Delivering Your Project in Six Clear Stages

This stage is about understanding your project opportunity, defining your goals and requirements, and making the right strategic decisions on how to approach your project. Together we will consider the pros and cons, opportunities and risks, and project budget for a range of options, before undertaking a comparative analysis and recommending the best option for you to make the most of your opportunity.

We will produce a Feasibility Study document for you which may illustrate several options, for example, illustrative masterplan visions might be prepared in order to determine and shape the brief, and to tease out decisions that will be required on certain topics. These options should not be vetted and appraised at this stage as Feasibility Studies are not part of the design process itself, but are more of a brief development tool.

As there is a direct correlation between cost and a building’s area, the Spatial Requirements do need to be tested against the Project Budget. This stage is about layering detail and requirements into the Project Brief.

Our Stage 1 output is typically a full-colour A3 Feasibility Study document delivered to you in ring-bound hard copy, and digitally as a pdf. This Feasibility Study document will capture a wide range of briefing considerations including zoning, planning policy context, built environment context, any existing site constraints, and outline demonstrate the spatial requirements that can be accommodated on the site.

Some of our Clients will engage us for Stage 1 only, and will keep the Feasibility Study on hand as a useful synopsis of the development potential of their landholding for future reference and financial planning.

If you complete Stage 1 and are ready to proceed to Stage 2, We can help you to select a design team, with appropriate knowledge, skills and experience to deliver the Project Outcomes, ready for Stage 2 to commence.

Stage 2 sets the Architectural Concept for your project. We will assist in sourcing a comprehensive set of Site Information including site surveys, and we will develop design proposals that align with the Site Information and the Project Brief, including the Spatial Requirements.

We will advise you on the need for the appointment of specialist consultants or services based on your project brief. The client team and the design team are the key players in this stage, along with any specialist consultants, whose contributions are required to achieve an Architectural Concept that is both robust and aligned with the Project Brief.

Regular Design Reviews are used to seek comments from you the Client and other Project Stakeholders, and inputs from the design team and specialist consultants, and the design is developed iteratively in response. We will advise you on planning requirements, building regulations, and health & safety regulations. We may seek pre-application planning advice on the suitability of the initial proposal from the local planning authority.

We will use presentation tools including floor plans, elevations (views) and sections (cut-through), 3D visualisations, physical models and moodboards to communicate our design work.

Our Stage 2 output is typically a Stage Report, Stage 2 drawing set, a Project Programme and Responsibility Matrix, to guide the design process. If you choose to appoint a Quantity Surveyor then they will produce a Cost Plan which should demonstrate that the proposals and Outline Specification are aligned to the Project Budget also.

Stage 2 is more about rules of thumb than detailed analysis, although some calculations may be required to progress specific aspects, such as calculating stair or riser sizes. A pragmatic review of what tasks should be undertaken to make the Architectural Concept as robust as possible before Stage 3 commences is required.

Stage 3 is fundamentally about testing and validating the Architectural Concept, to make sure that the architectural and engineering information prepared at Stage 2 is Spatially Coordinated before the detailed information required to manufacture and construct the building is produced at Stage 4.

Detailed Design Studies and Engineering Analysis are undertaken to ratify the assumptions made during Stage 2 and to layer more detail onto the design. Stage 3 is not about adjusting the Architectural Concept, which should remain substantially unaltered, although detailed design or engineering tasks may require adjustments to make sure that the building is Spatially Coordinated.

The lead designer and design team are key to this stage. The client team are involved where Stage 3 coordination requires client decisions. The construction team may also be involved if the selected procurement route requires early contractor or specialist subcontractor inputs.

Design Studies should be aligned to Cost Exercises and the development of the Outline Specification – iterations of the design may be required to ensure the Cost Plan aligns with the Project Budget. Product suppliers and specialist subcontractors might be consulted to test or conclude specific aspects of the design.

