Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the largest umbrella organisation inconstruction, bringing together over 50separate bodies which are professionalinstitutions, trade associations andresearch organisations. Theseorganisations collectively represent over 500,000 individual professionalsand 25,000 businesses engaged in the commissioning, planning, design,production, management andmaintenance of the built environment.

CIC26 Store Street London WC1E 7BTT 020 7399 7400www.cic.org.uk

DQIT 020 7399 7424 F 020 7399 7425www.dqi.org.uk dqi@cic.org.uk D

esig

n: D

UFF

Y

CICDESIGNQUALITYINDICATORONLINE

AEDET National Health Service, Achieving Excellence Design Evaluation Toolkit BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method CABE Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment – www.cabe.org.ukCE Constructing Excellence – www.constructingexcellence.org.ukCIC Construction Industry Council – www.cic.org.ukDEEP Defence Estates, Design Excellence Evaluation Process DQI Design Quality Indicator – www.dqi.org.uk DTI Department for Trade and Industry – www.dti.gov.ukEPI Environmental Performance Indicators KPI Key Performance Indicators – www.kpizone.comOGC Office of Government Commerce – www.ogc.gov.ukPFI Public Finance InitiativeRIBA Royal Institute of British Architects – www.architecture.com SPeAR Arup’s Sustainable Project Appraisal Routine

For a full list of DQI links please see www.dqi.org.uk

Glossary

03

Foreword

Every time we commission a building project we are developing aprototype. One or all of the key elements of the project are beingused for the first time; we have a new site, new team and/or newclient. The question is how do we monitor this unique process toensure that we get a consistently good product?

Traditionally the end user has become a guinea pig in the process.We don’t know until the building is occupied if it really meets theneeds of the end user. This means that we frequently end up withunhappy customers and waste time and resources trying toaccommodate design issues that we didn’t anticipate.

The DQI is a welcome innovation as it takes the guess work out of the whole design process. It focuses the team on the needs ofthe end user, involves all the stakeholders throughout the processand helps develop a more sustainable building. The overall result is an improved product and importantly we can learn from theprocess because the DQI allows us to measure how theimprovements are made.

Peter RogersChairman of Strategic Forum for Construction and Chairman of Constructing Excellence

The Design Quality Indicator is the pioneering process toevaluate the design quality of buildings. The development of the DQI has been led by CIC with sponsorship from the DTI,CABE, Constructing Excellence and the Strategic Forum for Construction and with support from OGC. The DQI has been developed into an easy to use web tool, DQI Online, for everyone involved in the procurement and use of buildings.

Sir John Egan’s Strategic Forum for Construction report‘Accelerating Change’ (published in September 2002)highlighted the key importance of design quality. The StrategicForum for Construction, under the Chairmanship of PeterRogers has declared that use of the DQI should be one of five major headline targets by which the industry’s ongoingperformance should be judged between 2004 and 2007:

“By the end of 2004, 500 projects will have used the DesignQuality Indicators and by the end of 2007, 60% of all publiclyfunded or PFI projects (having a value in excess of £1 million)and 20% of ALL projects (having a value in excess of £1 million)to utilise the DQIs.”

Introduction

03

Foreword

Every time we commission a building project we are developing aprototype. One or all of the key elements of the project are beingused for the first time; we have a new site, new team and/or newclient. The question is how do we monitor this unique process toensure that we get a consistently good product?

Traditionally the end user has become a guinea pig in the process.We don’t know until the building is occupied if it really meets theneeds of the end user. This means that we frequently end up withunhappy customers and waste time and resources trying toaccommodate design issues that we didn’t anticipate.

The DQI is a welcome innovation as it takes the guess work out of the whole design process. It focuses the team on the needs ofthe end user, involves all the stakeholders throughout the processand helps develop a more sustainable building. The overall result is an improved product and importantly we can learn from theprocess because the DQI allows us to measure how theimprovements are made.

Peter RogersChairman of Strategic Forum for Construction and Chairman of Constructing Excellence

The Design Quality Indicator is the pioneering process toevaluate the design quality of buildings. The development of the DQI has been led by CIC with sponsorship from the DTI,CABE, Constructing Excellence and the Strategic Forum for Construction and with support from OGC. The DQI has been developed into an easy to use web tool, DQI Online, for everyone involved in the procurement and use of buildings.

Sir John Egan’s Strategic Forum for Construction report‘Accelerating Change’ (published in September 2002)highlighted the key importance of design quality. The StrategicForum for Construction, under the Chairmanship of PeterRogers has declared that use of the DQI should be one of five major headline targets by which the industry’s ongoingperformance should be judged between 2004 and 2007:

“By the end of 2004, 500 projects will have used the DesignQuality Indicators and by the end of 2007, 60% of all publiclyfunded or PFI projects (having a value in excess of £1 million)and 20% of ALL projects (having a value in excess of £1 million)to utilise the DQIs.”

Introduction

0504

The purpose of the DQI

What is it for?It has been developed to help all builtenvironment stakeholders gain more valuefrom the design of buildings, and to assistin improving the quality of buildings.

Who is it for?A non technical device, the DQI can beused by all stakeholders involved in theproduction and use of buildings, includingpublic and private clients, developers,financiers, design firms, contractors,building managers and occupants.

When can it be used?The DQI questionnaire encompassesquestions which are relevant at any stage in the development of a building and thetool can be revisited and re-usedthroughout the life of the project.

