This book sets out the essential activities and inter-relationships involving the client organization and multi-disciplinary design team as they progress through each phase of the job. It guides the client through the preliminary steps needed to start up work; seeking out and appraising a site, studying the feasibility of all ideas and proposals, and showing how to work with all architects and specialist consultants. The tasks to be performed by both architect and client, as well as consultants, are clearly set out, together with appropriate methods of working together until the building design drawings are completed. The book is arranged so that the information relevant to each stage of work can be checked as the project develops. Detailed sequential activity tables and checklists are included for this purpose. This key publication fulfils a vital need for clients who will be enabled to progress the building project more efficiently with the guidance provided. Frank Salisbury is a practising architect and lecturer in architecture for the University of Wales Associate College at Wrexham. He designed many important public buildings during his career with Cheshire County Council's Department of Architecture and as Assistant County Architect, led architectural and multidisciplinary teams in the realization of a great many high quality building projects.

Every building project should start with the development of a brief. A good brief clearly explains what the client wants from the project and provides the design team with the information and inspiration it needs to design a successful building. Moreover, the brief functions a framework for quality management during the project. Authored by Juriaan van Meel and Kjersti Bjørkeng Størdal, this book provides the guidance needed to develop high-performance briefs. Using clear language, it succinctly explains the briefing process, various briefing techniques, and the topics that should be addressed. Also included in the book are examples, checklists, and practical suggestions.

Based on extensive research, this book offers an understanding of the briefing process and its importance to the built environment. The text is illustrated by nine excellent examples of effective practice as well as five model briefs and invaluable process charts.

If you need to understand about engaging the services of an architect, this updated RIBA guide is for you. Straightforward and completely up-to-date regarding legislation, it sets out everything you need to be aware of, for a large or small commercial project. The right architect can bring considerable added value to the success of your project. This guide talks you through all aspects of your project and what you should expect from your architect at each stage - including formal appointment mechanisms, calculating fees and project management responsibilities. This is for commercial clients, both for large or small projects, and especially those who have never carried out this role before, this guide offers a quick and easy overview of the value, mechanisms and context of appointing your architect.

Very few buildings finish on time or at the right price, and clients often criticise the fact that the finished building is not what they expected. Poor communication between the parties at one or more stages of the construction process seems to be the cause, and improved briefing practice has long been recognised as one important area where such communication could be improved. This book examines the briefing process to understand its strengths and weaknesses and the problems involved, draws on the experience of other disciplines and industries, and identifies best practice and purpose innovations in the briefing process. It is strongly industry oriented while drawing on sound research.

Completed projects receive more public attention than the process of their creation and so the myth that architects design buildings alone lives on. In fact, architects work with a great many others and the relationships that develop, particularly with clients, have a significant impact on design. Design through Dialogue explores the relationship between client and architect through the lens of four overlapping activities that occur during any project: relating, talking, exploring and transforming. Cases of design and collaboration range from smaller scale retail, residential and educational projects in the US, Sweden, the UK and the Pacific Rim to large institutions, including Seattle’s Central Library, the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC, the Supreme Court in Jerusalem and the Museum of New Zealand. Material is taken from interviews with clients and architects and research in psychotherapy, group dynamics and design studies. Throughout the book aspects of process are linked to design outcomes to illustrate how architects and clients collaborate creatively.

With the growing significance of the end-user in architecture, the subject of briefing is a re-emerging one in architectural education. Various types of computer programs and database management systems have aided in the organization and utilization of brief information as a framework for designing and identifying potential improvements. Computer-Mediated Briefing for Architects overviews the possibilities and limitations offered by various types of computer programs, such as database management systems, diagramming software, CAD, and BIM. This book offers a practical approach in the accommodation of these programs and is an essential reference for architectural educators, students, and practitioners with hands-on experience in either compiling briefs or using the briefs for design.