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1 INTRODUCTION Good buildings are essential to the economic health of the nation and the well being of its people. Good buildings provide safe and productive environments for people and their activities. These buildings integrate well with the service systems upon which they depend and are appropriate for their surroundings. While good construction, operation and maintenance are essential, good design is the starting point in achieving good build- ngs . Good design must have high quality. "Design" and "quality" are words of broad meaning to the architects and engineers of the built environment. Taken together, these words become a Pandora's box of issues that are often poorly defined, interrelated, and hotly debated outside as well as within the building professions. The federal government, arguably the most significant single builder and manager of the facilities that comprise our built environment' is a frequent subject of and participant in much of the debate. This report, addressed to one particular issue of design quality, inevitably touches upon many others: How can federal government agencies, acting as the prospective owners of buildings and stewards of the public's investment, assure that the work done to design those buildings is of the highest possible quality? The fourteen federal agency sponsors of the Federal Construction Council requested that the Building Research Board (BRB) address this question. To that end, the BRB assembled an expert committee that deliberated on the issues of quality and design and then conducted a workshop4 to discuss these issues within a broader professional context. Quickly recognizing the complexity and contentiousness of the issues facing them, the committee identified two areas in which they focused their attention in this study: 4The workshop was held July 14 through 17, 1987 at the Woods Hole Study Center of the National Academy of Sciences. A list of attendees is included in Appendix B. 1
· The nature and value of quality of design, and how quality of design develops during the design process; · Federal agencies' policies and procedures for selection and manage- ment of A/Es that can affect quality of design. The following chapters present the committee's work as a chronological development of conclusions and recommendations. Chapter 2 is a review of background information and the committee's discussions framing the issue of quality of design in federal building.S Chapter 3 summarizes the work- shop. Chapter 4 presents the committee's principal findings and recommends ways federal agencies might improve their ability to assure high quality in their buildings' design. SThe committee restricted its attention to buildings, and primarily those, such as offices, hospitals, or courts, that house substantial human activity. However, much of the committee's discussion can apply to the full range of public works facilities. 2
