How to write a good brief

Start with why

Before size, style or budget, ask: why do you want this building? What will it make possible? A hospital, a school, a home and an office all begin with a purpose and with people. Write it in a few plain sentences. If you can't, the project is not ready yet.

The five questions

Who will use it? Describe the people: how many, what ages, what needs, at what times. Include those who work in the building as well as those who visit. See also Architecture begins with use.
What will happen there? List the activities, not only room names. A "meeting room" might be a boardroom, a classroom or a place for a family to sit. The activity decides the design.
Where is it? The site, its neighbours, its climate, its constraints and any existing buildings. If you have surveys, share them. If not, a survey is usually the first thing to commission.
What can you spend, and by when? Give a realistic budget range, including fees, fit-out and other costs, and an honest date. Explain what matters most if you cannot have it all.
How should it feel? Describe the character you want, with words, places you like and images, as well as ones you do not like. We can often learn as much from what you dislike as from what you love.

Before size, style or budget, ask: why do you want this building?
How to write a good brief

The practical parts

A brief should also cover:

Size and rooms. Approximate floor areas and numbers. These can be refined, so they need not be exact.
Growth. How the organisation or family might change in ten or twenty years.
Technical needs. Special equipment, security, accessibility, environmental targets and any rules you know about.
Operations. Who will run the building, and what can they afford to maintain?
Decision-making. Who decides, and how are decisions made? Projects slow down when this is unclear.

Say what you do not know

A good brief admits uncertainty. List the questions that are open, and the risks you see. We can help work through them. It is better to be honest than to give a false answer.

Keep it short and alive

A brief does not need to be long. Many of the best are one or two pages, with a few clear priorities. It should also be able to change as you learn. The first brief is a starting point, and we will refine it together during the early stages.

Things that make briefs worse

A list of rooms with no purpose.
Copying another building without asking why it worked.
Too many priorities, so that none is a priority.
A budget that does not match the ambition.
A brief that is written by one person and never shared with those who will use the building.

How we can help

If you are not sure how to write a brief, we can help you develop one, with workshops, site visits and questions. See also Feasibility and strategic briefing and Working with JOOM: agreements.

In short

Know why you want it, who it is for, what will happen there, what you can spend and how it should feel. Then tell us, as clearly and honestly as you can.

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