Ideally the DQI is used at every key stage of the development; it can also be usedrepeatedly at a particular stage.

There are four versions of the tool and DQI Online automatically adjusts thequestions displayed so they are relevant to the particular phase of the project that is being assessed.

The brief version allows the projectaspirations to be clearly set, addressing the opinions of the stakeholders, and canbe used through strategic briefing stages to detailed brief to set priorities and answerquestions such as: What do we want?Where do we want to spend the money?

Mid-design version allows the client and design teams to check whether earlyaspirations have been met and allowsadjustments in focus and quality to bemade accordingly. It can be usedthroughout the design phase when theproject can still respond to change.

Ready for occupation version is usedimmediately before occupation to checkwhether the brief/original intent has beenachieved.

In-use version is used in order to receivefeedback from the project team and thebuilding users to help make improvementsfor the next project, and can lead on tomore thorough post-occupancy studies.

The DQI Trailblazing Scheme was launchedin July 2002 and was the first opportunity for the construction industry and clientorganisations to use the DQI tool on projects.

By the end of the Trailblazing Scheme justover 1,000 people had completed the DQI,of which 330 were end users of projects.Case studies highlighting the experiences offour Trailblazers can be found on page 13.

Other design measurement toolsThe DQI is the major construction industrydesign evaluation tool, but it sits alongsideother sector specific toolkits to measure thevalue of design. The DQI has been involvedwith these other projects, to help create aconsensus on design evaluation andproduce synergy in approach.

The NHS Estate’s Achieving ExcellenceDesign Evaluation Toolkit was produced to assist hospitals developing designspecifications and shares a commonstrategy with the DQI.

Defence Estates’ design evaluation method,DEEP, is a focused design study of users of military housing to help users addressthe quality of their housing.

The DQI was used by MORI for the AuditCommission to survey 95 end users in 18PFI and non-PFI schools, this led to thepublication of ‘PFI in Schools; The Qualityand Cost of Buildings and ServicesProvided by Early Private Finance InitiativeSchemes’.

Other evaluation toolsThe DQI as a product measure has beendeveloped to work with the existingperformance measures from ConstructingExcellence, in particular the Headline KPIswhich assess the process – the delivery of the building. It also complementssustainability tools such as SPeAR,BREEAM and EPIs.

How has the DQI beenused so far?

Key Performance

Indicators

DesignQuality

Indicators

SustainabilityTools

0504

The purpose of the DQI

What is it for?It has been developed to help all builtenvironment stakeholders gain more valuefrom the design of buildings, and to assistin improving the quality of buildings.

Who is it for?A non technical device, the DQI can beused by all stakeholders involved in theproduction and use of buildings, includingpublic and private clients, developers,financiers, design firms, contractors,building managers and occupants.

When can it be used?The DQI questionnaire encompassesquestions which are relevant at any stage in the development of a building and thetool can be revisited and re-usedthroughout the life of the project.

Ideally the DQI is used at every key stage of the development; it can also be usedrepeatedly at a particular stage.

There are four versions of the tool and DQI Online automatically adjusts thequestions displayed so they are relevant to the particular phase of the project that is being assessed.

The brief version allows the projectaspirations to be clearly set, addressing the opinions of the stakeholders, and canbe used through strategic briefing stages to detailed brief to set priorities and answerquestions such as: What do we want?Where do we want to spend the money?

Mid-design version allows the client and design teams to check whether earlyaspirations have been met and allowsadjustments in focus and quality to bemade accordingly. It can be usedthroughout the design phase when theproject can still respond to change.

Ready for occupation version is usedimmediately before occupation to checkwhether the brief/original intent has beenachieved.

In-use version is used in order to receivefeedback from the project team and thebuilding users to help make improvementsfor the next project, and can lead on tomore thorough post-occupancy studies.

The DQI Trailblazing Scheme was launchedin July 2002 and was the first opportunity for the construction industry and clientorganisations to use the DQI tool on projects.

By the end of the Trailblazing Scheme justover 1,000 people had completed the DQI,of which 330 were end users of projects.Case studies highlighting the experiences offour Trailblazers can be found on page 13.

Other design measurement toolsThe DQI is the major construction industrydesign evaluation tool, but it sits alongsideother sector specific toolkits to measure thevalue of design. The DQI has been involvedwith these other projects, to help create aconsensus on design evaluation andproduce synergy in approach.

The NHS Estate’s Achieving ExcellenceDesign Evaluation Toolkit was produced to assist hospitals developing designspecifications and shares a commonstrategy with the DQI.

Defence Estates’ design evaluation method,DEEP, is a focused design study of users of military housing to help users addressthe quality of their housing.

The DQI was used by MORI for the AuditCommission to survey 95 end users in 18PFI and non-PFI schools, this led to thepublication of ‘PFI in Schools; The Qualityand Cost of Buildings and ServicesProvided by Early Private Finance InitiativeSchemes’.

Other evaluation toolsThe DQI as a product measure has beendeveloped to work with the existingperformance measures from ConstructingExcellence, in particular the Headline KPIswhich assess the process – the delivery of the building. It also complementssustainability tools such as SPeAR,BREEAM and EPIs.

How has the DQI beenused so far?

Key Performance

Indicators

DesignQuality

Indicators

SustainabilityTools

07

2. The DQI weightings

The DQI has two types of weighting, the first allow results to be distorted dependinghow the respondents judge the success of various aspects of the building.

