Observation & Insight – The Construction Administration Phase

Construction Administration (CA) is the final phase of the architectural design process that occurs concurrently with construction. The architect and contractor work together during this phase to answer questions, identify and resolve issues, and guide the project to completion. The architect ensures the architectural intent of the project holds true throughout construction by providing design insight and additional clarity to the contractor.

Once the project is permitted and construction begins on site, the architectural project manager will maintain correspondence with the General Contractor (GC), subcontractors, and consultants and ensure documentation is appropriately filed, shared with the project team, and in accordance with the drawings and specifications that make up the contract documents. At this stage, the project’s timeline is in the hands of the GC.

During CA, the architect will review detailed fabrication drawings from subcontractors called shop drawings for doors and door hardware, windows, major finish materials, and plumbing fixtures. Additional review may be required for lighting, electrical, AV, millwork, and finish detailing. The architect will communicate with the general contractor to answer questions when clarification is needed or unforeseen complexity arises. The architect also will review payment application requests from the contractor to check that the work completed on-site aligns with what the contractor has billed.

 The architect will make visits to the construction site at intervals appropriate to major milestones in construction such as during foundation construction, framing, and the installation of major building systems and interior finishes. The architect will observe the work and help identify elements that may not be in accordance with the design intent, as well as review final material samples. Near the completion of construction, the architect will meet with the owners and GC to walk through the building and develop a list of items needing to be revised or finished. After this visit, the architect will issue a document stating that the construction is sufficiently complete in accordance with the contract documents such that the owners can occupy or use the house.

The Construction Administration phase will last the duration of construction depends on the project’s complexity and general contractor’s pace of work.

Coordinating and Documenting Design – The Construction Documents Phase

As described in previous articles, architectural services are broken into five phases. The fourth phase, and most time intensive, is the construction documents (CD) phase. This is when the architect, structural engineer, interior designer, landscape architect, and specialty consultants design and draw the building in detail, producing a set of drawings and specifications that the contractor can build from. The construction documents advance the design from an architectural and aesthetic standpoint, while providing the necessary information to coordinate building systems and ensure constructability. This phase is coordination-intensive and includes routine interaction between the architect, consultants, contractors, and the owner.

During the CD phase, the architect serves as communicator and coordinator across all the members of the design team, owners, and contractor and ensures design intent is executed across disciplines. At this stage, details are developed to reinforce the floor plans, building sections, and elevations previously designed. The design team gathers sample materials and develops a complete material palette. Mechanical, electrical, and lighting drawings are developed in conjunction with fixture selections. Coordination of various building elements, systems, and details continues between consultants. The architect will review structural, landscape, interior design, and other specialty drawings for consistency with the architectural design intent, owners’ goals, and the work of other consultants. The architect will also design specific details such as trim and interior millwork, as well as exterior elements like transitions between various materials and how windows and doors will integrate with wall assemblies.

A meeting cadence is set to facilitate the Owner’s decision making and detailed meeting notes are kept to document these decisions. Typically, this involves the owner meeting with the architect numerous times over a series of months. Often, additional meetings with the contractor provide feedback on feasibility and budget. If necessary, the design team can issue a 50% complete set of CDs which can be used by the contractor to provide an updated budget.

Refining Design – The Design Development Phase

As described in previous articles, architectural services are broken into five phases. After the schematic design phase has been completed and a viable project budget has been developed, it is time to design the building’s structural system, layer in mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and refine the design of functional spaces.

The Design Development Phase can include iteration on the design of both interior and exterior materials. These sketches allowed for exploration of the relationship between various materials and masses on the houses’ façade.

The design development phase marries the conceptual strategy and layout for the project with real-world building systems. At the start of this phase, a geotechnical engineer is engaged to gather information on the soil conditions so that a structural engineer can design the house’s foundation. A structural engineer is engaged to design the structure of the house, including sizing beams and columns, and determining floor and roof assemblies. The architect will begin drawing the building in detail and preparing documentation to submit to the local authorities for a building permit. Additional drawings are developed for coordination with contractors, manufacturers, and the owner. Depending on the needs of the project, the owner would also hire a landscape architect, interior designer, or any specialty consultants needed at the beginning of the Design Development Phase.

