The content of the permit design
What it is for
Section titled “What it is for”The permit documentation answers one question: does the proposed building comply with the legal and planning requirements.
Its content and level of detail follow from that. It is not less detailed because less work went into it, but because it has a different job.
What it typically contains
Section titled “What it typically contains”The legislation sets it out precisely, but the usual elements are:
- a site plan with the plot data, the siting of the building and verification of the planning parameters,
- floor plans for every level, with uses and dimensions,
- sections verifying the heights,
- elevations, presenting the appearance,
- a technical description: use, structural system, basic technical solutions,
- as required, an energy calculation, fire documentation and a structural technical description,
- verification of the designer’s qualification and the declarations.
What it does not contain
Section titled “What it does not contain”- Member-by-member structural design and connection drawings.
- Detailed build-ups for every element.
- Detailed services drawings.
- Information needed for manufacture.
The most common misunderstanding
Section titled “The most common misunderstanding”“We have the permit, we can start.” The permit says the building may be built, not that it has been designed.
If construction starts from the permit drawings, someone will make the missing decisions on site — and it will not be the designer. That shows in the structural quality and in the cost.
The constraint that lives on
Section titled “The constraint that lives on”The content of the construction documentation may not depart from what the final and enforceable permit contains, and the designer is responsible for observing that.
So if a solution emerges during detailed design that differs from what was permitted — different massing, different openings, different height — the permit has to be amended rather than the rule circumvented.
The light gauge steel angle
Section titled “The light gauge steel angle”The permit design has to name the structural system and present the fire compliance concept. So it has to be settled by then whether the structure will be built as a site-erected frame or as prefabricated panels, because that also determines the route to fire verification. What “lightweight technology” means.
The point
Section titled “The point”The permit design speaks to the authority, the detailed design to the contractor. Confuse the two and you postpone the decisions to the day of the concrete pour.