Architect’s Basic Services
During schematic design, an architect commonly develops study drawings, documents, or other media that illustrate the concepts of the design and include spatial relationships, scale, and form for review.
Schematic design also is the research phase of the project, when zoning requirements or jurisdictional restrictions are discovered and addressed.
Preliminary meetings may be held with agencies to obtain general directions.
Design development (DD) services use the initial design documents from the schematic phase and take them one step further. This phase lays out mechanical, electrical, plumbing, structural, and architectural details.
Typically referred to as DD, this phase results in drawings that often specify design elements such as material types and location of windows and doors.
Architect shall submit for planning entitlements.
The next phase is construction documents (CDs). Once the owner and pertaining agencies are satisfied with the documents produced during DD, the Architect moves forward and produces technical drawings with greater detail.
These drawings typically include specifications for construction details and materials.
Upon completion of the CDs, the Architect submits these drawings to the city building department for agencies review and approval.
The Architect can assist with obtaining qualified construction bids for the project. Upon receiving contractor bids, the Architect can assist the Owner in evaluating the bids and finalize the contractor selection.
During the construction administration phase, the Architect observes the construction to ensure that it is completed in accordance with the CDs. Tasks include: reviewing submittals and shop drawings from contractors; answering questions and resolving coordination issues with the contractor.