Architectural Design Brief’s Development

Architectural Design Brief

Function and Development

Your architect will be responsible for ensuring that the project aims and vision are clearly expressed and these are pursued throughout the project.

The Function of the Architecture Design Brief

A good Design Brief should:

• State your vision for the Project.
• Set limits about the budget and timescale
• Set the scene and state where you are in the process, how you got there and your aspirations for the Capital Project
• Design criteria and principles for the design
• Set out the practical requirements for the relationship between spaces and the proposed spaces, focusing on performance requirements rather than detail. You may wish to give a schedule of areas (possibly arising from a feasibility study) but you should expect your architect to review these figures as they develop a spatial strategy for the project.
• Communicate as much factual information about the current condition of the building or site as is available. Give a summary in the brief and include relevant drawings and document in the appendix.
• The brief should not re-iterate government guidance and regulations, as your architect will have a knowledge of these, though you may wish to list sources that you consider a priority.

The Design Brief’s Development

The brief can be a useful consultative tool. The process of producing a brief can be carried out by developing a series of drafts, which contributors can review and amend. The Design Brief will draw together and synthesize diverse sources of information. It can follow on from a Strategic Brief and/or concluded Feasibility Study and can give a précis of the decisions arrived at here.

The brief writer may wish to refer to existing sources of information. The following ones may be helpful:

• Briefs for a similar scale/ type of project
• Generic guidance and empirical evidence about space standards and performance requirements and specific points of reference or exemplars. Generic guidance should always be tuned to your specific site and requirements.
• Existing buildings and spaces as a qualitative reference.

Contents Page for the Design Brief

The contents page should give a skeletal overview of the content of the Design Brief. The headings will organise the information and give a framework to the brief.

Daniel Trujillano, Spanish Architect

http://www.arquitectotrujillano.com/home.html

Architecture Services for Building Projects in Spain