BYTNAR - TALKS
EPISODE 004 - STAGE 2 - CONCEPT DESIGN
This episode is for people who want to know more about the process of project design and delivery.
If you ask yourself questions:
What architectural concept should I follow?
What Engineering solutions correlate with the cost plan?
How to deliver the project from the contractor's perspective?
How do you approach planning?
How do we reach building regulations compliance?
Who should be involved in further definition – the responsibility matrix?
What should the outline specification be?
Are we on the ball or do we need to update the brief according to the achievable defined at the end of this stage?
Why bother with a few solutions?
This episode should give you a broad idea of how the project idea in Architecture Engineering or Construction project develops and why it is worth exercising different options at this stage.
This is Bytnar Talks the engineer takes on construction episode 4 hi I'm Piotr Bytnar each day I help my clients plan and design building projects through Bytnar Limited a Consulting Chartered Structural Engineers practice my biggest passion and the cornner stone on which I've built my business is find finding clever solutions for construction projects I am a chartered structural engineer and a bing software developer so you can rest assured that I will strive to talk about the best practices and the use of new technologies in the industry and if you're embarking on a construction project or are involved in planning designing and building the world around us you'll find this podcast useful today I'll talk about stage two concept design [Music] hey hi hello everyone welcome to the new episode of butut talks a month has passed and I can now claim to be one of the most successful podcasts out there well at least According to some statistics saying most of the podcasts around 90% of them do not ever go past the third episode Mark so here here you have it this one is the fourth one I plan to do at least another 17 to achieve and be at the magical 1% of podcast St out there apparently not many of us ever go over the 20 piece Mark so brace yourself and bear with me for at least 21 episodes Jokes Aside I'm glad you're back here with me in the following week and I hope you'll find something new and provoking within this episode as hopefully you did in the last one in the last episode you could have heard of two different approaches to the preparation of the project brief and how ill defined decisions and misinformed approaches to the process of project definition and delivery can break the project in my everyday practice in bitna Consulting chartered Engineers I strive to create create the process and informations for my clients so they can appreciate how complicated this world can be and show them the value of offices like mine which combine the expertise and capabilities of now so fragmented industry I envy such guys like Brunell or eio who hone the art and skills of the era Engineers who live the projects be being capable of delivering all aspects of them rather than relying on tens of different Consultants which seems to be the case nowadays maybe it comes with the time and politics of responsibility or simply departure from principles in favor of codes and standards I love principles don't get me wrong and that is where I start all my projects let us worry about the red tape codes and standards at the latest stage this stage is the stage of principles principles of spatial design massing structural components and their mechanics material selection and their interaction with each other and the ground sustainability and carbon embodied or operational of Any Given solution and the interplay of all of them [Music] today I'll talk about the stage that all aec bears like the most I think we like it even more than we like honey why do we like it so much it's primarily due to the fact that it is most creative stage of them all this is the stage where the experience expertise with and breath of knowledge and intelligence come together to Define concept designs and and I would like to emphasize the s in the designs it is not the stage where you simply deliver one design and take it forward it is the stage to find several ways to do a thing and to compare them and go ahead with the most suitable one it is the part of the project design process where you like to have the best brains at and allow brain St between the team members if you can get an architect an engineer and a contractor in the same place for this stage you can assure The Chosen solution will be the best one forward so what you'll find in this podcast I'll talk about what what is this state all about then I'll move on over to then I will move over to things to consider which I divide in divide in two parts one is creating the creating the different concepts and comparison of them and they then Tak in the one chosen one for further develop development I identified eight points three of them will be the the first part of it and then the next five will be will be the delivery the the definition for for the next stage these are one architectural Concepts two engineering Solutions correlated with the coast Plan Three the way to deliver call it contract revew then we move to how to approach planning how to reach building regulations compliance six who should be involved in fed definition responsibility Matrix seven outline specification and eight update the brief according to the achievable Achieva bles defined at the end of this stage so let's not delay it any further without further Ado let's get into it shall [Music] we so what is this stage well in simple terms this stage concentrates on the definition of the architectural concept in line with the brief defined in the previous stage often this brief needs to be derogated as the conceptual stage progresses to address feasibility studies and issues