This paper describes how between 1985 and 1995, in one building type — the
offi ce — a form of Building Appraisal became an operational reality in DEGW,
a London-based architectural practice. The context was fi rstly the aftermath of
ORBIT, the DEGW-led study of the impact of information technology on offi ce
design and secondly, the consequence of the explosion of new kinds of offi ce
development in London from the mid-1980s, stimulated by the rapid growth
of the technology-driven global fi nancial services industry, as well as of the
technology companies themselves. Initially, this form of Building Appraisal was
informed by extensive sectoral user research. As time went on, however, the
method became routinised and lost its critical edge. The conclusion is that both
Building Appraisal and Design Guides — in offi ce design at least — need to be
continually refreshed by new user research because this fi eld is so volatile and
subject to technological, social and cultural change.

• Building appraisal: A personal view