Turn a client's wishes into an architectural brief that can actually be designed against — the accommodation schedule, the adjacencies, the budget reality, and the constraints named before they become change orders. Use when asked to write an architectural brief, prepare a project brief for a building, run a client briefing, or capture requirements for a new build or refurbishment. Produces the accommodation schedule with areas, the adjacency and circulation requirements, the site and statutory constraints, the budget and programme reality check, and the explicit exclusions.
“Write an architectural brief for a new community building”“Help me capture what the client actually needs”“Turn these client notes into a project brief”“Does this budget work for the accommodation they are asking for?”“Write a brief for a house extension”
What to give it
▸The client and the driver — who they are, and what problem the building is supposed to solve
▸The activities — what will actually happen in the building, by whom, and when
▸The site — location, area, existing structures, access, orientation, and any known designations or constraints
▸The budget and programme — the number they have and the date they need it, however soft
▸The fixed points — anything already decided, promised, or non-negotiable
✅ The bar it holds itself to
Every skill in this library self-verifies — these are this skill's own quality checks, straight from its definition.
✓Every space is justified by an activity, not just named
✓Areas are stated and totalled, gross as well as net
✓The budget is tested against the area before design begins
✓Adjacencies are recorded as requirements, not left to the plan
✓Statutory and site constraints are named rather than assumed away
✓Exclusions are written down and agreed
✓Assumptions are flagged with what changes if they turn out wrong
⚠️ What it refuses to do
**Briefing in room names.** Locks in a solution before the requirement is understood.
**A schedule with no areas.** Guarantees the budget conversation happens after the design.
**Deferring the budget test.** The gap does not shrink by being discovered later; it just costs more to fix.
**Aspirations written as requirements.** 'Sustainable' is not a requirement; a target rating is.
**No exclusions page.** Every undocumented exclusion becomes a variation.