Writing a brief for the architect

[Lesgrandepotato]

Found this whilst looking through my notes to create an artwork about the build. 

Its the brief we gave the architect, we deliberately did not provide a drawing, just a set of outcomes. (Naturally we had a set of our own thoughts and sketches) but we did not want to lead the architect, instead we wanted to get their vision. Hope it helps others in preparing their brief. 

 

‘...

Rooms:

 

 

4 double bedrooms, pref with Master bedroom having shower ensuite (but not at expense of the room being compromised). Bedrooms can be on different levels to each other but should be contained within a bedroom area where each bedroom has carpeted access to a bathroom and does not need to go into/through another room.

 

Initially Nick will work from a spare bedroom with the ambition of moving his work place to a shed in the woodland.

 

Family bathroom with bath and separate shower

 

Min. 2 toilets within the house

 

Bathroom(s) accessible without having to go into the bedroom wing for the living areas. 

 

Spacious Kitchen / dinner to be a central part of family life. This should have a good connection to the outside world. 

 

Lounge with flame heating source

 

Garage

 

Shared spaces/rooms to include locations for playing musical instruments (pref. with a way of being able to shut door to stop noise going through the whole house), piano location, child play area, library area, desk/computer area for Claire to possibly run a business from home.

 

The house needs to both look forward and backwards. We anticipate having a lawned garden to the rear with woodland paths. This is likely to be where isaac will play so being able to be in the house and supervise this is desirable

 

A view of the waterfall from the house is desirable 

 

Views down the valley from the living area and some beds is desirable

 

We like the feel of the window to the left of the fire that gives the impression that of living in the tree tops ...’ 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jeremy Harris]

That's interesting, as I've just dug out our 12 point brief that we hawked around several architectural practices locally:

 

Quote

Outline Brief for development at Mill Orchard, Fovant

 

1.      Low energy, as close to Passivhaus has possible within our budget.  Wall U values less than 0.15, windows, and any glazed or partially glazed doors, to be triple glazed, to Passivhaus standards if possible.  Whole house air permeability not to exceed the Passivhaus limit of 0.6 ACH at 50 Pa.

2.      No formal Passivhaus or CfSH certification or approval required, other than that needed to meet current building regs and planning requirements (we believe that the current CfSH requirement may soon change).

3.      Reasonably low embodied energy, but we not averse to concrete for additional heat capacity in slab or the internal structure.  The house should have as high a decrement delay factor as reasonably practical within our budget.

4.      Two large bedrooms and two bathrooms, or a bathroom plus a shower room, are required. 

5.      A kitchen and dining room combined is acceptable, but there must be a utility room, WC, living room and two separate study rooms on the ground floor.

6.      Retain an appearance to fit in with the local vernacular, in accordance with planning restrictions imposed by the adjacent listed building and the design guidance for the AONB.  Roof covering currently specified as clay tile, a request can be made for this to be slate, according to previous planning correspondence, and we would prefer a slate finish.

7.      Modest standard of internal fit out, softwood doors OK internally, middle range off-the-shelf kitchen and bathrooms would be OK to stay within our budget.

8.      Hardwood, or softwood, aluminium clad, windows and exterior doors preferred (unless too costly).  Windows to have minimum number of opening lights to reduce air leakage.  Glazing must take into account the risk of excessive solar gain.

9.      External finish is currently specified as Chilmark stone, random course.  Intent is to apply for permission to finish in timber, probably waney edge larch, which we believe may be acceptable to the planning department.

10.  All floors to have solid covering, ceramic tiles in kitchen, bathrooms, utility room and WC, engineered wood elsewhere.

11.  Both bedrooms to have vaulted ceilings, following the full pitch of the roof. 

12.  A mechanical ventilation with heat recovery system will be required, both to provide adequate ventilation levels and reduce heat loss during the heating season, so provision needs to be made for this in any services space.

 

The sad thing was that every single local architect we approached completely and totally ignored the first point, and seemed to have very little understanding of low energy design at all.  It was the only reason that I took the rather desperate step to walk away from having an architect and investing a great deal of time and effort in how to design a house, so I could do it myself.

