Guide to Using the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 - Other - Page 67
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Operating costs are, of course, just one aspect of the whole life cycle of a
building and just one of a number of Project Outcomes. Project Outcomes are
all those changes that take place as a direct result of a project, bringing benefits
not just in relation to cost but to a number of other subjects, including social
and environmental factors. It is becoming increasingly important to give full
consideration to Project Outcomes and they are therefore given due prominence
in the RIBA Plan of Work 2013.
The successful achievement of the Project Outcomes stated in the Initial Project
Brief will be particularly obvious where a client is commissioning a new building
and moving from one facility to another, as direct comparisons can be made, but
it is not always so easy. Project Outcomes that might be stated in the Initial and
Final Project Briefs might include:
• reduced reoffending rates in a prison
• reduced post-operative recovery times in a hospital
• better exam results in a new school, college or university
• increased footfall for a shopping centre
• an increase in borrowing in a library or increased diversity of users
• more use being made of community spaces
• an improvement in collaboration between departments, or
• better environmental performance.
From the list above it can be seen that the number of potential Project Outcomes
is endless. Determining the desired Project Outcomes is an essential briefing
skill and stating them in the Initial Project Brief provides added focus to the
design stages as the design team considers how the Project Outcomes can be
achieved. Indeed, Research and Development may be required in order to assist
in the design process. For example, recent research in relation to hospitals has
considered how colour influences hospital environments and how the recovery of
patients and infection control are improved by single-bed patient rooms. Project
Outcomes, however, must be focused: too many might mean that design activities
fail to target the most important aspects, and too few could lead to opportunities
to harness the design process more effectively being lost.
Well defined Project Outcomes are an essential part of a circular design process,
providing Feedback to help inform future projects, and clients who undertake repeat
projects understand their benefits. In these circumstances, further rigour needs to
be applied as the Project Outcomes must be measurable in order to determine if
they are successfully achieved and capable of being benchmarked against other
similar projects to allow increasingly robust outcomes to be stated in successive
briefs. Measuring also facilitates sharing of information and continual improvement.
Measuring can be objective or subjective. For example, energy usage targets can
be objectively measured, whereas the success of a play space is a subjective
topic, although user surveys can provide a more objective evaluation if they are
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