The RIBA Plan of Work 2013

Building a solid reputation for delivery is as important to any architectural practice as being renowned for its design skills. Mies van der Rohe stated, ‘God is in the details’, and if conceptual designers lose their relationship with the art of detailing and seeing how things are built, then the concepts prepared by them will become uninformed, fl awed and difficult to construct. The RIBA Plan of Work 2013 provides a continuous framework for the design, development, detailing and delivery of a project. Stage 4 Technical Design, Stage 5 Construction and Stage 6 Handover and Close Out are particularly associated with the delivery of a building. This guide starts by illustrating how a successful outcome for Stage 4 Technical Design is predicated on the quality of the information produced at Stage 3 Developed Desig n. This consistent requirement for high-quality information is repeated at each of the Information Exchange points between the stages.

Introducing the Stage Guides

This book is the third in a series of guides for architects to the RIBA Plan of Work 2013. The first book in the series – Briefing: A Practical Guide to the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 Stages 7, 0 and 1 – deals with the continuous cycle found in building projects. As buildings are put into use, information can be gathered, disseminated and analysed at Stage 7 before being used to inform the briefing process for future projects at Stages 0 and 1. The second book in the series, Design: A practical guide to RIBA Plan of Work 2013 Stages 2 and 3, describes the development of a project from the brief, into Concept Design and through Developed Design. It establishes the content of many of the project strategies and tools that are required to develop a building design. This, the third book in the series, commences at the end of Stage 3 once the design has been coordinated. It describes how to turn the design information into a Technical Design that will enable the project to be constructed. It deals with the role of the design team during construction and what happens at Stage 6 when the building is handed over.

What is this book about?

Transforming an exciting design concept into a building that delivers all of the outcomes envisaged for a project takes a great deal of experience and a wealth of technical expertise, and demands the highest level of collaborative

0.1 Each book in the Stage Guides series mapped against RIBA Plan of Work 2013.

behaviour from the project team. Stages 4, 5 and 6 of the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 provide a framework to support the project team in developing the Technical Design, completing the construction and handover of the building to the client. It is the point at which the contractor and the specialist subcontractors become fully engaged with the project. The project lead and the lead designer must ensure, as the team grows, that they have conveyed the vision for the building. It is the time when a Developed Design is turned into Technical Design information that will enable the project to be built.

To achieve a successful start to Stage 4 Technical Design, it is important to understand the status of the project at the end of Stage 3 Developed Design. Many of the strategic decisions will have already been made by the project team, namely:

• What is the chosen procurement strategy?
• What is the overall time available for the project programme?
• How much has been allowed for in the project budget?
• Who are the key members of the project team?

Stages 4, 5 and 6 under the microscope

What to expect in the Information Exchange at the end of Stage 3 and how to review the status of the project will be considered in Chapter 1. The transition from Stage 3 to Stage 4 is key to a successful construction stage; the design should already be coordinated in order to avoid unnecessary work in Stage 4. Chapter 1 will describe what needs to be in place before Stage 4 should be commenced.

Chapter 2 explains how to get started on the Stage 4 Technical Design. It will describe what level of information needs to be provided at this stage, how to develop the Design Responsibility Matrix created at Stage 1 and how to develop a Design Programme for this stage. Many of the decisions taken during Stage 4 are affected by the procurement route selected at Stages 2 or 3 or even earlier, and within this chapter there is an explanation of how this selection affects Stage 4.

In order to complete Stage 4 the project team will need to undertake a number of key support tasks, and these are described in Chapter 3. This chapter covers how to update the strategies developed in the earlier stages for health and safety, maintenance, operation and handover together with the Sustainability Strategy. The chapter also describes the outstanding approvals that may be required, how to ensure that the project details are complete and how to undertake a value-engineering exercise if this is required.

Having completed Technical Design at Stage 4, the next stage deals with the construction of the building. At Stage 5 the responsibility for the project is handed to the contractor, with the rest of the project team there to ensure that they have all of the information required to complete the building in accordance with the Construction Programme. Stage 5 will include all the activities to be completed on site as well as any of the off-site manufacture of components that have been designed for the building. Chapter 4 will describe how to prepare for this stage – in particular, dealing with contractor mobilisation, what to do if you are appointed as contract administrator, how to deal with design queries from site, how to prepare for a site inspection and how to approach the processes required throughout the construction phase of the project. It will describe how to prepare for the Information Exchange at the end of Stage 5, including what to include in the ‘As-constructed’ Information. It will touch briefly on what is required to complete the building, and how to prepare for handover and occupation.

Unlike other stages, the commencement of Stage 6 Handover and Close Out is not predicated on the completion of Stage 5 Construction. It is a stage that must be started some time before practical completion is reached in order that the services installation can be adequately commissioned, the project team have sufficient time to ensure that the appropriate quality is reached and the documentation can be prepared for the completion of the project. Chapter 5 will describe the activities to be completed leading up to handover. It will highlight the responsibilities of different members of the project team at this stage. What happens at handover will be referred to, and there will be a description of the post-occupancy evaluation services that may be commissioned by the client to monitor the building during Stage 7 In Use. In addition, the project team need to induct the client and/or owner of the building into the way in which it is designed to work, and this is conveyed in the form of a User Guide to the building. Finally, there will be a description of the activities to be completed in order for the client to gain occupation.