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BSD PerSpective Performance Specifications are performance-oriented project descriptions that define the building performance requirements early in the project, before the facility has been designed.

Approximately 150 sections (individual documents) with a Uniformat-style organization are used to specify the design criteria for buildings of many types. These specs are often referred to as "whole-building" performance specs because they describe the performance of built elements (including the building as a whole) rather than the performance of individual materials or equipment.

These Performance Specifications are used by architects, owners, and design-builders to:

• Establish design criteria before the design is begun.
• Facilitate early decision-making; obtain consensus or agreement.
• Communicate material and equipment decisions before beginning construction documents.
• Avoid prematurely detailed drawings.
• Transmit information to other members of the team -- owners, design-builders, estimators, construction managers, lenders, etc.
• Prepare RFPs and proposals for design-build projects.
• Document design criteria in writing for later commissioning activities.

The Performance Specifications are designed for early-design documents rather than for construction documents. As such, they:

• Define the performance of the entire building and parts of the building without assuming any specific design solution.
• Assume the existence of a space program but no drawings beyond schematic sketches.
• Include optional "Use/Do Not Use" lists for all significant construction elements (e.g. roofing, HVAC systems, etc.).
• Are linked to short form prescriptive specs (on SpecLink's Short Form tab) to define quality in the event specific products are used in the design (e.g. brick, pipe, etc.).
• Organize the performance specs according to UniFormat (the prescriptive specs are organized according to CSI's 1995 edition of Masterformat™).
• Include interim substantiation requirements for all significant elements (i.e. activities, documentation, and submittals used to predict or prove success) and assume that ultimately the completed project is the final proof!

What the master database of performance criteria covers

PerSpective makes it easy to specify "whole-building" functional performance, using the best available voluntary performance standards and references to all major US building codes and provides alternative methods of non-restrictive specifying where performance standards are not available. A global "switch" changes language depending on the speaker -- Owner, Design-Builder, or Design-Builder to Constructor. The master guide text thoroughly addresses commercial and multi-family projects and it can be adapted for most other types of buildings. Projects will require a separately prepared space program defining dimensional requirements, space utilization criteria, project mission and goals, aesthetic needs, environment, and similar criteria. Some types of criteria it includes are:

• Building fabric, weather resistance, physical security, longevity.
• Interior construction, space efficiency, acoustics, and indoor air quality.
• Common equipment and fittings found in many occupancies.
• Energy efficiency, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and telecommunications.
• Environmentally responsible design, including LEED certification.
• Landscaping, paving, fencing, and other site construction.
• ICC International Codes as Owner's design criteria.
• Many more aspects of common building types.

Because the performance criteria do not specify particular products, PerSpective can be used anywhere in the world that the criteria are understood. The standards referenced to establish criteria are primarily U.S. standards, like ASTM, ANSI, ASHRAE, ASME, NFPA, and IEEE.

PerSpective can also be used in any building code jurisdiction. Reference to a code is required, to establish fundamental criteria. The user has the option of entering a specific code or selecting from the list of codes available. If no code is required by law, the user can select the ICC International Codes as base criteria, along with the NFPA National Electrical Code.

For design-build projects, PerSpective includes provisions for conducting a "competitive" design-build request for proposal process and model contracting requirements -- the design-build equivalent of Division 0 and 1, with contractual considerations based on DBIA MOP principles, but allowing DBIA, AIA, EJCDC, AGC, or other external documents to be referenced.