identified during the creation of Concepts and and perhaps upgrade it with opportunities that we' found out during during this stage I think here you can appreciate how important it is to have several different ways of of doing the same thing and how teams should collaborate into defining those those different schemes it's sort of like going online and comparing all different products however here you need to rely on the experience and breath of knowledge of professionals to give you several different solutions for one problem and then you can go go on and compare it by all the different different standards like how sustainable it is you know what sort of what sort of operational carbon is involved once you build the building which may be actually better to concentrate on than thinking about the carbon that's embodied within the construction of the building what what are the costs of different solutions and how they impact the the end product and how they impact on brief and funding there's many things to consider here really including layouts and you know the how how it's going to look like whether it's going to be aesthetically pleasing or not and so on so the things to consider here while preparing the briefs the things to consider for the whole stage as I mentioned before it's I consider it to be a two-part process one is trying to find the best solution doing the different different alternative solutions for for one given brief and then taking it forward to making to making a plan for further development in in stages down the line we generally start with architectural concept which concentrate on the idea development what is the design intent and party behind it party of the chosen solution so basically what the justification for for what the architect or designer came with was the inspiration for for such a building or the neighborhood how the building on the neighbor neighborhood or ined factories is organized spatially whether that's aesthetically pleasing or not what's the aesthetic expression of the of the whole building in determining this this type of this type of factors is vital to be good at sketching and the ways to Vis visualize those some people are not that great with hand sketching so computer AED design jumps in very nicely and with the modern techniques and mod mod and modern AI tools we can easy easily go into all different [Music] different we can make hundreds of different visually pleasing solutions for any given any given projects given into the boundary of space and well basically a space they're not that sophisticated models as of yet so most of them they are just space bounded so but it gives you it gives you a direction it gives you that possibility to to check many solution and see which one is the one forward and trouble with being capable of producing so many different solutions with a modern tools with a with AI is you can get in our dat and paralyzed with with the number of Alternatives so perhaps sometimes it's better at this stage at least to keep it simple keep it keep the entire thing into more like a massing in terms of massing than than clading and all of the you know fancy features of the build it's more important important at this stage to think how the building is located in the in the globe how how it can play with lights how how it will influence wind or be influenced by wind and what sort of materials to use for its creation depending where in the world it is and depending what type of systems we'd like to use they may be all together different and it's important to appreciate and think about this process as an IT iterative one so it's not a straight line getting to the solution is more like regurgitating information trying to find the right mass and space for the given brief and then putting that mass into the perspective of the local area and the Sun and wind and other aspects of the of the build and then check whether it's feasible to actually do this for the given for the given solution at the given site how it relates to the budget and whether that be possible to actually build within within the constraints of it check the check the given solution with the client whether it's somewhere around what what he she expected it to be there are more people involved in the whole the create of the of the building it may be such a large scheme with such a great impact that you'll have to that you have to go out there and ask the neighborhoods what how it's going to impact them and what they think about it they may give you a perspective that you never thought about before as you as you don't appreciate the area as much as as people who live in in their area too and it's time to assess risks too so it's important to define the design intent which is the concept which you can communicate the overarching design intent of the main idea behind the project it answers the question of why the building is designed in the particular way and what message or experience it aims to convey what's the inspiration for the project you see Concepts often draw inspiration from various sources such as cultural natural historical references or maybe sometimes abstract ideas hadid's designs all of those wavy curvy looking like a desert blown by the Air Solutions The Chosen inspiration helps to create a unique and meaningful narrative for the design you know how it's specially organized as I mentioned the concept influences the spatial organization of the building dictates how different areas and functions are arranged and interconnected with each other it guides decisions about circulations hierarchy of spaces and overall layout Aesthetics is very important after all we like to engage and be around and surrounded with beautiful spaces beautiful buildings they like music they talk to us and resonates with with us and the aesthetic expression of the architecture is is really really