The architect will draw each space of the house in greater detail and ensure both functionality and experience are in line with the overall design. A site plan showing grades, hardscape and impervious cover will be developed in collaboration with the landscape architect. This is also the time when bathroom and kitchen layouts take greater shape and owners work with the architect and interior designer to include desired appliances, plumbing fixtures, and cabinetry. Preferred manufacturers and materials will be selected for the doors, windows, exterior finishes, and major interior finishes. Performance goals for building systems such as heating and cooling will be developed in conjunction with the owner. The architect will locate the major components of these systems, ensure clearances, and consider how these systems work together with the building envelope to comply with local codes and meet the owners’ energy performance goals. Similarly, if an owner chooses to incorporate green building components such as solar panel systems and rainwater collection, the architect would research or work with a specialty consultant to ensure these systems are accounted for.

At the end of the design development phase, a drawing set will be ready to submit to local authorities for a building permit. It is also recommended that owners work with a general contractor to refine the construction cost and their budget before moving forward.

The architectural design development phase usually takes a minimum 3 to 4 months, but can lengthen depending on the pace of owner and consultant feedback and project complexity. Typically, the owner and architect will have 3 or more meetings. Expect have additional meetings or allot additional time to review interior finishes such as tile, countertops, light fixtures, and plumbing fixtures.

Schematic Design - Developing a Project Budget

When starting a remodel or new construction project, an important early step is developing your budget to set realistic expectations and avoid surprises midway through the design process.

This basic overview will help you understand the cost components of a residential construction project. Of course, each project is unique and complex sites or functional requirements can add additional costs to these elements. The project budget can be seen as the sum of hard costs, soft costs, other costs, and a contingency.

The hard cost of construction is typically the cost for construction of the building, materials, labor, basic site work, and the general contractor’s fee. Keep in mind that early pre-design cost per square foot ranges may be for the building only, while your project may include specialty elements that will need to be added on for things like extensive landscaping, decks, patios, pools, specialty site work like large retaining walls or bringing utilities to rural sites. Additionally, interior specialties such as audio systems, wine rooms, solar systems, or home theaters, for example, should be identified and included in the schematic design budget.

Extensive decks, patios, pools, and outdoor living spaces should be considered in a holistic budget during the schematic design phase.

Soft costs are fees associated with design and construction such as the cost of permits and the fees you pay to your architect, interior designer, structural engineer, surveyor and geotechnical engineer. Depending on the complexity of your project, soft costs may include specialty consultants such as an arborist, landscape architecture, civil engineering, audiovisual design, HVAC design, or permit expediting.

Other costs are often associated with a construction project including the cost of the land, realty fees, insurance, financing costs, and the cost of rental housing during a remodel. In addition to the hard and soft costs, it is often wise to plan a contingency on top of your budget in the case of unexpected cost increases, which can include material or labor shortages or the discovery of unexpected site conditions, especially in the case of remodel projects.

Before embarking on design, cost per square foot is often used to get an understanding of whether the project will be possible. However, it is important to revisit that high level budget at the end of schematic design to ensure that the initial budget expectations align with the house as it is intended to be designed and include all the intended elements of the project. We recommend that a general contractor be engaged for pre-construction services at the end of schematic design to develop a hard cost budget.

The Schematic Design Phase

When working with an architect to design a custom home, the second phase of the design process is called Schematic Design. This is when the building starts to take shape through a series of design exercises that test out the goals and requirements established during the pre-design programming phase.

Schematic Design is iterative. The architect will typically start by showing a single, or several, options for a floor plan or overall configuration for the lot and for the house. The owners and architect will meet and review the design progress and direction, discussing which elements work well for the owners or present exciting opportunities for the finished spaces. It is very common for owners to discover new requirements and preferences during this phase as they start to see their future home coming together. The architect will synthesize the owners’ feedback and present new options to the owner for review. This cycle is typically repeated 2-3 times, and might take 6-8 weeks.

