An architects influence
There was some suggestion that a shift away from involving two architectural firms in the briefing process had a part to play in design drift:
“Historically, some customers would commission one architect to suggest a vision and concept, and another to challenge that and ensure it was grounded in reality. But we rarely see that these days.”
Adding to this, a participant said: “That’s true, but we’re actually now seeing a trend where more architects themselves are choosing to bring in third-party firms to sit in the initial briefing, challenge appropriately and record specifics of those discussions.
An impartial sounding board can be powerful in stress testing the brief.” Encouraging customers to see design as a process and conveying the value of appropriate changes was a continuous challenge, one participant noted:
“Design is an iterative process. There’s no getting away from that. The key is to is work within a budget and ensure that changes are made only to optimise and add incremental benefit, rather than simply as a means of value engineering.”
One consultant said: “Residential developers are traditionally budget-led.
They’ll make a calculation first then the project is ultimately dictated by that. But if you look at a heritage project, it’s the other way around. That is almost always brief and design-led. The quality of the project is prioritised and there’s a sense that it will cost what it’ll cost.”
"Gone are the days when architects held themselves at the top of the pyramid. It absolutely has to be a collaborative effort, working as one team to deliver the client’s vision. Everyone at the table agreed that designing to cost was easier to implement in some sectors."
This was echoed by another expert who pointed out that the weighting given to certain aspects of design has changed, stating: “20 years ago we designed to black and white, easily-defined and measurable criteria.
Now we are designing for emotion and the outcome of the building.
It’s not just about the physical room performing.
Customers are looking to link the output – be it R&D, teaching or healthcare delivery – to the design, and that poses its own set of challenges.
The prevailing view was that qualitative measures were nebulous, but often all-important to the end user and couldn’t be overlooked.
“It’s important to work really hard to extract the two or three things that really, really matter to a client because you’re going to have to deliver on them,” said one attendee.
They continued: “It might be a wow factor when they walk into the building, or a more functional element. You ring-fence that and then everything else you can perhaps flex and compromise and we’ve had some real success taking that approach.”