important here how you going to express yourself will influence the material choices and colors and textures you'll be able to use to achieve that expression it's very important also to well I say important so all of those things cuz they they kind of are all important and at the same level you have to think about them the functionality of the building after all we not making monuments we making functional buildings and they have to and they have to discharge all of the needs that are created by the business case you see while the concept is often associated with that artistic and aesthetic consideration it also needs to address the functional aspects of the building the concept should support and enhance the intent use and purpose of the building and maybe find Opportunities to to make it better than that initially initially initially thought about you know how we need to think how users will experience the building you see building will shap shape the occupants interaction with it and how they perceive it we need to for that sense of identity and connection to the build environment building should be also accessible to all sorts of people and adaptable in the modern world we change how we operate our building site you can see building our our cities our buildings you you can see offices turning into Flats floods turning into hotels hotels turning into shops it's all fluid and if we don't think about how the building can be used in a fluid way we not using its full potential you see the buildings the concept of the buildings should be flexible enough to adapt to various constraints regulations and practical consideration while maintaining its core assets that concept here now will serve as a guiding principle throughout the design and construction process so that be the architectural architectural part of it the architectural approach to the concept creation you see it's it's molding it's molding the mass to something resembling the final final product or at least or at least a tangible Way Forward all of those architectural Concepts and they should be sort of simple at that that stage but giving the sense of direction and and addressing all of the different points that I just mentioned but they should be run through the engineering through the structural engineer who can assess on different on plethora of different aspects of it you see paper will take everything we like to say in the industry you can put anything on a piece of paper on a or on a cat computer Ed design that is and it will it would look lovely uh yeah added to the to the AI engine and you have millions of different solution that that are meaningless and that's where the engineer comes in to give give that skin some bones and meat down the right if you get if you get what I'm saying the engineer here is to take one of those to take those solution to take the concept or several of them and start looking at them from the physical perspective the buildability perspective of them he'll need to think about the choice of materials and and early estimate the cost cost of of such a Str basing it on the preliminary designs things like rule of farms and and how the buildings usually come together and and what is the usual size of those elements in different materials we as Engineers we we appreciate that we we've designed many buildings of different of different sizes and different uses and and we quite quite well can say what sort of solu will play play best role in any given concept once we look at the layouts that been identified or bled down before us by Architects we look at the side constraint we look at the constraints of layouts and identify potential cost drivers we usually collaborate with cost estimators at that time too and fin Financial expert ER analyzing historical data and benchmarks for similar projects so we know that we actually going into the right direction taking monetary consideration on board need to think about the life cycle costs of the of the whole Endeavor how much it will cost in construction operation maintenance and Disposal and try to optimize our solution so it addresses all of those all of those parts you see it's easy to just push forward and create anything and just start putting the bricks together to make those walls to make the building but if you don't think how this building will how how this solution will influence the the life cycle the cost of the of that building of the life of this building there are plenty of opportunities for for sustainable and economical solution lost this stage is also a stage for Value engineering where we can Implement value engineering principles to enhance the functionality quality and overall value of the project while guess what minimizing the costs you see the column can be column in all different materials but it can be more but can be actually better if if it's different if it's not a column maybe if it's trust or maybe if it's something different maybe if it's concrete or maybe Timber will do just fine we need to look at the alternatives to achieve one one given concept but without compromising performance or safety you know now it's the time where we come in and just start thinking about what sort of materials we use and and give it a preliminary specification I need to evaluate them on the basis of their costs availability and performance in that given building we consider alternatives compare different properties and it's all driven very often by the cost and efficiency of that building you see efficient design practice is all about optimizing design to minimize waste it's all about reducing complexity and to and improving construction efficiency the more difficult it is to construct on site it may transpire during the construction that the actual buildability of it is so bad that the building will cost 50% more or more than than anticipated at the at the Forefront we