At some point early in a project, somebody will say that a decision can wait until Stage 4 and then continue the conversation. The RIBA stages are so familiar within the profession that it is easy to forget they mean very little to most homeowners.
The RIBA Plan of Work divides a project into eight stages, numbered 0 to 7. It is a framework, not a legal requirement. Practices use it because it gives the client, consultants and contractor a shared way to describe where the project has reached, what information should exist and what needs to happen next.
On a domestic project the boundaries are rarely rigid. Two stages may overlap, and a modest refurbishment will not need the same level of process as a hospital or school. The sequence is still useful because it puts decisions in the right order.
Before anyone starts drawing
Stage 0 is Strategic Definition. This is where you decide whether a building project is the right answer at all.
The house, your needs and the budget are considered before a design direction is chosen. The options might include extending, reorganising the existing plan, moving or carrying out much less work.
The output is a recommendation and an early view of viability, not a set of plans. This stage is often skipped, even though it is the only one where “do not build” can be a successful outcome.
Stage 1 is Preparation and Briefing. The project begins to take shape.
Your requirements are developed into a written brief. A measured survey records the existing building, and structural, drainage or other specialist surveys may be commissioned. Planning designations, listed status, covenants, trees, drainage and access constraints are investigated. The project team is assembled, the programme is considered and the formal design appointments required by the Building Regulations are addressed.
By the end of this stage, you should understand what the project is meant to achieve, what information is still missing and which priorities will guide decisions if the budget or building forces a compromise.
Finding and resolving the design
Stage 2 is Concept Design. This is where the main architectural idea is developed.
Plans, sections, sketches and often a three-dimensional model are used to explore layout, form, light and the relationship between the house and garden. More than one option may be tested before a preferred direction emerges. Early cost advice should run alongside the design so that affordability is not left until the scheme is fully developed.
Your most important decision at this stage is the overall direction. It is also the cheapest point at which to change it.
Stage 3 is Spatial Coordination. The concept is tested and made to work with the rest of the project.
The structural engineer helps resolve openings and loads. Services are given routes. Dimensions become more reliable and the separate parts of the design are coordinated. Where planning permission is required, the application is often prepared and submitted during or towards the end of this stage.
You can still change the plan afterwards, but the effect is no longer limited to one drawing. Moving a wall may now alter the structure, services, planning application, cost and programme. The drawing change may be simple. The consequences are not.
You may still hear Stage 3 called Developed Design, which was its name in an earlier version of the Plan of Work.
Stage 4 is Technical Design. The information needed to price and construct the work is prepared.
This can include construction details, schedules, specifications, joinery drawings, finishes, fittings and Building Regulations information. The level of detail depends on how the project will be procured. Some contracts leave particular elements to a contractor or specialist to design. Others are based on a more complete design prepared before tender.
For a fully designed residential tender, the aim should be coordinated information that allows builders to price on a common basis and leaves as little as reasonably possible to be decided on site.
This is also the stage when many small client decisions become urgent. Sanitaryware, ironmongery, sockets, lighting, finishes and appliances may all need to be confirmed. It can feel relentless, but decisions made now are generally cheaper and calmer than decisions made while a contractor is waiting.
Tendering commonly takes place towards the end of Stage 4, when the information is issued to builders and the returned prices can be compared.
Building and handing over the project
Stage 5 is Manufacturing and Construction. The work is built, and specialist items such as joinery may be manufactured off site.
A separate but related service is contract administration. Someone needs to inspect progress, review payment applications, issue formal instructions, record changes and administer the terms of the building contract.
That role does not appear automatically because an architect prepared the design. It must be included in an appointment. When nobody is clearly responsible, instructions tend to be given informally, payments are harder to assess and the final cost becomes more difficult to control.
The client should be making as few design decisions as possible during construction. Some changes are unavoidable, particularly in an existing building, but elective changes at this stage usually affect both cost and time.
Stage 6 is Handover. The work reaches completion and the building is returned to you.
You should receive the keys, certificates, warranties, operating information and relevant as-built records. Outstanding items are listed and the defects period begins. This commonly lasts twelve months, although the contract should be checked. A proportion of money may be retained until defects have been addressed.
Completion does not always mean that every minor item is finished. It means the contractual threshold for completion has been reached and any remaining work is identified and managed.
Stage 7 is Use. You live in the house and learn how it performs.
This stage receives little attention on many residential projects, but the information handed over can become very valuable. You may need to know the paint specification, who installed the heating, when equipment needs servicing or where concealed valves and controls are located.
Keep the building manual somewhere accessible. A future owner, contractor or solicitor may also need it.
Planning and building regulations are separate
The RIBA stages describe the project process. They are not the same as the statutory approvals that run alongside it.
Planning is concerned with whether the development is acceptable in planning terms. An application is often made around Stage 3, but the timing depends on the project. Approval is not guaranteed.
Building control is concerned with compliance with the Building Regulations. It usually begins during technical design and continues through construction to completion. Planning approval does not mean the technical design complies, and building control approval does not grant planning permission.
Since October 2023, the Building Regulations have also required formal dutyholder roles. Clients, including domestic clients, must take reasonable steps to appoint competent people. The principal designer role for the design work needs to be addressed during the design phase, not left until construction is about to start. The principal contractor role relates to the building work.
A separate health and safety framework under the CDM Regulations also runs across the project. The similar terminology can be confusing, which is another reason the appointments and responsibilities should be explained at the beginning.
How Lapunne simplifies the stages
For a house, the eight stages can be understood as four broader phases.
Discover covers Stages 0 and 1. We establish what you need, whether the project is viable and what the existing building and site will allow.
Plan is Stage 2. We develop the design direction and test it against the brief and budget.
Design covers Stages 3 and 4. The scheme is coordinated, approvals are pursued and the information is developed far enough to price and build.
Deliver covers Stages 5, 6 and 7. The work is constructed, administered, handed over and supported into use.
The sequence matters because the cost of changing a decision rises as the project progresses. At Stage 2, a revised layout may take a week. At Stage 4, it can require several coordinated drawings to change. During construction, it may mean demolition, delay and additional payment.
Much of the value in a well-run project is created early, when the work is least visible. Surveys, briefing, option testing and coordination do not look like progress on site, but they are what allow the visible part to proceed with fewer surprises.