 

I should add that since then I've become acquainted with a very good local architect who we would definitely have used had we known of her practice in the beginning.

[ragg987]

Those are very brief briefs. I could not let go so much so we gave more guidance in respect of the outcomes we wanted from our build (plot already purchased at this point so we knew how to orient certain features e.g. lounge / kitchen to patio). As above, we were not prescriptive about the look and most of the layout. Here it is, I have deleted personal details. We also provided a "scrapbook" of appealing things and colours etc which the architect asked for as a way to gauge what look we were after.

 

You may be able to spot that this was heavily influenced by A Pattern Language - one of 3 books I purchased early on. Essential reading IMO.

 

In terms of the compromise we arrived at, I have marked in red the stuff we dropped along the way.

Design brief for a self-build house

Objective

An energy-efficient home that must delight, as well as provide an environment for the growth and nurturing of an extended family of six spanning three generations. Budget of £400,000, including services.

Client

###

Background

This ~0.4 acre plot currently has a 3-bedroom c1950s bungalow near the front boundary. It is serviced by mains electricity, water and sewage, plus uses LPG for heating. Our intention is to demolish and build new.

 

We may wish to use the bungalow as an interim home so we can sell our existing home and fund this project. Only feasible if we agree that the replacement dwelling does not need to be sited in the same space and can occupy the middle or rear of the plot.

 

Google maps: ###

Planning history: ###

Occupiers

• me, IT professional with engineering background (50)

• mrs, teacher with publishing background (49)

• son, pre-teen son (12)

• son, second son (10)

• ###, father ex-businessman long retired (80s)

• ###, mother was homemaker (70s)

 

We see this as home for the next 10 years, while the children grow up and move on into adulthood.

Requirements

General

The new building must be efficient to run - resource conservation and efficiency with low maintenance effort and costs. We see that this could be satisfied by Passivhaus or CSH code 4 or 5, however we see no necessity to apply for formal certification to these standards.

 

We intend to live as two ‘separate-but-joint’ families - an annexe permits our parents to live separately whilst still being a part of the main house.

 

We believe that it requires approximately 300m2 of floor area to get what we need (this is an estimate and not a target). Prefer to avoid cramped spaces, balance with not-too-large spaces.

 

Prefer simple and clean lines to fussy, however require attention to detail and will not be happy with a warm box - we could do that ourselves.

• Natural materials and finishes - wood, stone, cotton, lime, clay, (rubber, lino).

• Function with form.

• Long-lasting over cheap and cheerful.

• Durable design and not because it is in fashion.

 

Avoid creating areas that will not be utilised much, e.g. our current home has a separate dining room that is used infrequently as we eat in the kitchen.

 

Plenty of storage all round the place. Closed (cupboards, drawers, doors).

 

Specific attention to noise attenuation through all rooms - reduce noise leakage through location, orientation and materials.

 

More detailed requirements by space or function below - number in parentheses refer to relative priority:

• (1): must have, we believe this is non-negotiable, but might be willing to discuss alternative solutions

• (2): would like to see most of these incorporated

• (3): nice to have if space and budget permit

Commons

Kitchen, living, dining, (~65m2) patio, plus associated larder, toilet, hallway, utility room etc

C01 (1): essentially open plan but probably not one massive rectangular area

C02 (1): the kitchen to be at the heart of this space

C03 (2): no L shapes in kitchen - much prefer galley layout - reduces dead spaces

C04 (3): separate larder area - fresh and dry foods storage, plus fridge

C05 (1): separate washing / drying room. Incorporate drying space with dehumidifier.

C06 (2): distinct boot- and coat-room (might be possible to combine with washing room - dehumidifer function could keep coats and boots dry as well?)

