Cost and Quality Awareness Building

The advent of cost awareness in building is relatively easy to pinpoint; the expression was first used in the prosperous 1980´s, in the post-modern era. At the end of this era the first attempts for cost awareness were made in order to develop principles of financial and spatial efficiency. When viewing the results of this epoch, one is surprised by the visual quality achieved; an abundance of materials, details, surface finishes and forms which, in spite of the costs involved were not always economically sustainable over time or in relation to their locations. Various factors; planning, construction, awarding of contract and building regulations, have immense influence over cost structure; they must be taken into account before true cost awareness can be achieved.