A separate type of weighting can beapplied indicating whether aspects are:

Fundamental relating to factors which the building must achieve in order to fulfil its purpose

Added value relating to factors that willenhance the building’s usefulness andpleasure value

Excellence relating to factors that makethe design sparkle as a whole and helpcreate a building of distinction

3. The DQI visualisation

The DQI is graphically presented in anumber of ways, which help by highlightingcomparisons between:

– Groups of respondents, comparing theviews of the buildings eventual userswith those of the delivery team

– Stages of a project, from the opinionsestablished at the inception stages of a project, and how these are beingachieved by the design

– Schemes within a portfolio of projects

exce

llent

Excellence

Fundamental

Added Value

build

fun

ity

impact

Overlapping quality fields

06

What is theDQI tool?

The DQI tool assists abuilding’s procurementteam to define and checkthe evolution of designquality at key stages in the development process.

There are three parts to the DQI tool:

1. The DQI questionnaire

The DQI questionnaire is a short, simple,non-technical set of statements that collectthe views from all stakeholders by lookingat the functionality, build quality and impactof buildings:

Functionality is concerned with the way inwhich the building is designed to be usefuland is split into use, access and space

Build quality relates to the performance of a building fabric and is split intoperformance, engineering and construction

Impact refers to the building’s ability tocreate a sense of place, and to have apositive effect on the local community andenvironment. It is split into character andinnovation, form and materials, internalenvironment and urban and socialintegration

All projects exist within a context of finance,time, and environmental resources andthese are high on the agenda of all buildingcommissioners, financiers and developers.Good design quality enables the betterdeployment of these resources. The DQIaddresses this by advising professionalinput, and it has been found that the use of a DQI facilitator has proved particularlyimportant at briefing stage.

07

2. The DQI weightings

The DQI has two types of weighting, the first allow results to be distorted dependinghow the respondents judge the success of various aspects of the building.

A separate type of weighting can beapplied indicating whether aspects are:

Fundamental relating to factors which the building must achieve in order to fulfil its purpose

Added value relating to factors that willenhance the building’s usefulness andpleasure value

Excellence relating to factors that makethe design sparkle as a whole and helpcreate a building of distinction

3. The DQI visualisation

The DQI is graphically presented in anumber of ways, which help by highlightingcomparisons between:

– Groups of respondents, comparing theviews of the buildings eventual userswith those of the delivery team

– Stages of a project, from the opinionsestablished at the inception stages of a project, and how these are beingachieved by the design

– Schemes within a portfolio of projects

exce

llent

Excellence

Fundamental

Added Value

build

fun

ity

impact

Overlapping quality fields

06

What is theDQI tool?

The DQI tool assists abuilding’s procurementteam to define and checkthe evolution of designquality at key stages in the development process.

There are three parts to the DQI tool:

1. The DQI questionnaire

The DQI questionnaire is a short, simple,non-technical set of statements that collectthe views from all stakeholders by lookingat the functionality, build quality and impactof buildings:

Functionality is concerned with the way inwhich the building is designed to be usefuland is split into use, access and space

Build quality relates to the performance of a building fabric and is split intoperformance, engineering and construction

Impact refers to the building’s ability tocreate a sense of place, and to have apositive effect on the local community andenvironment. It is split into character andinnovation, form and materials, internalenvironment and urban and socialintegration

All projects exist within a context of finance,time, and environmental resources andthese are high on the agenda of all buildingcommissioners, financiers and developers.Good design quality enables the betterdeployment of these resources. The DQIaddresses this by advising professionalinput, and it has been found that the use of a DQI facilitator has proved particularlyimportant at briefing stage.

09

Completing DQI OnlineThere are several ways tocomplete the DQI. Usersso far have indicated thatthe most beneficialapproach is when allrespondents complete thetool in a facilitated face-to-face workshop. However,with DQI Online the DQIcan also be completedremotely – an approachparticularly suitable whenusing the DQI in the laterstages of a project.

DQI Online is atwww.dqi.org.uk

Face-to-face

Respondents attend ameeting and are given apresentation by a facilitatoron the DQI.

Using internet enabledcomputers respondentscomplete the questionnaireonline.

The DQI leader obtains theresults of the processinstantly for discussion in a later part of the meeting.

After the DQI is complete,the facilitator initiatesdiscussion about theresults.

Remote use

The DQI leader briefsrespondents – bytelephone, or through a‘virtual classroom’ on theinternet.

The DQI leader emails the key to all respondents.

A DQI facilitator can beused to take respondentsthrough the process overthe telephone.

As respondents completethe DQI, the leaderreceives the results andfeeds them back. Theteam should be able todiscuss the results with the facilitator in a telephoneconference, a ‘virtualclassroom’, or at the nextteam meeting.

08

DQI Online

DQI Online is the web based version of the tool. It is straightforward to initiateand easy for respondents to use. Theresults are obtained instantly and arevisualised graphically to help facilitatediscussion about project aspirations, andthe extent to which they have been met.

The processAnyone can initiate use of the DQI, but itsuse will need to be organised by somebodyfrom the project delivery team. After aproject team decides to use the DQI theyappoint a DQI leader who registers theassessment and distributes the relevantinformation to the respondents.

Depending upon the number ofstakeholders in a project, the DQI shouldbe completed by 5 to 25 DQI respondents,but there is no limit placed on this number.

We also recommend the use of a DQIfacilitator who has been trained to assist in the use of the DQI. There is more aboutthe role of the facilitator on page 10.

