The design of a building and participation in the construction process to realize that vision are the universal tasks faced by all architects. However, in Korea, a Design-Supervision Separating System has long excluded architects from the stage of realisation. The separating system is based on the thought that to build is to manufacture and to control the quality is to simply follow the drawings, in the same way that industrial products are made.
However, the realisation of building is only achieved over a long period on the construction site. On most construction sites in Korea, construction schedules are plotted out in the absence of ‘detailed construction drawings’. Construction drawings by an architect delineate a simple technical methodology often with additional design notes, and as such the detailed construction drawings must be added to by those responsible for construction in order to construct the buildings. However, in most cases, construction proceeds without detailed construction documents. In addition, many variables – such as weather, materials, manpower, equipment, and site conditions – are involved in building construction, bringing about additional changes and adjustments. As such, construction is often subject to precarious conditions which can lead the final work to deviate from the architect’s original intentions. Furthermore, the material and even the design itself can be subjected to arbitrary changes by constructors and supervisors. As a result, the actual work is not coherent or consistent with the original design, which can result in the loss of design integrity. There can be several explanations for this failure, but the absence of the designer at the construction stage can be one of the biggest reasons.
The Basic Role of the Architect: ‘Implementation of Design Intentions’
In June 2020, the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it intended to implement the ‘System for the Implementation of Design Intentions’ for the first time in Korea (covered in SPACE Aug. 2020). This measure came into effect immediately, and has altered the ways in which projects even currently under construction are carried out. This does not mean that similar efforts to include designers at the construction stage had never been made in this country. A clause stating the ‘implementation of the design intentions’ of designers was enacted in the 2013 ‘Act on the Promotion of Building Service Industry’. Therefore, what makes this new 2020 iteration different?
First, SMG unified its terms related to the realisation of design intentions and in order to prevent confusion. The term ‘Implementation of Design Intentions’ encompasses all of the similar instances scattered throughout the past, such as ‘post design management’ in the Certified Architects Act and ‘design supervision’ in the Framework Act on Building. In other words, in the future, all of the works endorsed by SMG will define the role of the architect at the construction stage to be ensuring the ‘Implementation of Design Intentions’. In addition, SMG has proposed sub-criteria for the system. The move is to reaffirm the design integrity of the public buildings and to advise the industry by arranging these tasks under the general role of the architect. It also specified action items for implementation. Henceforth, it will be distinguished from the current supervision system which focuses on the management of the objective factors such as ‘quality, safety and the legal compliance’.
The newly implemented measure echoes the architectural systems in other advanced countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Japan. Although there are differences to the roles prescribed by each country to architects, ‘design tasks’ and ‘construction engagement’ are commonly defined under the basic roles performed by an architect.
The tasks defined in the construction category ensure that the building is implemented in accordance with the design document in terms of design integrity, and that architects are given authority and responsibility in the construction stages. In other words, the designer’s role at the construction stage is to implement the design intentions, which is different from a supervision role that focuses on management of public safety and quality control. For this reason, supervision can be performed not only by the architect but also by the public or a third party in those countries, but the implementation of design intentions designates the architect as exclusive lead.
From Shadow Work to Official Responsibility
As mentioned earlier, there have been cases in a number of public projects in which architects continued to participate at the construction stage even after their supervision was legally restricted. Most of them were carried out as part of a voluntary ‘free-of-charge service’ by individual architects. This was due to the rationale that unless they participate in the construction stage without payment, the design documents could be changed without the designer’s knowledge, or the project might find resolution in a manner very different from that set out by its original aims in light of the variables occurring on site.
SMG’s system is significant in that it formalises and guarantees an architects’ involvement at the construction stage, which has long been performed as ‘shadow work’. SMG has now established a working system related to the implementation of the designer’s intentions for public buildings endorsed by the city, and has made it mandatory to execute the design intentions through a separate service contract. In addition, SMG establishes the basic framework for the actual execution of points based upon factors such as the ‘detailed notes for the implementation of design intentions’, ‘standard work for the implementation of design intentions’, ‘action plans’, and the ‘standard payment for services’. Additionally, it was mandated that one had to submit a ‘confirmation note on architects’ participation’ before approval for use. As a consequence, the designer’s engagement at the construction stage, which had not been recognised so far, can be officially secured.
SMG’s newly implemented system presents an extended scope for and details of the role than those previously legalised. In the present formulation, design supervision and post design management are confined to the interpretation and consultation of design documents, the review and supplement of dimensions, locations, materials, textures, colors, and so on of materials and equipment. This is because when the existing laws were put in place they mainly referred to the Japanese concept of ‘the transfer of design intents’, which focuses on work at the detailed design stages before construction.
SMG has extended the scope of work for the implementation of design intentions at the construction stage. Firstly, architects are now entitled to review and confirm the detailed construction drawings at the construction stage, which in spite of its importance has been ignored in numerous municipal projects. As it was not specified in any act as the required task of the supervisor, most supervisors were not able to fulfill their due diligence, and no one could carry out such responsibilities, even as the constructors have avoided detailing the construction drawings. SMG allows architects to participate in the major stage of construction and/or the stages in which they request to participate, and allows architects to lead discussions and altercations on the matters related to the implementation of design intentions with the engineers. It is anticipated that this will solve the problems arising from the division between construction supervision and engineering supervision. In this regard, the new measure can be viewed as progress in redefining the role of architects in public projects. Moreover, the impact will be broader than in the Act on the Promotion of Building Service Industry, which only targets public buildings of a design cost of 100 million KRW or more, since the full implications will be applied to all public projects initiated by the SMG.
Nevertheless, compared situations in the aforementioned countries, the role of architects in the new system is relatively limited. In these countries, the working scope for implementing design intentions is presented in detail across various stages from construction preparation to completion. At the construction preparation stage, architects help their clients to select the proper constructor in the bidding process by communicating them along with the samples, budget and detailed drawings provided by the prospective constructors. It ensures design integrity by connecting the design documents and the construction throughout, and the architects are given authority to check and approve whether each process is constructed in conformity with the design document at each stage of construction. In particular, during the intermediate construction stage, the payment of the construction costs are decided based on the designer’s evaluation and confirmation, and even when final completion is reached, the architects are also given the role of determining the suitability of the construction required for use, and to review and confirm the final payment of the construction cost. Of course, in Korea, it is not easy to expand upon this position as there are overlaps in the roles adopted by supervisors, construction project managers, and construction supervisors. Therefore, the follow-on measures are a must after actual implementation via close coordination through monitoring and alterations.
One more thing to mention is that the SMG’s system allows for relatively lower payments compared to those in foreign countries. SMG has made it possible to choose between a fixed-rate payment and a variable rate payment, and guided them to choose a higher payment in low-cost projects. However, the rate itself is set low, and has wide ranges from 0.79 to 19.32%, compared to those abroad. As the system has just been implemented, review and supplementation must follow in order to calculate the price appropriate for the actual work by monitoring the reality as well.
The task of realising design intentions is the basic role of any designer to ensure the building achieves design integrity right from the construction stage. Moreover, it has been placed outside the area of work that is institutionally recognised. Through this brand-new system, the basic role of the architect is also re-established within the design and construction stages, not just at the design phase, and the cost is also re-established as the basic payment of the architect ad not as a design cost. I think the new measure will be a small but big step in restoring the raison d’etre of architects.