A project can begin with an apparently straightforward request: “We need another classroom block,” “We need a warehouse,” or “We want to extend the offices.” Each describes a possible building. None yet explains what that building must achieve.
A useful brief closes that gap. It gives the engineering team enough information to test options, identify missing investigations and explain the consequences of a decision before it becomes expensive to reverse.
Start with the problem the project must solve
Write a short statement of the current problem, who experiences it and what successful delivery would change. For a school, that might mean accommodating a defined number of learners, improving circulation and maintaining teaching during construction. For a workshop, it might mean safe vehicle movement, sufficient working clearances and reliable power for specific equipment.
This is consistent with the RIBA Plan of Work, which separates strategic definition and briefing from later design and construction. It is a useful project framework, rather than a substitute for Ghanaian approvals or the agreed professional appointment.
A good question for the first meeting is: could refurbishment, a different layout or phased improvement meet the objective? You may still decide to build, but you will have tested why.
Give the team evidence, and label what is uncertain
Gather the site location, available survey information, photographs, existing drawings and records of previous work. For an occupied building, add information about operating hours, access restrictions and areas that must remain functional.
Do not describe an old drawing as an accurate record unless it has been checked. Mark information as verified, reported or unknown. “Existing drainage route unknown” is useful information; a confident line on a drawing that no one has verified can be misleading.
- Site: location, boundaries, access, neighbouring uses and known drainage issues.
- Existing assets: buildings, utilities, equipment and anything that must be protected.
- Operation: users, hours, activities, deliveries and periods when shutdowns are possible.
- Constraints: budget range, funding stages, completion priorities and approval dependencies.
- Evidence gaps: missing surveys, condition assessments or investigations to be scoped.
Describe performance, not only rooms and finishes
A room list is helpful, but it does not tell the team how the facility should work. Explain occupancy, equipment, water needs, power continuity expectations, maintenance capacity and future expansion intentions.
The Whole Building Design Guide describes the Owner’s Project Requirements as a record of goals, expectations and success criteria. That principle applies even when the project is too small to justify a lengthy formal document: state how you will know the result works.
Replace “provide adequate water” with a request to establish demand, required availability and acceptable interruptions. Replace “make the building comfortable” with a discussion of occupancy, activities and the environmental conditions the design must address. The engineering team can then propose measurable criteria.
Make the budget conversation useful
Tell the team what the available budget includes. A construction allowance may exclude surveys, professional services, approvals, utility connections, equipment, testing, contingencies or work needed to keep the existing facility operating.
At the briefing stage, ask for a list of exclusions and assumptions alongside any preliminary estimate. A number without its scope is difficult to compare. Where funding is staged, distinguish a complete first phase from unfinished work that depends on an uncertain second phase.
Agree decision gates and responsibilities
Before work progresses, record who approves the brief, who provides missing information and who can authorise changes. Keep a short decision register: the question, options considered, decision, owner and date.
For example, an illustrative warehouse extension might require confirmation of delivery-vehicle access before its footprint is approved. The decision gate is not “drawings complete”; it is “the proposed layout has been checked against the agreed operational requirements.”
Approval planning belongs in this discussion. Ghana’s Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority publishes guidelines on development permitting. Ask the relevant local authority and project professionals to confirm the applicable process and submission requirements for your specific proposal.
A practical first-meeting agenda
- Explain the operational problem and desired outcome.
- Review the information already available and identify uncertainties.
- Agree the investigations needed before major design decisions.
- Confirm the budget scope, programme priorities and approval route.
- Record the next deliverables, decision owners and review date.
The most valuable result of the first meeting is a shared understanding of what needs to be decided next. That gives design a clear purpose and helps everyone recognise a change in scope when it occurs.
Planning work on your site? Discuss your project with EEACL, including the location, intended use and any drawings or photographs already available.
Research checked 9 October 2026. This article supports project planning; specifications, testing and approvals must be agreed for the actual site and intended use. Photographs are illustrative images from the EEACL portfolio.
Share this article