"From Design to Aftercare" Architects Participate in All Stages of Seoul Public Building Projects

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] On the 16th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it will be the first in Korea to implement the 'Design Intent Implementation System,' which institutionally guarantees the participation of designers throughout the entire process of public building creation, from design to construction and post-management.

This means institutionalizing the participation of designers in construction, which has been virtually ineffective. Designers directly design considering the structure and facilities that form the foundation of the building, but after drawing the plans, they are practically excluded from the construction process. Even when various variables such as differences in plan interpretation or material changes occur on site, construction proceeds without the designer, resulting in cases where the construction differs from the design plan, lowering quality or failing to properly reflect the architect's intent.

To resolve these issues, Seoul has decided to institutionalize the participation of designers in the construction process after design as an official task. Specific scopes of work and compensation standards have also been established. This will be fully applied to all public buildings promoted by Seoul and its affiliated institutions, including 13 projects currently under construction.

A Seoul city official said, "Designers participating in the actual construction process of the buildings they designed can prevent construction from deviating from the design due to various on-site variables, and construction managers can improve construction quality through faster decision-making and prevention of unnecessary design changes."

To this end, Seoul promised ① establishing appropriate compensation standards, ② establishing reasonable scopes of work, and ③ guaranteeing designers' participation.

First, compensation can be calculated by choosing either the 'actual cost plus fixed fee method,' which is based on actual expenses incurred, or the 'percentage of design fee method,' which is based on a certain percentage of the design fee. When ordering construction, a separate contract for 'Design Intent Implementation' services will be signed to determine the compensation payment method.

Second, the scope of work for design intent implementation is defined as 'management of the building's dignity and design intent,' differentiating it from the existing construction supervision focused on 'building quality and safety.'

Third, measures have been prepared to ensure the practical participation of designers and enhance the effectiveness of the system. Upon completion of construction, it is mandatory to submit a confirmation of the designer's participation in the 'Design Intent Implementation' task along with the completion report, which is submitted to Seoul by the construction supervisor or construction project manager.

Seoul will announce these details to the departments responsible for public building creation and affiliated institutions and immediately begin implementation. As this is a newly attempted system, it plans to supplement the system through thorough monitoring and on-site feedback collection over one year.