Using DQI OnlineThe tool operates on a pay-as-you-gobasis, so it can be used as often asneeded, it is also possible to buy a carnet.

Use of the DQI is accessed by project keys.Every assessment will have two 8-digitkeys, one for the DQI leader, whichregisters the project, and one for all the DQIrespondents which ensures the data goesto the right project.

The keys can be used to link DQIassessments together to construct thewhole DQI project and see how opinionshave progressed through the life of theproject.

How can I use DQI Online?DQI Online is designed to be selfexplanatory with the all guidance availableto download. Access may be bought onlinemaking the payment using a credit card, or direct from CIC.

09

Completing DQI OnlineThere are several ways tocomplete the DQI. Usersso far have indicated thatthe most beneficialapproach is when allrespondents complete thetool in a facilitated face-to-face workshop. However,with DQI Online the DQIcan also be completedremotely – an approachparticularly suitable whenusing the DQI in the laterstages of a project.

DQI Online is atwww.dqi.org.uk

Face-to-face

Respondents attend ameeting and are given apresentation by a facilitatoron the DQI.

Using internet enabledcomputers respondentscomplete the questionnaireonline.

The DQI leader obtains theresults of the processinstantly for discussion in a later part of the meeting.

After the DQI is complete,the facilitator initiatesdiscussion about theresults.

Remote use

The DQI leader briefsrespondents – bytelephone, or through a‘virtual classroom’ on theinternet.

The DQI leader emails the key to all respondents.

A DQI facilitator can beused to take respondentsthrough the process overthe telephone.

As respondents completethe DQI, the leaderreceives the results andfeeds them back. Theteam should be able todiscuss the results with the facilitator in a telephoneconference, a ‘virtualclassroom’, or at the nextteam meeting.

08

DQI Online

DQI Online is the web based version of the tool. It is straightforward to initiateand easy for respondents to use. Theresults are obtained instantly and arevisualised graphically to help facilitatediscussion about project aspirations, andthe extent to which they have been met.

The processAnyone can initiate use of the DQI, but itsuse will need to be organised by somebodyfrom the project delivery team. After aproject team decides to use the DQI theyappoint a DQI leader who registers theassessment and distributes the relevantinformation to the respondents.

Depending upon the number ofstakeholders in a project, the DQI shouldbe completed by 5 to 25 DQI respondents,but there is no limit placed on this number.

We also recommend the use of a DQIfacilitator who has been trained to assist in the use of the DQI. There is more aboutthe role of the facilitator on page 10.

Using DQI OnlineThe tool operates on a pay-as-you-gobasis, so it can be used as often asneeded, it is also possible to buy a carnet.

Use of the DQI is accessed by project keys.Every assessment will have two 8-digitkeys, one for the DQI leader, whichregisters the project, and one for all the DQIrespondents which ensures the data goesto the right project.

The keys can be used to link DQIassessments together to construct thewhole DQI project and see how opinionshave progressed through the life of theproject.

How can I use DQI Online?DQI Online is designed to be selfexplanatory with the all guidance availableto download. Access may be bought onlinemaking the payment using a credit card, or direct from CIC.

1110

DQI facilitators

Many construction professionals nowrealise that good facilitation is essential atthe early stages of a project to help developideas of stakeholders into workable briefs.

In the early stages of a project use of an independent facilitator is stronglyrecommended for DQI assessment. CIC is developing a register of fully competentfacilitators. Later in the project the DQIleader could act as facilitator if they haveundertaken the basic training.

Any user of the DQI can contact CIC for the nomination of a facilitator.

How to become a registered facilitatorRegistered facilitators must meet astandard set of skills and competencies.The first stage of training is to attend anintroduction workshop to learn more aboutthe tool and its use. Individuals can thenput themselves forward for assessmentagainst the standard and full registration.

Details of introduction workshops aroundthe country can be found on the eventspage of the DQI website, www.dqi.org.uk.

The future of the DQI

The DQI tool has been developed by multi-disciplinary working group convened by CICand including representatives from BuroHappold, Colander Consulting, EdwardCullinan Architects, Hoare Lee and Partners,Penoyre and Prasad Architects, and ImperialCollege London. This working group utilisedinput from a wide variety of sources to gatherthe best intelligence on the issue of designquality and how to assess inherent designquality. Since the Trailblazing launch the DQIhas been continually improved with input fromthe users of the tool.

Short-term aims include refining the output to help further enlighten building procurementteams about the design quality of theirbuildings through use of DQI Online and therapid feedback that is possible.

Medium-term aims include harvesting datafrom the accumulated returns so that we canbegin to correlate quality with factors in theprocurement process. We should also be able to see patterns by examining the datalongitudinally – for instance by comparing setsof post-occupancy evaluations with briefingand with design stage evaluations.

The aim for the DQI over the next four years is to become a self-funding tool, used onmost projects to help with the delivery ofbetter quality buildings for clients and usersand the public.

During the Trailblazer period the DQI hasbeen used by 86 organisations consistingof design firms, public and private clientsand contractors, including Buro Happold,The Foreign and Commonwealth Office,Edward Cullinan Architects, Penoyre andPrasad Architects, Skanska, Hoare Lea andPartners, Bennetts Associates Architects,and 17 local authorities.

The DQI has been used on a diverse range of projects; the most popular beingeducation (40% of DQI use) private offices(20%) and social housing (10%).