try to utilize standardized Solutions of the Shelf products so there's not much of the bisoke going on if it needs to be it needs to be but if it doesn't it's better to use things that are nearly Factory produced so the cost of the given solution is minimal and there is enough there is enough bulk behind that solution to actually make the project viable safe and cost effective in the modern world in the First World countries labor is the is very is one of the biggest cost if not the biggest cost of Any Given project and that's that's the cost we like to reduce the less labor on site it's it's one safer to deliver the project if there's less people on side or less people involved in creating the building and two if the product can be standardized we can control it better and deliver better standard product better Standard Building it's important to consider Energy Efficiency and sustainability of Any Given solution integrates the energy efficient and sustainable solution into that concept however it may may command or Inc call higher upfront cost but result in long-term operational savings and if you don't put that down on paper and have the possibility to compare you won't really know and you may be driven by the false economy of trying to make as Slim as Slim solution as possible which may not work that well in the long run is the time to think about renewable renewable energy sources and use of alternative or other mixtures to to the construction materials thinking about energy efficient Technologies to reduce operational expenses and how this can be incorporated within the building think about the risk of creating the building how it could impact the the project costs those feasibility study whether ground is correct whether there's the floods but I need to protect the building from other other aspects of the nature and how we could how we could approach it in future once we develop the project further cuz it's one thing to think about the risk and identify them and the other thing is to have a plan for dealing with different different scenarios once we get them you see it may be it may be the case that we'll need to use rough Foundation or maybe we use pilot Foundation or other solution it it really depends on the ground conditions that we at this stage may not that well understand maybe you know the the soil investigation reports were in that that great and you that's one of the reason that you can actually identify and then address it rather than delayed to get better definition of of those aspects you can plan for for different different contingencies for different for different outcomes different solutions once the proper information comes into play we need to think about the technology and Innovations and how we can apply this maybe maybe the good Way Forward would be to use mod method of construction modernize the the whole build and if we don't keep ourselves updated with these all design them in the office how can we know what solution is the best we may be well suited in providing standard and traditional concrete or steel frame Solutions but it may be better to actually do it in the light light gauge steel construction or maybe Timba who knows it really depends on the project I love to design in all sort of all sorts and different materials and and is a it's a pleasure to be able to to do it but that come with with a lot of effort in keeping up to date with all of the material Solutions and and how you can actually use all the different materials and it's not a game for everyone especially for the small offices it's it's quite difficult for for a small office to be exposed to all of it unless the office heavily invests in in training and research this is the time where engineer meets an architect and if they both cannot communicate well with each other and there they can be stand Stills they can be they can be difficulties and opportunities missed it's very important at this stage to carry on communicated with all stakeholders involved to align that project goal with the budget constraints and possible engineered Solutions and one of the things that's I Architects and Engineers are not really that well adapted in but sometimes well on most of the projects it is it is the case in delivering of most of the project is is like it's like a relationship you need to make concessions on your on your visions and the way you see see things how you going to deliver them and to be prepared to adopt and modify find design designs based on costs feedback changing projects requirements changing layout difficulties trying to Value engineer aspects of it some the layouts may need to change and such and it's sometimes a very very difficult dance between the engineer and architect but nevertheless the the end solution is very of often a great one and at this stage if it's possible to get a Contractor on board and it depending on the procurement route you want to take the contractor may just work as an advisor as a consultant at this stage without without being signed up for the actual build it's great to have a contractor or board to to have assess on all of those different different matters that architect and engineer Andel engineer worked on obviously both architect and engineer should have an appreciation of how the building should should be built after all will not build in it for for the beauty sake of it of just showing showing off our beautiful renders on paper and BR about how brilliant we are we at the end of the day we need to build this building and need to build it safely so contractor can help identify how this can be achieved maybe in a better way than the actual architect or engineer can giving giving the team the perspective and maybe drive drive the projects in a slightly different direction you see contractors can assess the feasibility of construction based on the initial Concepts they can