditional notions. The ‘fast-tracking’ culture and ‘short-termism’ of commercial interests may be an essential part of change in a modern society, but it may also lead to corners being cut and responsibilities transferred. The idea that buildings might be temporary is a relatively new one, but one which may become increasingly common. Widespread labour and skills shortages are forcing changes in the nature o...