Complementing work by the AuditCommission who use the DQI to comparePFI and non-PFI schools, local authoritiessuch as Devon CC and Barnsley MBC are using the DQI in bundled PFI projects to help individual schools articulate their needs to design teams and assess thetender outputs.

DQI in use

1110

DQI facilitators

Many construction professionals nowrealise that good facilitation is essential atthe early stages of a project to help developideas of stakeholders into workable briefs.

In the early stages of a project use of an independent facilitator is stronglyrecommended for DQI assessment. CIC is developing a register of fully competentfacilitators. Later in the project the DQIleader could act as facilitator if they haveundertaken the basic training.

Any user of the DQI can contact CIC for the nomination of a facilitator.

How to become a registered facilitatorRegistered facilitators must meet astandard set of skills and competencies.The first stage of training is to attend anintroduction workshop to learn more aboutthe tool and its use. Individuals can thenput themselves forward for assessmentagainst the standard and full registration.

Details of introduction workshops aroundthe country can be found on the eventspage of the DQI website, www.dqi.org.uk.

The future of the DQI

The DQI tool has been developed by multi-disciplinary working group convened by CICand including representatives from BuroHappold, Colander Consulting, EdwardCullinan Architects, Hoare Lee and Partners,Penoyre and Prasad Architects, and ImperialCollege London. This working group utilisedinput from a wide variety of sources to gatherthe best intelligence on the issue of designquality and how to assess inherent designquality. Since the Trailblazing launch the DQIhas been continually improved with input fromthe users of the tool.

Short-term aims include refining the output to help further enlighten building procurementteams about the design quality of theirbuildings through use of DQI Online and therapid feedback that is possible.

Medium-term aims include harvesting datafrom the accumulated returns so that we canbegin to correlate quality with factors in theprocurement process. We should also be able to see patterns by examining the datalongitudinally – for instance by comparing setsof post-occupancy evaluations with briefingand with design stage evaluations.

The aim for the DQI over the next four years is to become a self-funding tool, used onmost projects to help with the delivery ofbetter quality buildings for clients and usersand the public.

During the Trailblazer period the DQI hasbeen used by 86 organisations consistingof design firms, public and private clientsand contractors, including Buro Happold,The Foreign and Commonwealth Office,Edward Cullinan Architects, Penoyre andPrasad Architects, Skanska, Hoare Lea andPartners, Bennetts Associates Architects,and 17 local authorities.

The DQI has been used on a diverse range of projects; the most popular beingeducation (40% of DQI use) private offices(20%) and social housing (10%).

Complementing work by the AuditCommission who use the DQI to comparePFI and non-PFI schools, local authoritiessuch as Devon CC and Barnsley MBC are using the DQI in bundled PFI projects to help individual schools articulate their needs to design teams and assess thetender outputs.

DQI in use

1312

Haverstock Associates are a medium sized architecturalfirm based in Camden,London. They are committedto design quality and ensuringthat their buildings improvethe lives of the people whouse them. John Jenkins, a founding partner of the practice, initiatedHaverstock’s signing up as a Trailblazer through hisinvolvement as a CABECommissioner.

Parliament Hill secondaryschool is situated in aconservation area nearHampstead Heath, London.

“We won the contract through a competitive tender processwith Camden Borough Council.A condition of the project setout by the Local EducationAuthority (LEA) was that DesignQuality Indicators would need to be applied. The LEA briefcommissioned the design and supervision of new schoolaccommodation, the scope and brief to be decided aftercompletion of a feasibility study, accessibility audit andcurriculum analysis, subject to planning and budgetaryconstraints.

The workshop took placeduring the early design stage(RIBA stages A–B) of the project.The participants consisted ofthe LEA senior technical officerengineer, our mechanicalengineer, two LEA projectmanagers and an LEAeducational inspector; schoolfacilities manager, planner,governors, teachers, seniorschool management andstudents. It proved invaluable in bringing together a range of influential individuals at suchan early stage of the project. It made everybody aware of theinitial design development thathad been undertaken and openedup lines of communication byintroducing all the differentindividuals who would have an involvement with the buildingat some point in its life time. It also enabled us to carry outfurther consultation to find outwhat types of modern buildingspeople liked and disliked, so we could get an idea of whattype of building/s and materialspeople really felt they wanted to see in the end product. The information gained from this process was a vital part of our brief.

The DQI questionnaire provideda well structured framework forthe discussions, and raisedissues which could otherwisehave been overlooked. It alsoadded value for the client as the DQI enlightened them to the thought process behind our design.

Our next step will be to revisitthe DQI results through a furtherworkshop to see if our designsolutions match the aspirationsand perceptions brought aboutby the original process. Weintend to revisit the DQI processregularly throughout theconstruction process and will continue to use it on future education projects.”

John JenkinsClaire Barton Haverstock Associates

Case study 2:Design briefing stageParliament Hill School

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

The Centre of Conservation is the capital project that theBritish Library has undertakensince it moved to St Pancrasin the early 1990’s.

The decision to use the DQIon this project was initiatedby Drivas Jonas, the projectmanagers, and hosted byDavis Langdon & Everest, the cost consultants for theproject who were alreadyTrailblazers.

“We followed advice from CABEto use the DQI on this projectas the British Library specificallywants to commission a qualitybuilding, and we had used thetool before on other projects.The Centre of Conservation is to be a centre of excellencereinforcing the reputation of theBritish Library as the world’sleading institution for restoringand conserving books,manuscripts and soundrecordings. The client wants it to be an acclaimed design,but also create a functionalenvironment for the specialistworking conditions required forconservation and sound, andalso to establish a balancedrelationship with the existingflagship building and itssurroundings.