A Stage 3 Design Programme is created to make sure that the right tasks are undertaken at the right time. At the end of Stage 3, once the client has signed off a Stage Report that captures all the design development work undertaken during the stage, a Planning Application can be submitted.

If planning permission is required, Midrise will prepare the necessary drawings, documentation and reports in conjunction with the design team. Midrise will make the application on your behalf and lodge with the relevant Planning Authority.

All the design work required to manufacture and construct the building is undertaken in Stage 4.

Any changes required to comply with the conditions attached to the grant of planning permission are incorporated. A review of the project to ensure compliance with building regulations is undertaken during this stage.

Midrise will coordinate and manage the Detailed Design process, including the inputs of other consultants, and prepare tender documentation, drawings and specifications, and any other relevant documentation to enable main and specialist contractors to provide quotations. This may include a further evaluation of the building performance outcomes and life-cycle costing.

You may need to revisit relevant grant schemes discussed and ensure that you have submitted all relevant applications and supporting documentation.

Midrise will also advise on the most appropriate RIAI Form of Building Contract as well as any statutory requirements which need to be complied with. We will also advise on insurance requirements during the construction stage.

It is advisable to seek costings (tenders) from at least three contractors for a project. You should be satisfied that each of the contractors is competent to carry out the work, we can help you with this. You should ask a contractor to see examples of previous work relevant to your scope and speak to previous clients.

The successful tender may not necessarily be the lowest one. In fact, if a tender is very low, the contractor may have missed something. Midrise will coordinate the tender process, and at the end of this stage, we will report on the tenders received.

This project stage is when your project breaks ground on site. Stage 5 comprises the manufacturing and construction of the Building Systems in accordance with the Construction Programme agreed in the Building Contract.

Midrise will act as the administrator of the Building Contract between you and the contractor. Midrise will provide advice on requirements for compliance with relevant statutory requirements (planning, building regulations and health and safety). During the construction stage, Midrise will inspect the building work at regular intervals to ensure that it is being carried out generally in accordance with the contract documents and statutory requirements.

We will provide you with updates at regular intervals on the progress and quality of the work, and any issues which may arise on site. Midrise will also act as the liaison point between you and the contractor, and we will be the main point of contact for queries and decisions to be communicated between you and the contractor.

Midrise will provide technical support to the contractor, and coordinate inputs required from other consultants. We will also issue certificates of payment due to the contractor, in conjunction with the Quantity Surveyor, if one has been appointed.

The issue of the Certificate of Practical Completion by Midrise as project architect is a milestone in the project. At this stage, the contractor hands over possession of the site to you, the client. Midrise will advise of your obligations under the contract, and the necessary insurances you should have in place. The contractor shall provide all necessary certification to Midrise to enable us to complete the certification process.

Midrise will also provide an Opinion on Compliance with Planning Permission and / or exemption from planning control, and an Opinion on Compliance with Building Regulations. These are important legal documents and the original documents should be retained with your title deeds as they may be required for conveyancing purposes.

Stage 6 starts with the building being handed over to you, the client, with Aftercare initiated and the Building Contract concluded.

After the building has been handed over, the construction team rectify any residual defects as promptly as possible. Usually twelve months after Practical Completion, the Final Certificate will be issued, which concludes the contractual involvement of the design and construction teams.

Although Stage 6 commences after the building has been handed over, several tasks may need to commence during Stage 5 to ensure that the handover of the building is as efficient and effective as possible, such as training the users on how to use the Building Systems.

Initial Aftercare tasks need to be initiated and completed. The project team will be interested in the Feedback from a light touch Post Occupancy Evaluation, conducted once any seasonal Commissioning has been completed, so they can understand how the building is performing and whether the building and its systems are being used as planned.

Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) is the process of measuring the performance of a building after it has been handed over to the end user. It evaluates how the ’in use’ scenario compares to the design objectives at the outset of a project.

Feedback on Project Performance will be sought as soon as possible after Practical Completion, before the project team move on to new projects and knowledge is dissipated.