C07 (1): easy access to sun-patio

C08 (2/3): vaulted ceiling in living room

C09 (1): external patio (wood or stone) permits extension outside in good weather - seating, barbecue

Annexe

Lounge, bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette (~60m2)

A01 (1): self-contained unit for our parents

A02 (1): small kitchen area with storage for basic cooking etc

A03 (1): shower to cater for infirm - flat for access, seating

A04 (2): separate entrance - option to separate out for grown kids or rental in future

A05 (1): step-free access within and to commons

Kids realm

Bedrooms (~15m2 each), den (~15m2), bathroom

K01 (1): bedrooms afford privacy from couple’s realm

K02 (1): sufficient space for large / double bed, play area, storage etc

K03 (2): separate kid’s den, potentially in basement

Couple’s realm

Bedroom, en-suite, wardrobe (~25m2)

O02 (2): walk-in wardrobe

O03 (1): en-suite

Bathing space

B01 (1): showers separate from any bath

B02 (2): large bath for shared bathing, potentially in bathroom adjacent to kid’s realm

Entertainment space

Home-theatre / audio room (size is function of ratio)

E01 (1): finished ratio of 1 : 2.16 : 2.96 (height : width : length). Height should be 2.3m minimum.

E02 (1) sound-proofed (vibration and air-borne). If using room-within-a-room concept, then ratio is finished size after all soundproofing.

Study / work space

T01 (1): space for three people to work / study (### works home-based so need to think about noise / privacy). Would open-plan library work? Combine with Library / quiet-room?

Library / quiet room

L01 (2): space for quiet-time - reading, resting

Spare bedroom

S01 (1): guest bedroom with double-bed and access to bathroom (does not have to be en-suite) (~15m2)

Garage

G01 (3): garage not essential, covered area for 2 cars would be nice to have

G02 (1): bicycle / storage area

G03 (1): shed or similar for gardening tools etc, plus storage overspill

[ragg987]

I should add, we found a great architect who took his time to understand us, our brief and our plot, then we iterated through a few layouts before he designed the finished article to PH standards. After Planning was obtained we asked them to detail it as well.

[Jeremy Harris]

It'd be interesting to get the views of our resident architects on these.  Would @Dudda or @caliwag care to comment?

 

I know that, as prospective clients, we wanted to impose as few design restrictions as possible on our architect - what I valued was the design knowledge and understanding that an architect could bring to our new home, and we didn't want to impose too many restrictions.

 

With hindsight, I think we chose our selection of architectural practices to approach badly.   I should have spent more time researching the background, previous work and, in particular, each practices particular field of expertise, before approaching them.  Sadly, I found this very frustrating, as many of the local architects had websites that were so arty and impossible to get useful information from that they were, to all intents and purposes, useless for informing potential clients.

[caliwag]

Aye, an interesting yet vital start. I have thought long and hard about the issue. A good architect can bring much to the table, he/she of course has to be a good listener. I guess at this stage I should point out that my book is packed with, what I think is a logical approach. Aside from spatial requirements (Number of bedrooms, en suites, garaging etc) I suggest that at an early stage a folio of images, to assist the architect, of your collective likes and dislikes, which might inspire, along with internal aspirations, be they shiny and uncluttered, through cosy and welcoming and all the sensual expressions in between. The danger, it seems to me, is if you don't set out a few desires etc that you just get a ready plan from the architect's back file. As an aside it seems that Scott's proposals for the 'much loved' St Pancras hotel in the 1860s were a dusted down, unsuccessful competition entry for a new Palace of Westminster, as a replacement after the earlier fire! 

 

When I first put some of my thoughts, on another forum a decade ago, I received quite a few commissions, but very few files of likes and dislikes, or descriptive words: Thus the site constraints took precedence. Though in one case the client had plainly been pondering on my need for a file that I was posted an inch thick bundle including Disney-like fantasies to overtly Modern...unfortunately the brief omitted several vital spaces like painting display areas and work-out space.

 

However I do think it is vital to see some previous works, ideally with visits, but if that's not practical at least to view some drawings and 3D Cad views if possible. I would also suggest that for everything but the most basic that you avoid 'plan drawers'...they are useful for sorting out the regs, but are unlikely to possess the, dare I say, 'Flair' for your potential pride and joy. Flair is not a word you hear theses days, though it has to be said, a good designer will have the ability to share visions and explore problems easily in three dimensions. It comes from training and experience.