Alice Hargest

H00308570

D17DS – Introduction to Design

I am employed as a Graduate Apprentice Building Surveyor for the Housing Property department of the City of
Edinburgh Council (CEC). Housing property is the CEC’s in-house building maintenance, improvement and
repair organisation: the department is responsible for internal and external repairs to council homes; making
sure homes are up to lettable standards; conducting improvements and maintenance to council homes;
conducting mechanical and electrical repairs to council homes and high rise flats’ communal areas; budgeting
capital works for housing demolition, surveying services, tenant inspections, and meeting energy efficiency
standards; and also facilitating council house sales, the billing of owners of multi-storey mixed ownership
blocks for works, etc.

A condition of my employment at the CEC is that I continually achieve as a student at Heriot Watt University
(HWU) – I am a first-year student studying Construction and the Built Environment BSc (Hons). This means that
I attend work four days a week with one day a week attending university – we have three semesters per year,
and four years per our degree. When I graduate from HWU I will be qualified as a Building Surveyor and can
then pursue chartership by an appropriate accredited institution.

I work with the department’s Building Surveyors – this team is mainly tasked with the improvement of existing
housing stock, and its programmed maintenance and repairs. Over the course of the last two months I have
been tasked with helping my mentor meet with tenants; drawing up plans and elevations for internal ann
external wall insulation; completing adaption approvals for tenants requiring disabled access adaptions; and
various overviews and inductions covering topics specified both within our department’s area of authority and
the modules which we cover at university.

In particular my role has so far been mainly based within the design of refurbishment of some of the council’s
housing stock. I’ve worked on large housing External Wall Insulation (EWI) projects, smaller Internal Wall
Insulation (IWI) projects, and small disabled access adaption (i.e. ‘Adaption’) projects. In the above projects I
have worked on the design and the costing aspects; I have worked extensively with Computer Aided Design
(CAD) programs to draw up sections, elevations and plans of these projects and I have also investigated how
much money these alterations cost the council tenants and the private owners involved, and how they impact
upon the tenants enjoyment and usage of their homes.

I have worked mainly with the following people in my department:

Natalie Butler-Marwick: My mentor; a CIOB chartered building surveyor; she worked for CEC in the Building
Standards department for 11 years, she worked for West Lothian Council and then returned to CEC to join
Housing Property in July 2019. I worked with Natalie on several projects.

Jason Hannah: A RICS chartered building surveyor; he also started his role at the CEC in the Building Standards
department, he worked there for X years and has worked in Housing Property since X/XX. I worked with Jason
on the Westburn Phase 2 EWI Refurbishment project.

John Walter: A RICS chartered building surveyor; he also started his employment with the CEC in Building
Standards and has worked for the CEC for X years. I worked with John on the West Cromwell street adaption
refurbishment.

This module ‘Introduction to Design’ focusses on comprehension of design needs from different perspectives
of those involved in ac building construction. Design occurs throughout a construction process whether it be
technical, aesthetic, or safety. This module also identifies the different roles and duties of those involved a
building’s construction and identify which physical materials may most suitable to those design a building, and
which may be most appropriate for different building types. Throughout the design process health a safety
features heavily, it’s important to be able to find solutions to health and safety problems, and to understand
why the occur – this matters both in the construction process and post hand-over from a user perspective.

I’ve had the opportunity since starting this job to go out on many site visits; what I do with the information I
garner from these visits changes from site to site. In particular my role has so far been mainly based within the
design of refurbishment of some of the council’s housing stock. I’ve worked on several adaptions for
residential buildings helping to adapt them to the Energy Efficiency Standard for Social Housing (EESSH), and to
individual tenant needs.

1.1 - Design process

1.1.1 – RIBA

The Royal Institute of British Architects Plan of Work is a step by step guide to the process of construction and
architectural design from inception to completion and use.

The RIBA outlines the stages of design as so:

Fig 1 : RIBA 2019 updated stages (https://www.ribaj.com/intelligence/updates-to-the-riba-plan-of-work-2019-

dale-sinclair-gary-clark 2019 9/12/19)

Stage 0 ‘Strategic Definition’

This stage – or pre-stage – marks the commencement of a project in a non-physical
manner. It outlines when a project is technically evaluated and defined before any
detailed brief is made up. It is at this stage when a brief will be identified, and which
requirements will be the focus of the project; there should also be focus on the project’s
sustainability at this stage – identifying whether a new building would be less
appropriate than a refurbishment on an extension.

Stage 1 ‘Preparation and Brief’

At this stage project objectives are developed including aims for quality, project,
sustainability and budget amongst the other parameters set in Stage 0. Preliminary
studies and reviews of site information and in general other preparations are made.