go onside and appreciate the constraints and provide in ites into potential challenges related to the construction methods site conditions and Logistics and the operation of the actual project they can budget estimate the chosen solution and put it in plan how it should be delivered in the most economical way and if we at this stage don't think about what is the best way of constructing the given solution we may be thinking about solutions that will be more expensive than they initially should be you see if we need to do the basement we may pile it all around and then excavate the basement and be nice and safe that all of the ground around is you know stays where it should be as we dig but doing piles can't deliver piles they're very expensive and they they don't really need to be used if we can reduce the ground on sides on on the sides of all of the sides you know if we can slope the ground or or grade it a little bit so the ground becomes stable enough for the project to continue and if you get inated in your solution don't think about the way how to construct it you may well end up spending a lot of money for not needing Solutions the contractor as I say can can input on the construction costs the labor costs and how how the building can be delivered how the given concept can be delivered within the budget constraints it's also great for that matter to to include the the contractor in the whole evaluation of the concept and creation of the solution as the ways and techniques that are available a knowledge that are available on the local contractors's market they very often dictate how the contractor will approach it and we may be we may got used to as designers for a delivery of the project in a certain way but the idiosyncrasy of the area for example all all those given contracts is May challenge it and they may not be quite well versed in our solution and it may be better to actually adjust our solution to the to the skills that are available in the given Market contractors can suggest those Solutions and we can take them in consideration and you know and make them work for the given project they can obviously identify risks and the risk with the with the delivery of the project and how to mitigate those risks we can do as the team of three we can do constructability workshops where we can organize constract contractors and designers and other stakeholders to collaborate and refine the concept design you see if the project is Big there's many people that will be impacted by it for a long long time and good to actually involve all of those people not only the financial Financial stakeholders and people that actually risk the their business models the the money within the project but the surrounding people and bringing a social value to the area rather than just getting on with the projects and being inconsiderate to to the needs of everyone around it's important that that's why it's important to do those workshops CU you can address the constructibility issues early in the design stage and you know brainstorm the solution as however with all of those Endeavors communication and collaboration is very important you don't want to have team members especially at this stage that are hooked hanged On Any Given solution and and without letting go this stage is for the brainstorming is to find the best solution for the given scope for the given brief and perhaps finding the best way forward and value engineer the heck out of this project early involvement in the designs and design meetings of contractors gives you that perspective and give you that chance to to actually de deliver projects and design solutions that be better placed in the given circumstance and once we have that once all of the Consultants architect engineer contractor cost consultant when everyone's everyone's happy with several different solutions all Been Working incrementally regurgitating Solutions towards one and final Way Forward once we got that in place now we can start thinking about preparing preparing and derogating that that initial brief that is now enhanced by the by the existence of the actual design and the actual tangible and visual visual asset it's time to give some meaning to that visual Parts it's time to think about how to approach the planning which is my point four on the list of things that I'd like to discuss it needs to you know analyze the s conduct a thorough analysis considering such factors as location topography access and environmental constraints understands the context and surroundings to to place that building how it should be placed and so we can argue that the planning that that's that is the best way forward you see that early and engagement with all of the stakeholders and not only the ones that actually driving the driving the brief driving the agenda of the building but people surrounding the building how we can bring value to this to these people after all this building is placed within their environment and if they can if it can enhance it it will be better perceived by everyone around it and it will be used better we'll find the you know better better we we get to find out the expectations from people you know what sort of requirements of the local area what are the requirements of the local areas what other the idiosyncrasies you know and any other special consideration that the people may have sometimes it's it's great as a part of the given of as the given driving force as a given money Drive money driving force we can create some additions to the projects we never perceived before essential or or needed see green spaces are very often the great place but maybe aligning the green spaces with with 50 minutes city concept and we have a great circulation area for people to enjoy and maybe to have a little break as they go and travel from place a to place B see what sort of planning policies are