From concept to construction
Four phases, each with a clear end: you always know where the project stands and what you decide next.
We work in phases because each one closes a decision before the next begins.
An architecture project accumulates decisions that depend on one another. Drawing the construction detail before the concept has been chosen, or submitting for permission before the design has been signed off, means redoing work that was already done.
For a client, this means there is always a point the project is at and a point it is going to next. Each phase ends with something concrete to decide on, and none begins before the previous one has closed.
THE FOUR PHASES
What happens in each one
Development notice: what each phase delivers and what is expected of the client are written from what the site already described, and are to be confirmed with the practice. Phases 03 and 04 do not yet describe what is expected of the client, for lack of concrete information.
Idea and Preliminary Design
What happens
Analysis of the territorial, urban and regulatory context of the site, and a survey of the location. The brief is defined with the client, and it is from that brief that the first concept proposals come.
What you get at the end
The first concept proposals, to decide on before any construction drawings exist.
What we need from you
The brief: what the space has to answer to, and the constraints you already know about. And a decision on the proposals, so the next phase starts from a choice already made.
Design and Planning Permission
What happens
Development of the drawings and specifications from the chosen proposal, and liaison with the competent authorities through to obtaining the necessary permits.
What you get at the end
The permitted scheme. This is the phase that ends with the permits granted.
What we need from you
Sign-off on the design before it is submitted to the competent authorities.
Engineering Coordination
What happens
Technical integration between architecture and engineering, coordinating structures, services and the other engineering disciplines.
What you get at the end
A scheme coordinated across disciplines, rather than a set of independent designs that first meet each other on site.
Construction and Site Supervision
What happens
Monitoring on site, quality control and checking that what is built matches what was designed, with an active presence through to completion.
What you get at the end
Confirmation, made on site and not only on paper, that what was built matches the design.
GETTING STARTED
A project starts with a conversation
If you have a project in mind, the first phase begins by understanding what you need.
Talk to us