Schematic Design establishes the floor plan, a three dimensional form, and a general material expression of the house. The architect will illustrate the design concept for the house through diagrams, floor plans, and a series of sketches that describe the look and feel of the building. These sketches may be hand drawn or be screenshots of a 3D model. Physical models are also sometimes created to clearly express the form and organization of the building.

At the end of Schematic Design, the house design will be defined at a basic level. Schematic floor plans with dimensions and several renderings will be delivered to the owners.  At this point, owners frequently engage a general contractor for pre-construction services to ensure their desired scope will ultimately meet their budget. Additional design phases follow and continue to develop and refine the scheme in more detail, eventually resulting in a full construction document set.

Octant House Concept Diagram and Rendering // The home is organized into 4 parts, each intersected with a cantilevering volume. The rectangular mass of the house supports a cantilevered glass reading room on the left and a circular glass living room volume on the right.

How Does Programming Impact Design?

A thoughtful pre-design programming phase can set the foundation for design by not only quantitatively and qualitatively gathering an owner’s needs and goals, but also by creating an understanding of how the functional spaces of the home relate to the site. This case study of a Hill Country residence illustrates how developing an early understanding of the opportunities of the site in relationship to the lifestyle of the owners led to the final design of the home.

Pre-design: Goals & Site Discovery

After years of weekend visits and time spent getting to intimately know their site, the owners’ main goal was to build a home which would allow them to use and enjoy the land to its fullest. The site had Hill Country views to the south, and flat land shelves that spanned across the site from east to west. The owners’ functional requirements included having ample storage, guest spaces, and a painting studio. It was determined that these functions should be separate and well-organized, but open to the surroundings through views, natural light, fresh air, and access to the outdoors.

Design Solution: Marrying Site & Function

Building upon the discoveries of pre-design, the program of the house was organized in a linear fashion along one of the site’s land shelves that created an ideal platform for the house and advantageous orientation for views and openness to the prevailing breezes. The length of the house was divided with thickened walls which collect private areas and enclose the storage zones needed in the house, while also creating interior spaces unobstructed by structure or partitions, allowing the house to be easily penetrated by breezes, natural daylight, and views. Low-lying roofs were designed to follow the contours of the site and span from one wall to the next allowing the home to open up while being adequately shaded by deep overhangs which dip lower to the south. The high side of the roof opens to the north allowing diffuse light to fill the owner’s studio with ideal light for painting. Further, the materials chosen are concentrated, regional, and meant to provide comfort and shelter when the elements are extreme.

Programming: The Foundation of Design

What is programming?

After making the decision to build a new home or remodel an existing one, the first step in the process, before starting the design (Pre-Design) is to build an architectural program. This programming phase is the foundation of the design and includes the goals of the project and the Owners’ wants and needs. It is both quantitative, determining the desired square footage, number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and other specific requirements of the finished home, as well as qualitative, vocalizing how these spaces would ideally look, feel, and be experienced. The program will also express the relationship between parts of the home and the whole, adjacency between different elements of the design, and how the building and its functions will respond to the site’s trees, neighbors, topography, and views.

What is the programming process like?

During the programming phase, architects work with owners to develop, not just a list, but an understanding of their needs and their lifestyle. The architect will ask questions about how one lives currently and how one wants to live in the future. For example, are the Owners more introverted and see their home as a space to be alone? Or do they frequently entertain? Do the Owners prefer to spend their time in their master suite or in the common areas of the home? Should the house feel bright and open or warm and intimate, or a combination thereof?

This questioning helps to mitigate the inertia of preconceived notions and will allow the home’s design to be informed by the function and lifestyle of the Owners. It will provide a foundation of understanding that the architect will draw upon to identify opportunities to bring the house into harmony with its site. It will also be a time to allow constraints, such as budget and market standards, to feedback on the Owner’s wishlist before design begins.

This circulation diagram of our Hipped House shows distinct flows for social activities and the family’s private life, as well as their relationship with the hilly site on Lake Austin.

The Programming Phase, also commonly referred to as Pre-Design, for a single family home takes approximately two to four weeks, and typically involves one or two meetings with the architect. The product of this phase is usually a written document which is sometimes accompanied by diagrams illustrating the adjacencies and flows described. After this is complete, the schematic design phase tests out the goals established in programming through a series of design options.