Deciding what to build — briefs, drawings, orientation and the choices made before construction.
Every expensive decision on a building project is made before anyone picks up a tool. Where the house sits on the block, which way the living spaces face, how big the rooms are, who draws it and what they are briefed to draw — all of that is settled on paper, and all of it is cheap to change at that stage and ruinous to change later.
This pillar covers the decisions that come first: working out what you actually need, choosing between an architect, a building designer and a draftsperson, understanding what your site and its orientation will allow, and reading a set of drawings well enough to know what you are agreeing to.
Design is where a project is won or lost. It is also the shortest and least expensive phase, which is why it is so often rushed.