ABSTRACT
In the UK work is traditionally carried out to the RIBA Plan of Work. It is often used to determine when and how much the architect and others in the design team are paid. The orientation and footprint of the building can affect the ability to harness natural resources such as sunlight, heat and natural ventilation and at the same time alleviate problems caused by wind chilling and there are design solutions to improve this further such as automatic shutters and solar shading. As the size of a project diminishes, the design cost as a proportion of the overall cost increases as the time taken for the design is disproportionately higher. The increase of the foundation design may not be substantial initially, until the weight of the multi-storey solution requires a different design solution. Buildings such as sports centres, swimming pools, tiered lecture theatres and conference facilities will require extra height because of their specific design requirements.
