Input data from the architect

This article is a skeleton — the itemised list has to come from you

This would be one of the most valuable articles in the knowledge base, because nobody writes it down anywhere. We have given the frame; we are not inventing the items: a wrong list is worse than none.

Why the input is structured here

Because this service builds on an existing architectural concept. Unlike general design, where we start the process, here we receive what somebody else has already decided.

If the input is incomplete, two bad routes remain: we assume, or we stop. We like neither. What happens if the input is incomplete.

The skeleton: what has to be itemised

For permit level

• geometry: plans, sections, elevations — at what scale, in what format?
• use by room (which gives the imposed load),
• floor levels, structural depths,
• what is known about the plot: ground investigation, ground levels,
• and what is the minimum without which we do not start?

For detailed level

• build-ups, with weights,
• the opening layout finalised,
• mechanical and electrical requirements: penetrations, risers, plant weights,
• finishes and their sensitivity (deflection limits),
• what does it mean if these change later?

Format and handover

• native model, IFC, DWG, PDF — what is expected and what is the tolerated minimum?
• at what level of development? Levels of development
• who hands it over, with what version control?

What is needed additionally for LGS

If the structure will be light gauge steel, the architectural concept has to be suitable for it from the start — that cannot be adjusted afterwards. The three steps.

What we already know, and belongs here

Mistakes arise at the boundaries between disciplines, not inside them. So it has to be recorded in writing who designs what and who gives data to whom. Boundaries of responsibility.

Load data — plant weights, balcony loads, photovoltaics — has to be supplied to the structural engineer by somebody. Self-weight and imposed load.

The point

The skeleton is here. Write out what you expect from the architect at permit and detailed level — it will become the most-cited article in the knowledge base.