eres2010_130_Henneberry_MODELLING_THE_RELATI(2)

The paper describes the development and application of physical-financialmodelling techniques to the analysis of relations between development design –covering the broad characteristics of a scheme, such as land use mix, developmentdensity and built form – and financial viability. It is divided into two parts

Introduction: the Development and Design Processes

The paper explores the relationship between development viability and design quality. As a first step, the development and design processes – and the ways in which they engage with one another – need to be considered. However, there is very little literature on this point, other than that relating to master planning/design coding (for example, Carmona et al, 2006) which is a second order design process (George, 1998). Recourse must instead be had to practice texts. All those reviewed by Crosby et al (2008) treat the development process, whether implicitly or explicitly, as a sequence of events - as stages in the process of producing a completed, occupied scheme (see Figure 1). Events-sequence models may vary in their levels of detail and complexity but they are essentially task and project focused (Healy 1991; Gore and Nicholson 1991). Little is said about the motivations and resources of the various actors involved in property development (who are assumed to be rational utility-maximises) or about the wider environment within which they operate (which is assumed to approximate an imperfect market with some state regulation).

Figure 1: The Development and Design Processes

The Development Process The Design Process

(Syms, 2002) (Tunstall, 2006)

0. Market appraisal

1. Project inception 1. Inception (receiving client’s brief)

2. Feasibility (formulating design brief)

2. Site acquisition and assembly

3. Site assessment 3. Outline proposals

4. Risk analysis

5. Detailed design 4. Scheme design (for approvals)

6. Feasibility study

7. Planning approval

8. Land and development finance 5. Detailed design

6. Construction information

7. Measurement (bills of quantity)

9. Tendering 8. Tendering arrangements

9. Pre-contract planning

10. Construction 10. Construction on site

11. Completion

12. Feed-back

11. Sales and marketing

The design process is portrayed in a similar way (see Figure 1). Being one aspect of the wider development process, it is nested within the latter. The development project and its design are conceived and then continuously developed and refined as more information becomes available. The developer faces a fundamental dilemma in this regard. In the early stages of the development process the room for manoeuvre is considerable because the developer has made limited financial or legal commitments to the project. However, the quantity and quality of information is also limited,