PROGRAMMING: DECIDING WHAT TO BUILD

WITH THE OWNER, THE ARCHITECTURAL TEAM WILL DISCUSS THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PROJECT AND DEVELOP A PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM WILL CALCULATE A ROUGH AREA REQUIREMENT THAT IS THEN TESTED IN FLOOR PLAN “TEST FITS”. THIS IS THEN COMPARED TO THE ORIGINAL PROJECT GOAL AND REVIEWED WITH THE OWNER CONFIRMING THE PROJECT’S NEEDS AND WANTS.

SCHEMATIC DESIGN: INITIAL CREATION OF THE DESIGN

THE ARCHITECTURAL TEAM PREPARES A SERIES OF ROUGH DESIGNS, WHICH SHOW THE GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF ROOMS AND OF THE SITE. WE WILL PREPARE 3D MODELS TO HELP VISUALIZE THE PROJECT SIZE AND SCOPE, AND SUBMIT TO THE OWNER FLOOR PLANS, CEILING PLANS, ELEVATIONS, AND PRELIMINARY 3D RENDERINGS FOR OWNER APPROVAL BEFORE PROCEEDING TO THE NEXT PHASE.

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT: REFINING THE DESIGN

THE ARCHITECTURAL TEAM PREPARES MORE DETAILED DRAWINGS TO ILLUSTRATE OTHER ASPECTS OF THE PROPOSED DESIGN. SITE PLANS IDENTIFY THE BUILDING’S LOCATION ON THE SITE AND ACCESS, DETAILED FLOOR PLANS SHOW ALL THE ROOMS IN THE CORRECT SIZE AND SHAPE, EXTERIOR ELEVATIONS AND RENDERINGS SHOW THE BUILDING’S PROPOSED MATERIALS. OUTLINE SPECIFICATIONS ARE PREPARED BY LISTING THE MAJOR BUILDING COMPONENTS AND MATERIALS AND INTERIOR FINISHES.

PREPARATION OF CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS

ONCE THE OWNER’S REPRESENTATIVE HAS APPROVED THE DESIGN, THE ARCHITECTURAL TEAM PREPARES DETAILED DRAWINGS AND SPECIFICATIONS, WHICH THE CONTRACTOR WILL USE TO ESTABLISH THE ACTUAL CONSTRUCTION COST AND BUILD THE PROJECT. THE DRAWINGS AND SPECIFICATIONS BECOME PART OF THE BUILDING CONTRACT.

BIDDING & REVIEW

DEPENDING ON YOUR PROJECT DELIVERY METHOD, THE OWNER MAY SELECT AND HIRE THE CONTRACTOR DURING THIS PHASE ONCE THE DESIGN IS COMPLETE. THE ARCHITECT CAN HELP YOU PREPARE BIDDING DOCUMENTS, INVITATIONS TO BID AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR BIDDERS.

CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION

WHILE THE CONTRACTOR WILL PHYSICALLY CONSTRUCT THE BUILDING, THE TEAM ASSISTS THE OWNER IN ENSURING THE PROJECT IS BUILT ACCORDING TO THE PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS. THE ARCHITECT MAKES SITE VISITS TO OBSERVE CONSTRUCTION, REVIEW AND APPROVE THE CONTRACTOR’S APPLICATION FOR PAYMENT, AND KEEP THE OWNER INFORMED OF THE PROJECT’S PROGRESS.