in place for the given area you obviously we have a national framework but but there are those local aspects that need to be addressed too not not all of the areas are the same and you know not excluding green bells and areas of outstanding natural beauties conservation areas and such there's so many different so many different facets to to the aspects of planning and and how to approach it in in best fashion it's very often the time when the idea of the project is being communicated with the planning office as an outline for the discussion so we can achieve most and best for the for the given project it is the time now when we think how to how to reach building regulation compliance who do we need on board what aspects are there there there's quite few not only structural soundness is important although that's the first one on the list we need to think about the fire fire proofing of the building how people will evacuate it or not during the event of fire how to how to stop the spread of fire internally and and externally and you know how to address all of the different aspects taking in consideration the layout and the materials used obviously need to have those building energy efficient and is it great to rely on hedak approach use using you know electrical equipment to to drive drive the Air Drive the the environment control the environment within the building it's may be better to actually rely on on physics on natural ventilation on thermal mass of the building or perhaps combining the both which which can be the best of the both both walls you see from my experience the best buildings are the buildings that are thermally stable the buildings that don't need much of an influence to to remain where they are with the temperature and the quality of air within it so these are the buildings with with good thermomass which are well insulated where you can store all that heat that you generated rather than just hit the air and once it's gone it's gone we hit elements that maintain it and the same way same way around we cool elements and they stay cool for longer so in the hot hot days we don't need to rely on the on the air Cod conditioning that much you know how we how we approach the sustainability of the whole thing how accessible and inclusive the spaces and building will be these are all very important aspect that will have to be thought about right now and then further develop down the road once we know a that we need to think about who will be involved in the in the bloody pro project right right we know what we want to build we know that's that we are reasonably within the budget so it's now now we need to create the team and assign responsibilities to to the particular teams with particular expectations and standards and so on see we we have our design team which are usually Architects that lead the overall design and aesthetic aspects of the building we have our structural Engineers focus on structural integrity and robustness of the design we have our MEPS mechanical electrical and plumbing Engineers that addressed the mechanical electrical and plumbing aspects of the building obviously we can have our Landscape Architects too that will contribute to outdo spaces and green designs we can have our civil engineer years that that can concentrate on drainage and sustainable Urban dra drainage system where we can attenuate some of the waters in little pwns and and and alike and they can work together with Landscape Architects or others we we may need to address the nutrient neutrality aspects of of planning and and think about how to how to create read beds so they can filter the additional nutrients from the site that'll be our design team and there may may be many many members in there but but they're generally three you have your Architects engineers and MPS these are these are the the three that that that private you'll have your project manager Who overseas and coordinate all different members manages timelines budgets and project deliverables when there is one on site you have client Representatives that will provide inputs on project and their goals and objectives review approv designs and decide decides on on the way forward you may think about many different specialist Consultants that that may need to be involved in the later stage specialist contractors who who will Design and deliver part of the projects I think they the one most widely used and and sort of the way that the British British construction projects are delivered right now are the steel work steel work contractors Fabricators who take the general design of steel framing deliver the collection designs and Fabrication drawings and fabricated the they build and then deliver and erect that on site but there will be different ones as well the ones concerned in balconies and ter terally decoupling them from the building you know the acousticians you know the vibration Specialists you know some buildings they need to be vibrationally isolated from the surroundings like concert holes lightning designers or any other there there plora of them and now is the time to identify who should do what and when put them into a responsibility Matrix and go out there and find the best one for the project it is the time now and it is a point 7 to outline the specifications of the project what sort of materials and finishes will be used later on provide a broad overview of materials and finishes to be used spe as the time to specify key characteristic and quality standards for them we need to think about the performance requirements outline the performance criteria for various building components specify standards for structural thermal and acoustic performance think about the compliance with regulations and show that the specification aligns with building regulation in and Industry standards include any specific requirements stipulated by regulatory