Keeping it Simple with the Project Portal

by Will Allen

At Barefoot Architects we strive to be collaborative in our design approach. We believe everyone should be empowered and enabled to build their own home and transform the way they live, so we’re constantly improving our systems to make home-building simpler for our clients. 

Recently we produced 2 key blogs on the co-design approach; Guerrilla Tactics and Participatory Design.

If you have never undergone a construction project, the design process can be incredibly daunting; “how do I set a budget? How long will it take? Where do I start?” are common questions. If knowledge is power, then we intend to empower our clients to formalise their aspirations of building their homes and communities. At the same time we recognise that each person is an expert of their own community and so the success of a design often hinges on their insider knowledge being brought into fruition in the design process.

One tactic of the co-design approach is to keep things simple, but often simple solutions are the most difficult to realise. It’s simple to say, “let’s work collaboratively on this project”, but it takes work and attention to actually achieve it. We’re constantly updating our systems and strategies to make our work transparent to our clients; the most recent progression was the introduction of the Project Portal. 

Instead of trawling through endless emails trying to find what was said and when, the Project Portal collates all of the key decisions and ideas in one place so that information is less likely to fall through the net. It relates directly to the RIBA Plan of Work, making it much easier to track progress for both client and architect alike. Consultants and contractors can contribute too, and tasks can be assigned to each party so that it’s clear who’s doing what and when. 

It’s still a work in progress (as with all our systems), but we’ve found the Project Portal to make the design process significantly more engaging and accessible to clients. Client feedback has spurred its creation and will continue to inform its progression.

So if you’re currently working with us, or you’re thinking of doing so, we’d love to know how you like to work and what we can do to help you enjoy the process!