ABSTRACT
The process of setting a building in its environment involves a subtle combination of factors. As an undergraduate student of design you will have responded to a brief to propose a physical solution to a brief or an agenda. However, buildings are also framed by a set of constraints that go beyond the brief. Some are physical and others administrative constraints which are discussed in later chapters. These constraints can only be fully understood in their legal context. In this chapter you will begin to understand the origins of the rules and regulations that control not only the processes that govern design and construction projects but also the way professionals have to engage with their clients and society generally.