We undertook the DQIworkshop in a collective wayprior to stage A of the twostage design and build contract.The stakeholders who attendedwere the project sponsor, headof conservation, head of sound,library project architect, projectmanager, architectural advisor,services and structural engineerwith DLE acting as DQIfacilitator. We felt that theworkshop format was essentialto ensure the collation of data and the generation ofconversation, and it worked well.

The DQI provides a frameworkto determine the aspirations and needs for each participantdistinguishing individualinterpretations of ‘designquality’. The differentperceptions under the threeheadings of build quality,functionality and impact workedvery well, and at this stage thefunctionality of the building was identified as important. In addition issues such as thenecessity for natural daylight,the level of control users will have on their personalenvironment, and the aestheticintegration with the BritishLibrary were highlighted as key to the stakeholders. TheDQI allowed for a language to be initiated between theprofessional and laystakeholders.

Case study1: Strategic briefing stageThe British Library Centre for Conservation

The DQI will be revisited once a designer has been appointed.It will be incorporated as achecklist against the client’soriginal aspirations and will be used as a benchmarkthroughout the constructionprocess.

DLE and Drivers Jonas both intend to continue the use of the DQI, and hope to incorporate it, whenappropriate, in value and risk management studies at project briefing stage.”

Maria Kliniotou Davis Langdon & Everest

Jonathan GibsonDrivers Jonas

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

1312

Haverstock Associates are a medium sized architecturalfirm based in Camden,London. They are committedto design quality and ensuringthat their buildings improvethe lives of the people whouse them. John Jenkins, a founding partner of the practice, initiatedHaverstock’s signing up as a Trailblazer through hisinvolvement as a CABECommissioner.

Parliament Hill secondaryschool is situated in aconservation area nearHampstead Heath, London.

“We won the contract through a competitive tender processwith Camden Borough Council.A condition of the project setout by the Local EducationAuthority (LEA) was that DesignQuality Indicators would need to be applied. The LEA briefcommissioned the design and supervision of new schoolaccommodation, the scope and brief to be decided aftercompletion of a feasibility study, accessibility audit andcurriculum analysis, subject to planning and budgetaryconstraints.

The workshop took placeduring the early design stage(RIBA stages A–B) of the project.The participants consisted ofthe LEA senior technical officerengineer, our mechanicalengineer, two LEA projectmanagers and an LEAeducational inspector; schoolfacilities manager, planner,governors, teachers, seniorschool management andstudents. It proved invaluable in bringing together a range of influential individuals at suchan early stage of the project. It made everybody aware of theinitial design development thathad been undertaken and openedup lines of communication byintroducing all the differentindividuals who would have an involvement with the buildingat some point in its life time. It also enabled us to carry outfurther consultation to find outwhat types of modern buildingspeople liked and disliked, so we could get an idea of whattype of building/s and materialspeople really felt they wanted to see in the end product. The information gained from this process was a vital part of our brief.

The DQI questionnaire provideda well structured framework forthe discussions, and raisedissues which could otherwisehave been overlooked. It alsoadded value for the client as the DQI enlightened them to the thought process behind our design.

Our next step will be to revisitthe DQI results through a furtherworkshop to see if our designsolutions match the aspirationsand perceptions brought aboutby the original process. Weintend to revisit the DQI processregularly throughout theconstruction process and will continue to use it on future education projects.”

John JenkinsClaire Barton Haverstock Associates

Case study 2:Design briefing stageParliament Hill School

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

The Centre of Conservation is the capital project that theBritish Library has undertakensince it moved to St Pancrasin the early 1990’s.

The decision to use the DQIon this project was initiatedby Drivas Jonas, the projectmanagers, and hosted byDavis Langdon & Everest, the cost consultants for theproject who were alreadyTrailblazers.

“We followed advice from CABEto use the DQI on this projectas the British Library specificallywants to commission a qualitybuilding, and we had used thetool before on other projects.The Centre of Conservation is to be a centre of excellencereinforcing the reputation of theBritish Library as the world’sleading institution for restoringand conserving books,manuscripts and soundrecordings. The client wants it to be an acclaimed design,but also create a functionalenvironment for the specialistworking conditions required forconservation and sound, andalso to establish a balancedrelationship with the existingflagship building and itssurroundings.

We undertook the DQIworkshop in a collective wayprior to stage A of the twostage design and build contract.The stakeholders who attendedwere the project sponsor, headof conservation, head of sound,library project architect, projectmanager, architectural advisor,services and structural engineerwith DLE acting as DQIfacilitator. We felt that theworkshop format was essentialto ensure the collation of data and the generation ofconversation, and it worked well.

The DQI provides a frameworkto determine the aspirations and needs for each participantdistinguishing individualinterpretations of ‘designquality’. The differentperceptions under the threeheadings of build quality,functionality and impact workedvery well, and at this stage thefunctionality of the building was identified as important. In addition issues such as thenecessity for natural daylight,the level of control users will have on their personalenvironment, and the aestheticintegration with the BritishLibrary were highlighted as key to the stakeholders. TheDQI allowed for a language to be initiated between theprofessional and laystakeholders.

Case study1: Strategic briefing stageThe British Library Centre for Conservation

The DQI will be revisited once a designer has been appointed.It will be incorporated as achecklist against the client’soriginal aspirations and will be used as a benchmarkthroughout the constructionprocess.