regulatory authorities we need to think about the sustainability features how we can make the building energy efficient and what sort of systems to use that's that's this is the part where we where we hone on when we concentrate when we put that that bit together for further development down the line and once we done all of it we need to check how it's How it actually addresses the brief and whether that brief needs to change and very often that brief do change as we go on finding the best solution forward we usually as we go on with the design as as we develop it we consult the client to show him you know which way we going with the project you know what we see it's important for it we update that brief based on the client's preferences and approvals it's and then we go back to the board and then we tweak it a little bit more and try to make the most of it and then we go back to the client and do it again we assess the feasibility of of the project in more detail in terms of construction cost and compliance and then then we adjust as I say it's iterative process we look into the the client inputs we design the solution or several Solutions We compare them we talk to the client about them we take all different aspects in consideration we update the brief according to the findings and and and how we develop the building we we look at the risk associated with the updated brief as develop strategies to mitigate this risk to ensure the project success and we document document document we need to update all of the project brief ensuring the clarity and transparency and doesn't happen on the word of mouth we need to have it in black and white so it can be contractor Iz and then expect it and executed later on you see concept design is the design about that careful consideration of all of the different aspects of planning compliance with building regulations and collaboration among the diverse stakeholders so we can set the foundation for successful project and when we regularly update the project brief we ensure that that we got that alignment with achievable goals and we evolved the project rather than just push it [Music] forward so there you have it it's been a little bit long I think but let's summarize it all that around I noted eight eight points that are worth mentioning how that that stage comes together it's number one architectural Concepts it is the concept design phase Architects where the Architects craft the initial vision of the project at this stage it begins with a for side analysis understanding of the of its contexts topography and environmental factors it's time to engage stakeholders to ensure the design aligns with client expectations and local Reg regulations the preliminary designs Concepts should explore various architectural possibilities all while considering functionality Aesthetics and sustainability of Any Given solution a well-defined architectural concept will now set the stage for the project overall success and that success comes and is achieved together Which is my by point two finding the engineering solution once we got the architectural concept we can Define the engineering solution for it and the engineering solution is pivotal for for the for turning the architectural Vision into tangible structure early cost estimates of that solution help set realistic budget constraints while life cycle cost analysis considers the entire project lifp lifespan value engineering practices enhance functionality and quality without compromising costs if anything they bring better value than drive the costs efficient design practices such modular design and standardized components are important and should be used as much as possible and they should stream late construction processes collabor ation between engineering design and cost planning teams should ensure that a cohesive approach fostering economical economically viable and efficient solution is achieved it is a great to add to that team of two of the architect and engineer a contractor and that's my point three contractor plays a crucial role in contributing to that concept design phase as the engineer and architect they may have their own opinions and and experiences of delivering delivering the project but if we cannot have the opinion of the local contractor we don't know the local skills involved and we cannot expect all the skills of all the world being available everywhere the contractors will conduct constructibility analysis provide insight into potential challenges and constraints of of given project in the site will give us an early cost estimation and that can help us align the concept design with budgetary constraints the contract can then then can help to Value engineer and suggest optim optimalization to the design so to make the construction more efficient coll at between designers and contractors that collaboration and Show Site specific considerations are addressed and I think it's very important because now we can idealize and make the best solution but if it's difficult to be built or difficult to be built by local contractors and we don't have that early early involvement with them then we can lose lose lose on opportunities and if we if we do involve them at this stage project can greatly benefit from practical experience of local people leading to realistic and efficient design in point four when we already designed and defined the core team knows what should be built and we know the way how to build it best now we can we can think about delivering the second part of this stage which is preparing all of the documentation all of the strategy for further development and delivery so in point four we think about how to approach planning approaching plan involves a side analysis stakeholder engagement and clear design objectives preliminary designs and concept they explore architectural possibilities and adhere to