General Design

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list of considerations - your architect and other specialist advisers should have already asked you all the right questions but here are one or two prompts about issues that might require a little local knowledge:

• Does the overall design fit its surroundings and comply with any stipulations in outline planning consent?
• Does the design take full account of the layout of the site and any issues such as seasonal flooding/erosion etc?
• Are initial surveys still valid in the light of the final design? John Wheatley College had to undertake further geotechnical surveys once the building footprint was known.
• Does the layout of the site take account of all access considerations including pedestrian, bicycle, public transport, parking?
• Does the design take account of cleaning, maintenance and waste disposal considerations e.g. is it possible to clean the windows without blocking access routes?
• Have you considered the functions going on in each part of the building relative to one another in relation to considerations of noise, health and safety hazards, special security requirements etc?
• Have you considered the functions going on in each part of the building relative to one another in relation to sight-lines and issues of privacy and security?
• Have you considered the design in relation to your Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery plan to identify issues and/or opportunities?
• Have you thought enough about future changes? There may be a need to review your plans particularly where planning or other issues have caused a delay to the project e.g. a college planning to build a photographic darkroom found that the digital revolution overtook them whilst they were involved in a planning dispute.