Those who do not satisfy the user or are not accepted by the general public have the shorter end of the stick than their competition, especially in the residential and retail sectors.
We would like to inform you, as builder-owner and investor, about the steps that make up a good design, what you should pay attention to when choosing your architect and how a software like PlanRadar supports you along the way and also afterwards.
Construction planning is a complicated process where many things can go wrong. Learn now:
- Which aspects must be considered in the design and concept development,
- Which steps lead to an adequate design and construction plan,
- About the consequences of bad planning and
- How PlanRadar protects you against them.
Construction project plan – step by step
We understand the term “ensemble” to mean all those influencing factors that can have an effect on a new building or an object that is being redesigned. As a rule, a building project is not intended as a stand-alone landmark but must fit into an existing structure. This circumstance results in some cases in very narrow guidelines that an architect must adhere to. Below you will find the first steps of the design planning. If you are in cooperation with a planner, make sure that none of these steps are circumvented!
For example, load the legally binding land-use plan into the PlanRadar interface now and watch how your architect starts his work based on it. We will provide you with a 30-day trial version free of charge!
Point 1: The zoning and development plan
Land use and development possibilities are one of the most fundamental points of planning. You determine which type of construction a municipality permits on a specific building site. These restrictions are unavoidable. It does not make sense to aim for a reclassification. Getting them approved is rare and often takes a lot of time. Before you invest in developing land, make sure that your building project is feasible at that point. Your planners also have to take these regulations into account. Restrictions may apply to the type of use of the building, its height, its design, the percentage of the overbuilt area or its positioning.
Point 2: Legal requirements
Legal requirements for the building itself run through the entire planning process. Just think of escape routes, fire protection measures, barrier-free construction, parapet heights, and other requirements. However, especially at the beginning, it is important to think about the distance between areas, to determine the need for free space or to calculate how many parking spaces you have to legally offer. Together with the guidelines of the construction plan, points 1 and 2 severely limit the dimensions of your future structure.
Point 3: History and Morphology
Especially when planning large projects, you pay particular attention to the fact that the building structure is accepted and maybe already used by neighboring buildings. An urban morphological analysis is a good way to do this. People act out of habit. Try to find out on what basis a settlement or urban district has orientated itself on its basis so far. If there are axes drawn through possible waters (streams, rivers, canals), roads are aligned to a common center. Often there is a central place or axis of view to a cultural or religious building. The main traffic axis and movement areas of a city change, if only very slowly at all. Main shopping streets can often be traced back to an origin that is several hundred years old.
If you use this knowledge you can position or develop buildings in such a way that they correspond to the natural processes of a grown community. If possible, do not put a stop to it. People tend to circumvent them or at least react to them with indignation. This reduces the value in two ways.
- Fewer customers and less purchasing power in retail
- Loss of real estate value due to lack of demand
Point 4: The social milieu
Define your target group as precisely as possible and compare the result with the environment surrounding the object. If your target group and the environment match, start planning according to the requirements of your target group. For example, young families looking for housing attach importance to open spaces, playgrounds, common areas, an open neighborhood and a good infrastructure. Make sure you meet these needs.
Point 5: The infrastructure
What opportunities does your environment offer you?
- Connection to the center/public transport
- Local suppliers & doctors
- Schools, universities and kindergartens
- Cultural offers (museums, cinemas, bars etc.)
If all of them are missing but offer a decisive added value and also make your project more interesting for the customer, you should consider integrating such an offer into your project.
Point 6: The climate
The weather and the climate are two variables that are not within the sphere of human influence. Nevertheless, experience, precipitation rates, hours of sunshine and temperatures must be considered. Roof constructions, room sizes, ventilation, insulating technics, and materials are decisive, apart from the exposure of an object, if one intends to build for the well-being of the users. Shading studies and the orientation of a building towards a particular direction are only the beginning of considerations, that contribute to building with the environment and thus reduce long-term costs (e.g. air conditioning).
Point 7: The Room Program
You use the room program to determine which requirements the design must meet. Are you interested in retail space, shops or rental apartments? How much storage space or cloakrooms do you need? Is an underground garage required? Are public toilets necessary, if yes, how many? How large must a foyer be, etc….??? All these questions must be answered first.
Point 8: The floor plan
The floor plans, as well as views, sections, and renderings, should be able to answer most of the questions that have arisen so far. A successful ratio of net to gross floor space, in terms of profitability, should by now have been established in the planning. Just like outside an object, i.e. in the public area of a city, processes within an object become routine over time. Optimized functionality must be guaranteed. Sanitary facilities directly at the entrance of a restaurant or unnecessarily long access areas and detours interfere with optimized functionality. A floor plan, like good construction programs, must be planned as intuitively for the user as possible. What is too complicated is often rejected by the masses. This is exactly where PlanRadar comes in and translates the simplicity of a successful floor plan into the possibilities of project management software based on a construction plan.
Construction project – tracking famous fails
Source: The City of Culture
One of the most famous mistakes was made by star architect Peter Eisenman. Under the name “The City of Culture”, a separate city of culture was created in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on a hill next to the pilgrim city itself. The aim was to establish Santiago de Compostela not only as a destination for religious pilgrims but also for “cultural pilgrims”. The complex undertaking, include independent infrastructure, bus connections, cultural events and everything else that the heart could desire. The design remains a pearl of contemporary architecture, yet the place ended up being a failure because it was not accepted by the people.
The City of Culture was a far cry from what has shaped the city historically and morphologically, the Spaniards were not prepared to leave their old city center for the new city. Humans are creatures of habit and find it difficult to accept new and sudden changes
Examples such as “The City of Culture” are a dime a dozen. They confirm our assumption that a good draft is distinguished by much more than just a good design.
PlanRadar is not a “blueprint home tracker” that only focuses on the needs of single-family home construction. With our cloud based construction software, we promote interdisciplinary cooperation between all parties involved in a construction project right from the planning stage. We are committed to a qualitative building culture that is both time- and cost-saving for people.
Architecture and civil construction app
No matter whether your project is infrastructure construction, building construction or a civil engineering project, even the preliminary planning right up to the first draft or building plan are no frills for the planners. The construction plan and the implementation planning are the basis of all subsequent work steps. Up to now, it is necessary to cover all kinds of areas that can only be tackled by a competent team and construction remote monitoring.
The PlanRadar App for buildings and construction project tracking makes the construction plan the basis of your transdisciplinary communication. The technical input of all participants is communicated in real time via our app without anyone being ignored or uninformed. You record changes in the construction plan with the help of “tickets” and assign these to the person responsible. The completion status can be tracked anytime and from anywhere. It is the all-in-one construction document control software. With so many aspects to consider, we want to make your life easier and provide you with a tool that documents every step you take.
Contact us today and take a step into the digitized future of the construction industry. Efficiency 2.0!
