Client guides

CABE produces guides to help those responsible for delivering public buildings and spaces. Our client guides cover issues such as building a strong team, establishing a design vision and consulting users effectively. They include useful illustrative examples.

Buildings

Creating excellent buildings

Guidance on how to commission a building project successfully, tailored to the needs of those who are new to the commissioning and design process.

Masterplanning

Creating successful masterplans

Updated version of our guide to masterplanning, demonstrating how a clear and considered masterplan can contribute to the physical, social and economic revival of places.

Selecting design and development partners

This client briefing describes how evaluation and selection processes can be structured to deliver successful, well-designed places.

Agreeing a procurement strategy

This client briefing outlines how important a long-term procurement strategy is for delivering high quality development.

Culture and leisure

Client guide for Arts Capital Programme projects

Guidance on procuring buildings for arts projects, but useful for all those involved of procuring public buildings.

Education

Creating excellent secondary schools

A step-by-step journey through the schools building process, from vision to completion, helping clients to deliver a real transformation.

Being involved in school design

Providing guidance for school communities, local authorities, funders, designers and construction teams that are involved in building schools.

Achieving well designed schools through Private Finance Initiatives

Guidance on how client, private sector partner and the school community can work together to create well-designed schools through PFI.

Picturing school design

A presentation and booklet to help project teams deliver high-quality educational buildings and grounds, highlighting good practice and common problem areas.

Building schools for the future: The client design advisor

Helping local education authorities and schools understand the role of experienced architects as design advisors in the Building Schools for the Future programme. 

Public space

Start with the park

A good practice guide for people involved in developing and managing sustainable green spaces in housing growth and housing market renewal areas.

Decent parks? Decent behaviour? The link between the quality of parks and user behaviour

Providing evidence that good design and management, not just heavy handed security measures, are the key ingredients for safer parks.

A guide to producing parks and green space management plans

Practical guidance on writing plans for the management and development of publicly accessible public parks and green spaces.

Open space strategies

Practical guidance to local authorities and their stakeholders on how to prepare, deliver, monitor and review an open space strategy.

It's our space

Guidance for anyone involved in a public space project for the first time, giving examples of great outdoor spaces led by community groups.