Design guidance

The theory and practice of building design and construction continually develop through research and testing. Existing and new ideas establish principles which can help to inform current performance. For the building designer, there are many sources of reference to help to create the best possible design solutions, ranging from providing inspiration, best practice advice and mandatory requirements, illustrating how things could, should or must be done’. Typical areas of design guidance include the following:
•    Published textbooks: Historical and current practice for construction, details and procedures can be purchased, are held in libraries or in some cases can be accessed electronically.

•    Best practice publications: Professional organisations disseminate information and design exemplars. For example, the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) publish excellent literature on urban design; the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) advise on ways of reducing crime through their ‘Secured by Design’ material, and various Government publications help with design for disabled access and use.

•    Databases: Numerous collections of useful material are available in database form including the Barbour Index for construction, materials, manufacturers details, statistics, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) product selector and the Einstein Surveyor’s Channel.

•    Internet: Web-based material is available in every area of design and construction, and many web pages provide useful links. Most search engines lead to useful material, but don’t accept the first answer as definitive, and beware the general enquiry which yields 648,754 hits. It could take several hours to trawl through to very little advantage.

•    Media publications: Public interest in both design and construction has increased recently following successful television programmes, notably Channel 4’s ‘Grand Designs’. Other programmes and magazines contain useful guidance about property, particularly for interiors and landscaping.

•    Professional journals: Various professional magazines present news and promote debate, together with explanations and explorations of theory and practice. As well as technical guidance, many magazines review innovative schemes with reflections on their suitability and success.

•    Statutory instruments: The Building Regulations, British Research Establishment (BRE) research publications, British Standards and Codes of Practice, National Planning Guidance on principles of development outline requirements for new buildings. Local Planning authority design guides dictate expectations for planning applications in their own areas, and for specific development sites.

•    Design research, refereed papers and journals: Higher-education institutes, government- and industry-sponsored bodies publish information on a wide range of subject areas including design theory, historical and cultural context, current practice, ergonomics, user needs, structures and materials. Research sometimes leads to publication of design ‘tools’ helping to methodically examine sustainability or life-cycle costing for example.

•    Manufacturers literature: Manufacturers and suppliers published guidance and recommendations on the use of materials and assembled products, controlling the way that they are expected to be used in order to support guarantees of performance. Failure to comply with limitations can render specifies and users liable for consequential difficulties.

•    Precedent: Examination of what has been designed and built already is clearly a good guide to the designer in terms of the potential for repetition and how to minimize the risk of avoidable problems.

In most cases, guidance comes as a result of experience. Advice follows assessment of performance over a period of time, or describes how an element in the design process may perform under certain circumstances. In some cases the information may be objective, factually based and reliable. In others it may be subjective based on someone’s value judgment.