ABSTRACT
The Concept Design stage begins to expand the cost information base of the project. The single figure budget or cost limit provided at the previous Preparation and Brief stage is developed into a skeleton of cost allocations in the form of group elemental costs. This chapter focuses on the RIBA Concept Design or the Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) Outline Proposals stage. It starts the budget-distribution process of the design stage. The chapter begins with a review of the budget-distributing techniques used in the design stages. It notes that make risk allowances for the following: design development risk; construction risks; employer change risks; employer other risks; inflation to tender date; and inflation during construction period. It is important to remember that in the Strategic Definition, Preparation and Brief and Concept Design stages the final design is still fluid and no irrevocable commitment has been made to a particular design solution.
