The design is the single most important element in creating a new building. Whether it be a house, commercial building or industrial building, building design should be entrusted only to a professional. It is not simply a matter of ‘drawing up a set of plans’. Every building site is unique and has its own set of problems and possibilities. It is the building designer’s task to overcome the problems and to make the most of the possibilities.

Unless it is not practicable to do so, your site will be visited to ascertain all matters affecting it. This includes items such as the view, solar orientation, prevailing winds, land shape and slope, privacy issues, vehicular access, location of neighbouring buildings and any other constraints.

The second step is to discuss the project with the local council or private certifier to ascertain any particular site, or planning requirements. Today, these can be very complex. They include boundary set backs, height limitations, floor space ratios, building envelopes, proposed use and so on.

Detailed discussions must be held to determine your requirements, including your budget. These requirements are known as the ‘brief’. Once all of these steps have been completed, it is time for a ‘design concept’ to be prepared. This is usually a rough outline sketch showing the approximate layout, or perhaps a preliminary floor plan and a very general elevation or two. The concept will then be discussed and modified until agreement is reached on the basic layout and shape of the building. Its detail then will be increased to show finishes, building materials and so forth.

When you are satisfied with the preliminaries, further design elements will be ‘developed’ until the ‘building permit application’ drawings (sometimes referred to as ‘working drawings’) are completed. These documents are critical as they will tell the builder exactly how to construct the building in detail. Firstly, they allow all builders who are tendering on your building to quote for exactly the same thing. If the documents don’t have enough detail or are unclear, different builders will quote on different things and you will be unable to make proper comparisons. Secondly, they form part of your contract with the builder. For this reason, it is particularly important to engage a professional to design and document the project properly.

The need for large amounts of detail is not only confined to new buildings. Additions and renovations often require complete documentation too.

Please remember that good building design exists not only in the aesthetic sense. Good design can also be utilised:

Practically - to take advantage of views and prevailing breezes;

Thermally - to employ principals of environmentally sustainable design (ESD), passive solar design and insulation;

Acoustically - to block traffic noise and to isolate noisy areas within the building;

Technically - by use of modern materials such as engineered timber beams, insulated custom roofing panels, expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulated wall panelling, etc..; and

Financially - because many modern materials can save money when compared with traditional materials.

For new buildings or for alterations and additions, it is necessary to obtain building approval and in some situations, planning approval also may be required. These processes vary from municipality to municipality and, depending on the service you require, involves the completion of application forms, payment of statutory and other fees, and the submission of a number of sets of the drawings. In most cases where planning approval is needed, the local authority requires submission of extra sets of reduced scale drawings in order that neighbours can be notified and offered the oportunity to comment on the proposal. In other cases, additional information may be required such as sun shadow diagrams, a statement of environmental effects, colour schedules, energy assessment, waste management plans and much more.

It also is important to understand who owns the copyright of a design. This normally rests with the person who created it. Thus, if your builder prepares your plans, the builder owns the copyright. This prevents you from calling tenders, and you are stuck with only one quotation! It is highly recommended that only a member of the Building Designers Association be used to design and document your new building. This not only allows you to call competitive tenders, but more importantly, you will be dealing with a designer.

Barry Smale, the former principal of Chevron Building Design holds Queensland Building Services Association (Q.B.S.A.) building designer licence Number 57160 'Medium Rise'. This means that he is qualified to design a wide range of projects including detached residences, duplexes, low rise (up to three storey over a basement carpark) residential developments, commercial buildings and shop and office fit outs, factories, industrial buildings, renovations and additions. He is a Charter Member and a past State Secretary of the Building Designers Association of Queensland Inc. (B.D.A.Q.) and has been a member of that organisation almost since its inception. He also undertakes continuing professional development in order to keep up to date with rapid changes in building design and technology and is bound by the B.D.A.Q. strict Code of Ethics.