DLE and Drivers Jonas both intend to continue the use of the DQI, and hope to incorporate it, whenappropriate, in value and risk management studies at project briefing stage.”

Maria Kliniotou Davis Langdon & Everest

Jonathan GibsonDrivers Jonas

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

1514

Southwark Building DesignService is an urban localauthority renowned for itsapproach to the design qualityof the environment. Thiscommitment led them to be awarded the 2002 RIBA Local Authority Award.

Peckham Pulse Healthy LivingCentre was built to encouragelocal people to get fit and stay healthy. Inspired by the Peckham Pioneer HealthCentre of the 1930s, itexplores the link betweensocial and physical well beingand preventing disease.

“We performed the DQI onPeckham Pulse four years aftercompletion. We thought itwould be interesting to see howthe building, which is esteemedfor design quality, would rateusing the tool. It was also anexcellent opportunity to geteveryone involved in theconstruction process backtogether.

The DQI was performed as afacilitated workshop. Through all of our DQI experiences wehave found facilitation essentialto gain the maximum benefitfrom the DQI process. I havetrained as a facilitator whichwas cost effective and helpedincrease the clarity of the DQI to the participants.

The stakeholders whoparticipated were two projectmanagers, an architect,contractor, client, three facilitiesmanagers and a user of thecentre. Due to the lapse of time since completion it proveddifficult reconvening everyone,but despite the initialorganisational problems theworkshop was thought byeveryone to have been asuccess. The construction teamreally enjoyed talking to theusers as to how the buildingwas working, and they werevery enthusiastic to be involvedin a DQI process again.

The participants found the DQIprocess very interesting. Theyall felt that it was a necessity to identify the delights in aproject. The overall design ofPeckham Pulse scored highly in the DQI. We did, howevermanage to identify certainaspects which didn’t score well regarding the layout, which came as a surprise, andmechanical services, which mayreflect the ensuing maintenanceregime rather than the originaldesign. We found the‘weighting’ element of the DQIvery important in prioritisingwhat were the most importantissues. Without this dimensionbudgetary and planningrestraints could not be takeninto account.

Using the DQI at the post-occupancy stage on PeckhamPulse has provided us withvaluable benchmarking criteria,which we are using on futureprojects.”

Patricia O’Reilly Southwark Building Design Service

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

constructionCase study 4:In-usePeckham Pulse Healthy Living Centre

The Foreign andCommonwealth Office’soverseas estate consists ofover 4,300 properties rangingfrom substantial office blocksto garages for vehicles, andincludes offices, residentialaccommodation for staff andamenity facilities. Its globalnetwork of Posts play a vitalrole in promoting the UnitedKingdom’s interests abroad.

The FCO is fully committed to improving design standardsrecognising that good designalso achieves value formoney. This commitment ledto the FCO registering as aDQI Trailblazer.

“We have performed the DQIprocess on two of our newlyplanned Missions in Doha andChennai and are committed tousing it on our new BritishEmbassy, Warsaw. The processevoked debate and conversationbetween the many stakeholdersas to the buildings’ designspecifications. Not only dodesigns need to be fit-for-purpose and take into accountthe local environment, they alsoneed to fulfil the requirements ofother Government Departmentsrepresented at the Post. Thisprocess ensures effectivedelivery of ‘joined-up’Government. As well asindividual FCO Departments,stakeholders may include otherGovernment Departments, such

as DFID and the MOD, and also proposed users and localarchitects engaged on theproject.

At Chennai we performed the DQI at the pre-contractdesign development stage; we held a facilitated workshopin the UK consisting of allrelevant stakeholders, the UKproject management team, the architect and the structuralengineer. Additionally, localusers completed the DQIquestionnaire.

The workshop generated wide-ranging debate thatallowed us to ensure all viewsand requirements of thestakeholders were incorporatedinto the design process. It wasuseful as it allowed opinions to be collated in a genericlanguage and evoked debateabout design priorities. Wefound it identified certainrequirements, which ordinarilymay not have been considered.A typical example werequestionnaires received fromusers who asked the simplequestion of where could staffstore their bicycles andscooters? In Chennai these areessential forms of transport andthe value added to the users by incorporating space isunparalleled! We plan to revisitthe DQI results throughout the design and constructionprocess to benchmark the

Case study 3:Mid-design stageDoha and Chennai Embassies

original design aspirations andto re-evaluate their importance.

From our use of the DQI on theDoha Embassy, which initiallybecame a redundant designdue to a change of allocatedsite, we are now able to use theresults from the original schemeas a secondary brief for the newsite, and as a checklist to seethat the different stakeholderviews have not changed.

The FCO is committed to usingthe DQI. The DQI rating processhas recently been included intothe key stage review process for individual projects.”

Peter Finch Mike KellyFCO

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

Doha

Chennai

1514

Southwark Building DesignService is an urban localauthority renowned for itsapproach to the design qualityof the environment. Thiscommitment led them to be awarded the 2002 RIBA Local Authority Award.

Peckham Pulse Healthy LivingCentre was built to encouragelocal people to get fit and stay healthy. Inspired by the Peckham Pioneer HealthCentre of the 1930s, itexplores the link betweensocial and physical well beingand preventing disease.

“We performed the DQI onPeckham Pulse four years aftercompletion. We thought itwould be interesting to see howthe building, which is esteemedfor design quality, would rateusing the tool. It was also anexcellent opportunity to geteveryone involved in theconstruction process backtogether.

