Publications

CONSTRUCTION BRIEFING

We don’t just make software for construction briefing—we also write about it. Our co-founder Juriaan van Meel has written an influential book about construction briefing, together with Kjersti Bjørkeng Størdal from Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

What you see here is the book’s second edition, with new examples, new topics, and even more diagrams than the first edition. Otherwise, the book is very much the same as it was, and thus also carrying the same message: every construction project should start with the development of a good brief because projects cannot succeed if it isn’t clear what their purpose is.

The book provides all the guidance needed to develop high-performance briefs. In clear language, it succinctly explains the briefing process, different kinds of briefing techniques and the topics that should be addressed in the brief. In addition, the book provides examples, checklists and recommendations that can be directly applied in practice.

You can order a (beautifully produced) physical copy, or look at the free online version of the book.

The Activity-Based Working Practice Guide

BriefBuilder is the proud sponsor of the Activity-Based Working (ABW) Practice Guide, which is an eminently practical book about how to create efficient, flexible, attractive work environments. The book has been called ‘The most comprehensive review of activity-based working ever’ and ‘A great and very usable book for everyone who wants to have a better understanding of activity-based working’.

Why has BriefBuilder sponsored this book? Well, in ABW projects, construction clients and their design teams must deal with a multitude of requirements, concerning matters such as indoor climate, acoustics, flexibility, hygiene and ergonomics. BriefBuilder helps you to manage these requirements in a systematic way. This is highly relevant because all too often ambitious ABW projects fail to deliver on common-sense matters such as good acoustics or easy-to-reach power sockets. Having a clear set of requirements, combined with systematic design verification, helps to avoid such problems.

Please note: for BriefBuilder users there is a free ABW requirements template available, containing all the requirements that are featured in the book. You can contact your account manager or sales contact for this.