COST IMPLICATIONS of BUILDING DESIGN PLANS: a Literature Review Analysis

Abstract

At the moment, the process of achieving awell-designed project in respect to cost constraints dictated by clients, both for private and public buildings isnot well understood.It involves a significant amount of re-design, and rework, thus take long to complete.In order to achieve a higher level of performance without an increase in product cost and time, it is necessary to identify, measure and articulate the major building design variables andtheir cost implications to a building project.Therefore, this literature review study has been sought to attain two objectives 1)identifying of building design variables and their cost implications, and then 2)make appropriate recommendations for the construction practitionersespecially in Indonesia. The literature was collected from wide range completed studies on the topic, critically examined and then results discussed, conclusions and recommendations drawn. The findings established 12 design variables, with main ones being plan shape and complexity, storey height, number of storeys, building size, and building services. Plan shape was identified to have the greatest impact on costs, with square shape being the cheapest while circular shape being most expensive, and complex shapes also having higher costs. The recommendations made were that there isneed for the building shape, to be as close as possible to square, avoiding irregular shapes. Further studies need to be done to establish how far individual cost elements are affected by these variables, especially in developing countries like Indonesia.