Atomik: Studio Conversations #11

The Grey Blur of RIBA Stage 3 (+)

By Max Fraser - Delivery Director, Atomik

With projects taking an increasingly long time to progress from concept to tender, clients and developers are trying to make up for lost time by putting their projects out to tender as quickly as possible, often without full information to hand.

Simple and complex projects are affected by over-stretched, under-funded planning departments. Even the Pre-Application Advice service that planning departments offer doesn’t necessarily make things easier - obtaining advice adds time to the process and the advice is not legally binding. Here at Atomik, a complex retrofit project for 35 flats has stalled in planning for a couple of years, giving the distinct impression that the planning department has ‘larger fish to fry’.

As a result, clients are sitting on assets for prolonged periods, while finance, materials, and labour costs are steadily increasing. This explains the inclination to go straight to tender based on the magical ‘Stage 3+’ information pack.

The Devil is in the Detail (or lack of)

At first glance this is where the beauty of stage 3+ pack comes into play. An information pack is provided to a contractor to price without having to wait for Stage 4 Technical Information to be completed. The risk for all involved is high however; particularly for a single stage tender where many details are unresolved and planning conditions and building control approvals are up in the air. In that scenario, a two-stage tender is a more effective alternative - enabling a main contractor to work with the design team to finalise the design intent. However, this also takes valuable time.

To make matters even more complex (and partly as a symptom of this process), architects have been rapidly de-skilling; relinquishing their technical skills in favour of a more conceptual role. The result is a skills gap in the technical delivery of services. To avoid the riskier technical stages, some practices take the decision to walk away from a project after RIBA Stage 3; relying on the contractor’s design team to complete the design rather than considering novation themselves.

Working onsite directly with contractors in a variety of roles, we see the good, bad, and ugly side of novation from a contractor’s perspective. The positive is an agile team with site experience and technical knowledge that can build and adapt to an evolving situation, particularly on a retrofit/extension/refurbishment project. The negative is a novated team that struggles with the change in contractual relationships (their client is now the main contractor) and their new roles in the delivery of a project. And the ugly is where the design team is novated and has little or no site experience. An example is when an architect struggles to understand why sections cut directly from Revit offer scant detail, but continues working to satisfy an architectural vision potentially flawed by plans that are fundamentally unbuildable, unsuitable, or over-complicated. This might be because of lack of technical knowledge or skill, where simpler detail would achieve a better outcome.

Where does the magic really happen?

Unless the planning process obtains the funding it deserves, or sweeping changes are made to construction procurement and certification, we are hindered with the system we have.

The technical stages are where the real magic happens (not at Stage3+). We relish the opportunity to understand how things are made and go together. Seeing this gap in the market has offered an opportunity for our business and technical expertise to make a real difference (at the beginning and at the end of projects). The role of a Design Coordinator or Manager with technical and practical experience is an increasingly valuable one; with a great network of sub-contractors and external resources it is even more so.

Whether you are tendering on Stage 3+ information or a full technical set of drawings and specifications, the real key to a successful project is communication, collaboration, and coordination which, if done well, leads to a smoother and simpler construction.