Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
asked to make changes, is that simply 'design
development'?
The term 'design development' is frequently used by clients when they do not want the ar-
chitect to charge for making alterations to the design. It must be clearly understood that it
is not a term whose meaning is generally accepted as a term of art, and if it came before a
court, the court would try to give it its ordinary everyday meaning. Most dictionaries define
'development' as a 'fuller working out' or a 'more elaborate form'. That, of course, is not a
change.
Inthiscontextitisusefultoexaminethedesignprocess.Inessence,itisfairlystraightfor-
ward. It is the client's duty to clearly tell the architect what is required. The architect has an
important role in teasing out the information and in separating the 'needs' from the 'wants',
but eventually there should be a reasonably comprehensive set of requirements (the 'brief').
It is the architect's task to satisfy the brief with the design. If the design, viewed objectively,
can be said to satisfy the brief, the architect's task is completed for that stage. It is often the
case that after having seen the brief set out as a design, the client will realise that some of
the requirements in the brief were misguided or unnecessary, but that does not detract from
the fact that the architect has completed that stage.
In practice, most architects will amend the design without charge, sometimes quite ex-
tensively, to satisfy the client's changes of mind. It is this willingness which is probably
responsible for the general view that it is the architect's task to keep changing the design
until the client is satisfied with it. One wonders what the reaction of a painter and decorator
wouldbeifaclient,havingrequestedaroompaintedindarkgreen,hadachangeofmindon
seeingtheresultandexpectedthepaintertoredecorateinbeigeatnoextracost;then,dissat-
isfied with the beige, decided on light blue and so on. Although the analogy is not perfect,
it is somewhat similar to what architects are commonly expected to do. Once the architect
has satisfied the client's brief, all future changes should be subject to a charge. What can be
described as 'design development' occurs when the initial designs, commonly referred to as
sketch designs, satisfy the brief and the client does not want any changes. The architect then
develops the design by putting in more detail (still in accordance with the client's brief).
In this way, the design develops by being extended and clothed in details, eventually be-
comingasetofconstructiondrawings.Thatisthenormalprocessofdesigndevelopmentfor
which the architect charges a fee agreed before the services commence. Architects are en-
titled to charge additional fees for changes to the design resulting from changes to the brief.
That is not 'design development'; it is simply 'change'.
