Preparation and Briefing
You get to pick what makes you feel comfortable.
The Bairns Hoose should be discreet, consistency across all the houses.
Equal, somewhere everyone can access.
More choice for people who have been denied it. "
At the initial stage of a building project the focus is on whether there is a sound business case for the project - are there adequate funds available to deliver the project and to run the building once operational? Typically, this is overseen by a project manager within the client organisation, supported by a range of professionals, such as architects, principal designers, engineers and quantity surveyors who are appointed to support the design development. At this early stage of the project their appointment may be restricted to the development of a feasibility study or option appraisal of several potential sites.
The appointment of a professional design team addresses one of the requirements, under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) for an organisation to: ‘make suitable arrangements for managing a project, including making sure other duty holders are appointed as appropriate and sufficient time and resources are allocated to them’. The Health and Safety Executive website sets out the scope of the CDM Regulations and should be familiar to any client organisation considering such a project.
Any planning considerations should be reviewed, such as required changes to the class-use of a building or whether a building is listed or in a conservation area or not, because these may make it harder to achieve consent and can increase the cost of any development.
The way the building will look and feel is an important part of the brief. In the case of a Bairns Hoose, it is equally important to set out what would not be appropriate. The aspiration for the Children First North Strathclyde Bairns Hoose was for a space which felt safe, calm, comfortable and homely.
Client needs and objectives should be clearly set out, with space and technical requirements confirmed. Usability, accessibility, inclusion, safety, privacy, soundproofing, comfort and wellbeing all need to be considered.
The impact on the local community, access to parking or public transport and the need for a discrete entrance are all aspects of a a Bairns Hoose which need to be understood. The construction impact of the development forms an important element of any project brief and raises questions relating to social responsibility, efficient construction methods and opportunities to reuse or repurpose existing buildings to minimise carbon. While energy performance requirements may be dictated by the building regulations, it is helpful to consider client aspirations for sustainability and potential use of renewable technologies.
Any operational and maintenance objectives should be set out at the preparation and briefing stage and key functional criteria established. It is also important to be clear about project risks at this stage, so that these can be managed and minimised. For the Children First North Strathclyde Bairns Hoose many of these different threads of the brief merged or overlapped but it was important to clearly set out the vision and understand the challenges at the start of the project.
Once the brief for the project has been concluded the aim for this stage of the project is to establish whether a scheme is feasible and to identify any fundamental objections to the proposals. Assessing the suitability of a site or a building for conversion requires many factors to be considered and appraised. The following factors were considered as important by the team for the Children First North Strathclyde Bairns Hoose but may vary depending on the locality and priorities:
- Access to a safe, private outdoor space
- Adequate space for private on-site parking
- Central to the area and accessible
- Private and discreet
- A quiet setting, not subject to excessive noise
- Capable of conversion or adaptation to meet all the functional requirements
- Access to two commercial broadband connections
The following factors were considered undesirable for Bairns Hoose:
- Be adjoined to a school
- Be a recognisable or institutional building
- Be shared with other uses which might cause conflict or anxiety
At this stage of the project, it can be difficult to identify a realistic project but a cost consultant should be able to provide a budget estimate of the different options being considered, so this can be weighed against the other demands.
The aspiration at this stage is that one option is identified as having the most potential to meet the brief.
Of the various options considered by the team in North Strathclyde the best was felt to be the conversion of a simple bungalow, which was used by a housing association for supported living accommodation but had been vacant for some time.
The building needed upgrading and required a change of ‘class use’ from residential to office use but it provided an opportunity to create the Bairns Hoose in an existing house in a quiet suburban area, very much a key aspiration for Children First and partners. The building also had a dilapidated garage which could be demolished to provide space for the new court facility and a good outdoor space to both front and rear, providing space for parking and a private and contained garden to the rear.
