Every project starts somewhere. For us, that somewhere is usually a conversation over a cup of coffee (or tea — we don't judge). But before that conversation even happens, we wanted to give people a way to start thinking about what they actually want. So we made a thing.

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Introducing the REQA Design Brief Workbook — a self-guided toolkit we developed in-house to help clients explore the possibilities and define their project vision before engaging an architect.

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Why did we make it?

Starting a building project can feel overwhelming. Generally, everyone will always ask themselves 'what do we want?', 'what do we need?', 'how long will it take?', 'how much will it cost?'. This creates a lot of pressure to know exactly what you want straight away, which is not ideal. What we've found over the years is that the most productive conversations happen when clients have had the chance to reflect a little first — to ponder, to think about how they live or work, what they love, and what they'd genuinely like to change.

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The workbook is designed to create that space. Something useful to start the process.

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What's inside?

We’ve deliberately created the workbook as a magazine-style document — visually engaging, calm and easy to pick up.

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It kicks off with warm-up questions — nothing too serious, things like "Tea or coffee?" and "What's the best building you've ever been in?" — a few short prompts to get the creative thoughts flowing. From there, it moves through a series of short exercises: articulating the brief, describing what the design should feel like, thinking inside and outside the building, ranking preferences and priorities.

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Whether its a residential project or a commercial space, chances are people research through architecture or design websites, instagram accounts and Pinterest - this workbook aims to sit alongside providing pages to sketch, scribble, and stick things in. No wrong answers. No jargon. Just an honest exploration of what makes a space feel right for the person who will end up investing in it.

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Who is it for?

Anyone thinking about a building project — whether that's a new build, an extension, commercial fit-out or a renovation.

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It's especially useful if you're at the very start of the process and you're not quite sure how to put your ideas into words yet.

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Will it help?

When a project begins with a well-considered brief, it allows everyone to:

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• Focus design effort where it matters most
• Reduce assumptions and misunderstandings
• Make clearer, more confident design decisions
• Create outcomes that genuinely reflect the client’s priorities.

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In short, it sets the project up for success.

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How do we use it?

Architecture is a collaborative process, and the best projects are built on trust, clarity and shared understanding. We share the workbook with new clients as part of our early briefing process. It's a bit of a conversation starter — sometimes clients come back with pages full of sketches and Pinterest boards, sometimes they come back with a single sentence that tells us everything we need to know.

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Either way, it works. Try for yourself or forward to someone thinking of doing a project - find the full document here.

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If you'd like to know more about this or have some questions, drop us an email at architects@reqa.co.uk or find us on Instagram @req.a — it would be great to hear from you.