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Explore the serviceSavoie Studios / Owner’s guide
Before the RFP.
Get the brief right.
A practical starting guide for owners preparing to define a facility project, develop design criteria, or ask design-build teams for proposals.
Before you ask teams for a solution
A design-build proposal is more useful when the owner has clearly described the problem to solve. An attractive concept cannot resolve requirements that have never been agreed upon.
This guide is a practical starting framework for school districts, public agencies, and institutional owners. Use it to organize the questions your project brief needs to answer.
Start with outcomes
“We need more space” begins a conversation. “We need to accommodate these activities, at this capacity, while keeping these services operating” gives a team something concrete to address.
Eight questions for the owner’s brief
- What must the project make possible?Describe the organizational, educational, or public-service outcomes. Identify which needs are essential and which are preferences.
- Who needs to be heard?Identify leadership, staff, users, facilities personnel, and other stakeholders. Decide who can resolve competing priorities.
- What activities and spaces are required?Describe functions, capacity, adjacencies, and important relationships. Separate verified requirements from assumptions.
- What does acceptable performance mean?Discuss quality, durability, maintenance, building systems, and day-to-day operation. Wherever practical, make expectations observable or measurable.
- Where does the scope begin and end?Identify existing conditions, site work, equipment, technology, furnishings, and owner-provided items that may affect the project.
- What constraints must teams work within?Document known budget parameters, milestones, access limits, phasing needs, and ongoing operations. Flag information that is still being developed.
- What should every proposal explain?Ask for comparable information about scope, assumptions, exclusions, performance, schedule, and the proposed approach.
- How will questions and decisions be recorded?Establish how requirements are clarified, who makes decisions, and how changes to the brief are communicated.
An example: turn a concern into criteria
The following is an illustrative school-renovation example, not a completed Savoie Studios project.
| Owner concern | What the brief should clarify | What to ask a team |
|---|---|---|
| “School must stay open.” | Which spaces remain occupied, when access is possible, and which functions need temporary arrangements. | How does your proposed phasing support those operating requirements? |
| “We need a building we can maintain.” | Service access, maintenance expectations, staff capabilities, and training needs. | How will the proposed systems be serviced, and what will the owner need to operate them? |
| “The proposals are difficult to compare.” | A common scope outline and consistent disclosure of assumptions, exclusions, and owner responsibilities. | Which requirements are included, which differ, and what information is still unresolved? |
Make proposals easier to compare
Use one comparison framework for all teams. Put the owner’s requirement beside the proposed response, then record exceptions and questions. A difference should be visible before it becomes an unnoticed assumption.
Ask whether the proposals include the same work, rely on the same owner commitments, and address the same operational constraints. A useful review makes the tradeoffs clear enough for the owner to decide.
What to bring to an initial conversation
- A short description of the need and the people affected.
- Existing plans, assessments, studies, or project-brief material.
- Known timing and budget parameters, including unresolved items.
- The next decision your team needs to make.
You can begin before every question is answered. The point of the first discussion is to identify what needs to be clarified and what kind of support would be useful.
Adapt the framework to the project
The content of a criteria package and the procurement process depend on the project and the owner’s requirements. Establish the applicable process and approvals with your procurement and legal teams.
Start a conversation
Your next project.
A clearer starting point.
Bring the idea, the space that is not working, or the decision you need to make. Let’s explore a design direction and the support that fits your project.
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Schematic design · Owner advisory & design criteria · Architect-led design-build