A
good brief is essential to ensure that the objectives and aspirations
of the school and its community are turned to reality when the
building work is completed, and it will go a long way towards
ensuring a good quality design. A realistic period for the development
of the brief, that allows full discussion, is therefore vital.
All potential users must be consulted when developing the brief
(see Section 3.2) but the immediate
needs of current users should be balanced with a wider view
of the school's needs as users change over time. For new schools,
it can be more difficult to develop the brief in a participatory
way because there will not be any pupils nor will all the staff
have been appointed. In this case, the brief needs to be sufficiently
flexible to accommodate changing demands.
People often find it hard to envisage what they want in building
terms until they have seen it. It is therefore important for
users and designers to talk early on so that the designers can
use their skills to interpret users' accommodation needs.
To help communicate requirements clearly it is worthwhile involving
designers at the briefing stage rather than after the brief
has been settled. It is also worthwhile going on joint visits
to existing relevant projects. Examples of good aspects of other
school buildings can then be built into the brief and aspects
that the users dislike can be pointed out to the designers.
The exact nature of a brief depends on the scale of the project
and the method of |
procurement.
An activities-based brief allows designers more freedom to propose
innovative solutions, but this will only work if time is allowed
for discussion between all interested parties to ensure a satisfactory
outcome. A detailed room schedule will leave less room for misunderstanding,
but will make it more difficult to propose alternative solutions,
and this may reduce the chances of high quality design.
A curriculum analysis (see Building Bulletin 82) is a useful
way of determining the number of teaching spaces required. It
is also important to decide on the other key design priorities
at this stage. For example, if a highly sustainable or flexible
design is needed then it should be specified clearly.
It is particularly important to be clear about priorities for
Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects where there may be
less direct consultation between the users and the design team
at the early stage. Experience of this type of project procurement
tends to show that the process runs most smoothly when user
requirements have been carefully thought through and expressed
in the output specification. These requirements should not stifle
innovation, but must cover any aspects about which users feel
strongly in order to avoid time wasted in producing unacceptable
solutions. It is essential to build time into the programme
for users to discuss the proposals before they progress too
far. |