Stage 2 ‘Concept Design’

The second stage focusses on preparation of the design brief and additional data; it
focusses on outlining the building’s structure, its service systems, and its preliminary cost
information and procurement route. In this stage alterations to the brief are made and
the final project brief is issued.
 Stage 3 ‘Spatial Co-ordination’
Previously “Developed design” from the 2013 RIBA plan of work. Here proposals for
structure, service systems, specification, cost information and project strategies are
updated according to the design brief. At this point in the plan of work the cost
information should be aligned with the design specification.

Stage 4 ‘Technical Design’

This stage addresses the preparation of technical work of each proposal laid out in the
previous stage. Specialist sub-contractors may be required also.

Stage 5 ‘Manufacturing and Construction’

Previously “Construction” from the 2013 RIBA plan of work. This stage deals with offsite
manufacturing and onsite construction, reviewing information provided by the
contractors and specialists, and arranging the handover in stage 6.

Stage 6 ‘Handover’
Previously “Handover and Close Out” in the 2013 RIBA Plan of Work. This stage notes the
conclusion of a building contract and the handover of a building from construction
professionals to client. This also involves making final inspections of the completed
building.

Stage 7 ‘Use’
Previously “In Use” in the 2013 RIBA Plan of Work. A post-occupancy evaluation and a
performance review may be conducted in this stage, the building user may also require
assistance during the building’s initial occupation.

From the inception of a project at Stage 0 ‘Strategic Definition’, design can be applied until around Stage 5
‘Manufacturing and Construction’ – however I would argue that the way in which a building is design affects
those who use it (Stage 7) and I intrinsically a part of how well the building performs in post-occupancy
evaluations.

From Stage 1 a design brief may be written up, this aligns client needs and expectations to user needs.
Different departments within the CEC have different roles to play in the production of a “well designed”
building:

Department Role in Building Design

Housing Property Building surveyors here often look at building pathology in existing CEC buildings;
they have an understanding of what may be improved to optimise a building’s
performance – this may include making a building more cost effective, more
sustainable, and overall, more inhabitable.
Building Standards Building surveyors here look at whether existing buildings and buildings in
construction adhere to the building standards and regulations set by the
government – they deal with a building’s safety primarily.
Architects The word ‘architect’ translates from Greek to mean ‘master builder’, within the
CEC architects may design buildings from a structural and aesthetic point of view.
Structural Engineers Within the CEC structural engineers help to deliver the structural systems
buildings ensuring that buildings are efficient, stable and safe.
Quantity Surveyors (HP Quantity surveyors work to produce tenders, and act as intermediaries
& Inter-departmental) determining what a client requires and what a budget can sustain.

Health & Safety (all RIBA stages)

As a new start to the City of Edinburgh Council I was required to complete online learning as part of my
induction, I did this through the City of Edinburgh Council interactive learning (CECil) platform. The Health and
Safety Overview was essential to complete as part of my e-learning. Topics included in the e-learning for health
& safety which are relevant to my role as a Graduate Apprentice Building Surveyor include: slips, trips and falls;
hazardous substances; personal protective equipment (PPE) assessment; asbestos awareness; manual
handling; and display screen equipment. Having a role that involves both desk work and on-site work, there’s a
variety of training that is relevant to a surveyor’s role.

Screengrabs of some of the relevant CECil health & safety training.

Newhaven IWI

The first site visit I went on with my mentor

was to a ground floor flat in Newhaven, I
was tasked in sketching and measuring the
exterior of the flat and then drawing it up
on AutoCAD.

The property is a category C listed building

from the mid to late 18th century. This
means that the CEC is ordered to only
change t8his building whilst baring mind of
it’s aesthetic, cultural’ historic, or structural
value or integrity. For this particular
building that mean that only limited works
could be made to its exterior. Features of
the Building’s exterior that are protected by
its listed status are its exterior stairs; sash
and case windows; and harled and lime-
washed raised and painted concrete
surrounds to openings. It needed to have
insulation installed – because of its listed
building status this meant that the building
was a candidate for and internal wall
insulation as opposed to external wall
insulation research on IWI how building
design effects function and inhabitability
Floorplans for 5 Lamb’s Court Newhaven
Third Party Accreditation

This lead me to research the manufacturer

of IWI products that the CEC uses: a
company called Kingspan. Kingspan
produces products that third party
accredited. Third party accreditation is the
process of which an unbiased body
routinely inspects a manufacturers unit in
Kingspan Insulated accordance to building standards, the law
plasterboard mechanically and best practise.
fixed to timber battens
Further on into my employment at the CEC
I attended a talk given by Hannah Mansell
the UK Group Technical Director of Masonite. Masonite is a fire door
manufacturer and the doors they produce are ‘Certifire’ accredited. Certifire certificate for
Premcore flush door by
Masonite

Building Details

MY mentor set us some tasks drawing out details, including; solid wall
IWI; solid wall EWI; cavity wall full fill insulation; cavity wall partial fill
insulation; insulation in timber frame construction; domestic building
standards and regulations; warm flat roofing; cold flat roofing; insulation
in pitched rooves. This gave me a lot of information on how a building is
put together in order to minimise damage from fire or water.

