Room data sheets are systematic descriptions of the requirements of a building and they play a vital part in planning design, development and project development. They aid in communication, quality assurance, and change management.

They are usually developed during the briefing phase (architectural programming in the US) of the project, in order to convey the client’s requirements for every type of space. They are then utilized to create a specification that helps design teams and contractors determine what the client would like from the space and makes sure that any proposed solution meets the requirements of the client.

Typically architects create room data sheets by conducting interviews with their clients and others. They are often a work in progress and can be a living document until the design team has agreed on them.

When you their explanation are creating a room information sheet, the most important thing to keep in mind is to list all requirements for each space type and classify each item as either 'general’ or 'specific’. A common requirement could be that a workplace must be soundproofed to a certain extent and specific requirements could include:

With Layer’s standard digital room data sheet templates and predefined picklists you can gather all the necessary details in a straightforward and efficient manner. This can help designers to think systematically about every possible requirement, reducing the possibility of misplacing something. When you connect your data sheets to an IFC floorplan, you can automatically create adjacency charts to see how requirements are translated into spatial solutions.