Assignment Task
Scenario
Your private sector client has plans to build a three-storey mixed-use development with a total gross internal floor area (GIFA) of 1260m2 consisting of four shell-only retail units on the ground floor and three 1-bed and two 2-bed apartments on each of the first and second floors, all will be for let. There is space for private residents’ parking to the rear of the building and a limited number of parking bays to the front for customers. The existing brownfield site has been cleared ready for development and is located on the outskirts of a town centre in a location of your choice.
You have been employed as cost consultant on this proposed development and you are aware that the client’s team had previously prepared a rough budget cost for the project as part of the business case. However, the project stalled due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. The client is keen to start work on site as early as possible and it is their expectation that they can now proceed on the basis of the original budget cost prepared in January 2019. It is also clear from informal discussions that the scope of the work has changed since then and the client has expressed a desire to incorporate designs that will minimise long term maintenance and running costs.
Task
You are about to have a meeting with the client, in readiness for that discussion prepare a briefing note that:
a. explains the need to update the cost advice from 2019 identifying reasons with examples, and supported by market data, of how costs may have changed due to global events since the original cost advice was issued.
b. critically analyses, using two examples of design factors, how any change to the scope of work may affect the estimated construction cost. Include sketches and calculations related to the project scenario to aid explanation and provide a visual understanding of the cost effect that the design options would have on the construction cost of the building.
c. critically discusses why adequate time should be allocated to the Preparation and Briefing stage carried out at Stage 1 of the RIBA Plan of Work 2020. Your discussion should include an explanation of the approach you will take to establish a cost limit and factors which might influence the accuracy of the cost estimate.