local planning policies and ensure Regulatory Compliance and this point in a way it it does it does interplay with with the previous three CU you you get into the right solution but then you need to see whether that solution actually plays well with the local area with the local planning expectations local intricacies and local stakeholders so sometimes once you get to your good solution you put it through the Sea of the of the planning expectations and then you may need to tweak it again to deliver to deliver the product to deliver the project that will be actual acceptable from the planning perspective also in point five we need to think about how to reach the building regulation compliance and we already thought about the aesthetic aspects and organizational aspects and engineering aspect and buildability aspects of the project but there's so much more in any given project that need to be thought about than than just that and now is the time to Define how how we're going to do it and to do it we need to fully assess against the the regulations you know our given solution against the resoltion resolu regulations it may be the time to start collaborating with regulatory authorities and to consider sustain sustainability fire safety accessibility of of Any Given solution it's time to put the team down on paper who's responsible for what to what extent to what standard and to what level of definition of the information we need to create that responsibility Matrix which is point 6 that involves defining all of these roles all of the teams project managers client representatives and specialist Consultants we need to know what we need from who we need it or at least what we need to go out and find the people that will deliver for us this Matrix ensures effective collaboration and clear communication among team members in point seven we need to give the project the outline specification an outline specification provides an overview of materials finishes and performance requirements of the project it outlines compliance with regulations and highlights sustainability features guiding the detailed design phase with all of that information and going back and forth between us and the clients it's important to highlight the point8 which is updating the project brief as we got out from stage one preparation and brief we we had a business case defined and showed to us now we develop it further we actually gave it a Tang tangible feel we we gave it a definition and now it's the time to derogate that brief and align it in line with the all of the findings opportunities and Engineering Solutions updating the project brief involves engaging with clients you know and all of the stakeholders and are sure that it aligns with with the with the preferences and there you have it a comprehensive overview of stage two concept design at least in the UK at least how I experiened that I hope this episode has provided valuable insight into the intricate process of blending creativity compliance and collaboration in the early stages of architectural design thank you for tuning in the world of project definition is super interesting and can be complex but like in music when you're good with your principles and played a lot of times it allows you to be creative and create Magic with what pallet of solutions is known to you and within the constraints of the budget and the site before we W wrap up though let me emphasize the Paramount importance of carefully considering and balancing all these aspects in our design process in many small offices particularly on small projects it's unfortunately not always the case that all these factors receive the thorough consideration they deserve in BNA we recognize the significance of this holistic approach even in the context of smaller projects our commitment is to ensure that every project regardless of its size gets the attention and consideration it needs we understand that each element from the architectural concept to engineering Solutions contractor contributions planning compliance and Beyond plays a crucial role in the success of the final outcome in my office we strive to create a culture where even on smaller project this considerations are moving into fabric of our design process we understand that each project is unique and we adjust our approach accordingly considering both size and complexity our goal is to deliver not just a structure but a thoughtfully crafted solution that meets the client's needs aligns with regulations and stands as a testament to the collaborative effort of Architects Engineers contractors and all involved stakeholders in conclusion the synergy of these elements is what transforms a mere concept into a tangible well executed reality thank you for joining me on this journey and I look forward to sharing more insights with you in future episodes as however reach out to me on Lickin thank you for listening please voice up your opinions I want to hear from you toodloo!
Piotr Bytnar BEng (Hons) MSc CEng MIStructE
Chartered Structural Engineer who deals with the Architecture of buildings. His Master's Studies led him to an in-depth understanding of risk and contract arrangements in construction as well as specialist knowledge in soil mechanics.
He and his team help homeowners and property developers to design and deliver construction projects reducing waste in time and the cost. He believes that the construction project is an iterative process that can be well managed and it is best managed if all the aspects of the project definition and management are dealt with in-house or coordinated by one organisation. His team works to all stages of RIBA and ISTRUCTE stages of work and enables contractors to deliver projects on-site providing risk evaluations, methodologies for execution of works and temporary works designs.
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