Planning Applications

I’ve observed planning applications being submitted over ePlanning, I

understand how to submit a Householder Application on behalf of a
tenant who needs new disabled access additions to the property (e.g. a
ramped driveway)

Wardieburn Place

My mentor and I went to a site visit at Wardieburn Place where we were

Fire door specifications from able to discern that the tenant had made a large hole in a load-bearing
Masonite wall and removed a fire door: this decreased the structural integrity of
the entire block as the Wardieburn Place flat is
a ground floor property, and also increased the fire risk for the flat and
others in its immediate vicinity. This survey enabled my mentor to recommend to the social work team that
the issue the tenant with a notice warning that the tenancy agreement had been due to lack of planning
permission for the creation of the hole and the removal of the fire door: the tenant however insisted that he
be allowed to apply for planning permission for the hole, while my mentor maintained that for health and
safety reasons the hole must be filled and the door reinstated.
West Cromwell Street

John Walter and I visited a ground floor flat on West Cromwell Street, we spent our time there measuring
room dimensions which proved to be difficult to gauge accurately; the property was built in 1979 (source
http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/historicplanningrecords) before the metric system was widely adopted in the
UK’s manufacturing system (https://ukma.org.uk/what-is-metric/uk-progress/uk-metric-timeline/ 3/12) all the
newly installed features like double glazing and bathroom appliances were in metric, but walls, doors, exterior
areas were all in imperial – this made it hard to discern whether the measurements I was taking were correct.
The purpose of this was to adapt the property so it’s tenant could still live there whilst wheelchair bound– all
doors would need to be widened from their current measurements (the doors were not all the same width due
to the age of the property) to the current Building Standards of 800mm minimum.

From https://www2.gov.scot/resource/buildingstandards/2013Domestic/chunks/ch05s03.html 3/12/19

Table showing UK Building Standards as of 2013 for ‘4.2.4 Doors within common areas of a domestic building’.

I had to redraw the existing property in AutoCAD and then forward the drawing in DWG and PDF format to
Craig Milne, the engineer from Will Rudd consultancy, in order for it to be used as a base for structural
information – this is his part in the building warrant application process. John advised Craig that the proposed

My base
drawing and
Craig’s
structural
drawing

construction cost would be £10,000 while the building warrant fee would have no cost as it is for disability
adaptation.

Westburn

I was first involved with the Phase3 Westburn External Refurbishment Programme in the beginning on
November following a conversation with Jason Hanna and Stuart Baird where I was asked to adjust the
baselines of the buildings elevations in the CAD drawings. Gradually I spent more time correcting details in the
drawings and soon became more fully involved with the project – I corrected the existing elevation drawings
and drew the proposed elevations; I also adjusted the site and location plans and put together the drawing
pack that will be submitted as part of the building warrant. Jason and I visited the site at Westburn, we were
able to document details about the buildings that I couldn’t access merely through conducting desk research: I
noticed several blocks of flats’ south elevations had rear exit doors that were placed west of the centre of the
façade – it was previously assumed that these doors were in the centre. Other smaller details like gas pipes
and flu vents were also important to note as I would have some say in whether future pipes and vents would
stay in the same position or be moved.

My drawings of the proposed (L) and existing elevations (R)

The whole of the Westburn area is part of a greater region of fuel poverty in Edinburgh, fuel poverty is defined
as “…if [a] household’s fuel costs (necessary to meet the requisite temperature and amount of hours as well as
other reasonable fuel needs) are more than 10% of the household’s adjusted net income and after deducting
these fuel costs, benefits received for a care need or disability, childcare costs, the household’s remaining
income is not enough to maintain an acceptable standard of living.” (Fuel Poverty (Targets, Definition and
Strategy) (Scotland) Act 2019).

For this reason, the external fabric of the residential blocks is deemed as inadequate and the council is
installing external wall insulation; the proposed elevations I have drawn for this have been specified by my
colleague Jason as being made up of an insulated render system to 0.3 W/m 2K on no fines concrete and/or
masonry substrate insulation; this includes 100mm mineral wool insulation, mechanically fixed insulating
board to the aforementioned substrate, then a base-coat and top-coat in the allocated colours.

The existing
exterior

Bibliography
Appedicies