The DQI was performed as afacilitated workshop. Through all of our DQI experiences wehave found facilitation essentialto gain the maximum benefitfrom the DQI process. I havetrained as a facilitator whichwas cost effective and helpedincrease the clarity of the DQI to the participants.

The stakeholders whoparticipated were two projectmanagers, an architect,contractor, client, three facilitiesmanagers and a user of thecentre. Due to the lapse of time since completion it proveddifficult reconvening everyone,but despite the initialorganisational problems theworkshop was thought byeveryone to have been asuccess. The construction teamreally enjoyed talking to theusers as to how the buildingwas working, and they werevery enthusiastic to be involvedin a DQI process again.

The participants found the DQIprocess very interesting. Theyall felt that it was a necessity to identify the delights in aproject. The overall design ofPeckham Pulse scored highly in the DQI. We did, howevermanage to identify certainaspects which didn’t score well regarding the layout, which came as a surprise, andmechanical services, which mayreflect the ensuing maintenanceregime rather than the originaldesign. We found the‘weighting’ element of the DQIvery important in prioritisingwhat were the most importantissues. Without this dimensionbudgetary and planningrestraints could not be takeninto account.

Using the DQI at the post-occupancy stage on PeckhamPulse has provided us withvaluable benchmarking criteria,which we are using on futureprojects.”

Patricia O’Reilly Southwark Building Design Service

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

constructionCase study 4:In-usePeckham Pulse Healthy Living Centre

The Foreign andCommonwealth Office’soverseas estate consists ofover 4,300 properties rangingfrom substantial office blocksto garages for vehicles, andincludes offices, residentialaccommodation for staff andamenity facilities. Its globalnetwork of Posts play a vitalrole in promoting the UnitedKingdom’s interests abroad.

The FCO is fully committed to improving design standardsrecognising that good designalso achieves value formoney. This commitment ledto the FCO registering as aDQI Trailblazer.

“We have performed the DQIprocess on two of our newlyplanned Missions in Doha andChennai and are committed tousing it on our new BritishEmbassy, Warsaw. The processevoked debate and conversationbetween the many stakeholdersas to the buildings’ designspecifications. Not only dodesigns need to be fit-for-purpose and take into accountthe local environment, they alsoneed to fulfil the requirements ofother Government Departmentsrepresented at the Post. Thisprocess ensures effectivedelivery of ‘joined-up’Government. As well asindividual FCO Departments,stakeholders may include otherGovernment Departments, such

as DFID and the MOD, and also proposed users and localarchitects engaged on theproject.

At Chennai we performed the DQI at the pre-contractdesign development stage; we held a facilitated workshopin the UK consisting of allrelevant stakeholders, the UKproject management team, the architect and the structuralengineer. Additionally, localusers completed the DQIquestionnaire.

The workshop generated wide-ranging debate thatallowed us to ensure all viewsand requirements of thestakeholders were incorporatedinto the design process. It wasuseful as it allowed opinions to be collated in a genericlanguage and evoked debateabout design priorities. Wefound it identified certainrequirements, which ordinarilymay not have been considered.A typical example werequestionnaires received fromusers who asked the simplequestion of where could staffstore their bicycles andscooters? In Chennai these areessential forms of transport andthe value added to the users by incorporating space isunparalleled! We plan to revisitthe DQI results throughout the design and constructionprocess to benchmark the

Case study 3:Mid-design stageDoha and Chennai Embassies

original design aspirations andto re-evaluate their importance.

From our use of the DQI on theDoha Embassy, which initiallybecame a redundant designdue to a change of allocatedsite, we are now able to use theresults from the original schemeas a secondary brief for the newsite, and as a checklist to seethat the different stakeholderviews have not changed.

The FCO is committed to usingthe DQI. The DQI rating processhas recently been included intothe key stage review process for individual projects.”

Peter Finch Mike KellyFCO

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

use

access

space

characterand innovation

form andmaterials

internal environment

urban and socialintegration

performance

engineering

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0

construction

Doha

Chennai

Construction Industry Council (CIC) is the largest umbrella organisation inconstruction, bringing together over 50separate bodies which are professionalinstitutions, trade associations andresearch organisations. Theseorganisations collectively represent over 500,000 individual professionalsand 25,000 businesses engaged in the commissioning, planning, design,production, management andmaintenance of the built environment.

CIC26 Store Street London WC1E 7BTT 020 7399 7400www.cic.org.uk

DQIT 020 7399 7424 F 020 7399 7425www.dqi.org.uk dqi@cic.org.uk D

esig

n: D

UFF

Y

CICDESIGNQUALITYINDICATORONLINE

AEDET National Health Service, Achieving Excellence Design Evaluation Toolkit BREEAM Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method CABE Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment – www.cabe.org.ukCE Constructing Excellence – www.constructingexcellence.org.ukCIC Construction Industry Council – www.cic.org.ukDEEP Defence Estates, Design Excellence Evaluation Process DQI Design Quality Indicator – www.dqi.org.uk DTI Department for Trade and Industry – www.dti.gov.ukEPI Environmental Performance Indicators KPI Key Performance Indicators – www.kpizone.comOGC Office of Government Commerce – www.ogc.gov.ukPFI Public Finance InitiativeRIBA Royal Institute of British Architects – www.architecture.com SPeAR Arup’s Sustainable Project Appraisal Routine

For a full list of DQI links please see www.dqi.org.uk

Glossary