An overview of Prevention through Design (PtD): The architect's role in the lifecycle of building safety performance

Abstract

The notion of Prevention through Design (PtD) has been used extensively to mitigate any potential hazard and minimize residual risks during the early design phase. However, there are hurdles in implementing the PtD concept, such as lack of enforcement in terms of legislation and guideline, thus decreasing architects' responsibilities towards implementing PtD in the design and planning stage. Therefore, the review was motivated to highlight the PtD concept and the architect's responsibility to build safety performance throughout its entire lifecycle. The finding of this paper reveals the themes that influence the role of architects towards adopting the PtD concept, which in turn affects the safety of the whole building lifecycle. Since this paper focuses solely on the role of architects, further development of the topic can be aimed towards other roles of consultants.