Knowing when it’s time to call time

Real lives
We all strive to produce the best and most appropriate design possible. To make it a reality you need to know when to stop honing, says Dan Rennison of contractor Costain

Like all professionals with an interest in design, I am always asking myself what would be right for my clients, be they those who commission a building or those who occupy and use it.

From the moment we are engaged as a design and construct contractor there is always the balance of delivery, best design and time.  As a design manager it would be easy to take a programme for delivery from the project director, engage the designers without discussion, and manage the process from that standpoint. But I don’t believe that would achieve the right results or the best design.

As the professional design client, I understand the need for designers to balance the complexities of brief gathering with the iterations of the process and scheduling demands. The constant review, re-draw and research is, after all, what makes a good designer. That curiosity of ‘is there a better way to do this’, or ‘can we optimise the design to give a better solution’, played out daily in every design office, is what we engage these professionals for.

However, this understanding does not lessen the risks I have to manage on behalf of my company. As designers clarify the brief and progress the design, the need to produce a result in order to meet the programme and deliver on behalf of my company and client becomes more pressing. Discussions can get tricky at this point, as it will usually be clear that given more time and/or budget we could achieve a different solution.  This may work better for the parties involved, either due to increased space, better specification, a more buildable solution, or better value for money.

Occasionally I am placed in a difficult position when, as the wider design team works towards an ever impending deadline, someone will produce a ‘better solution’ in isolation. If the alternative has clear benefits what should be done? Should the work of the other designers be stopped and a meeting held to review the new isolated solution, potentially wasting work and preventing the rest of the team from delivering a co-ordinated design within the schedule? Or should the designer be told the solution is too late and the design must go on as it is, even though this late alteration may have been better?

Striking a balance
A decision must be made between the best design, which cannot be delivered as it might exceed the budget and schedule, and a solution that embodies the best possible design within the constraints set by the client. 

As the industry becomes more aware of this conflict, we have seen a growing number of clients also recognising the benefit of early contractor involvement to review designs and provide buildability and design management advice at the earliest stages. This can help deliver a designed solution that is both buildable and fits their constraints.  However, a greater understanding of these issues and the impact of late alterations is still required.

In my experience the best designers are those that understand the risk of delivery versus the need to stop at the right point at the right moment. Without this all that is produced is a very good design on paper, and not a project that was actually built.

Dan Rennison is principal design manager (south) at Costain