What are the Handoffs in Creating a Building?

During the design process, each team member is responsible for contributing not only to final design documentation for their individual discipline, but each must also provide key deliverables along the way to other team members so that they can also complete their work. Understanding the scope and timing of these "handoffs" is essential in providing a quality product on time and on budget.

At the start of a typical design-bid-build process for a new building, the client is responsible first in providing a handoff, specifically information pertaining to the design context, goals, and constraints for the project. Such information typically includes site location, building program, budget, desired schedule, survey, and geotechnical information, all of which are furnished to the architect so that the design team may begin their work. It is possible that the architect may assist with programming, site selection, or other aspects of pre-design, but this is not the usual case and would require an adjustment to the typical forms of agreement which define the scope of the architect's work.

At the start of the design process, it is then the architect's responsibility to communicate and furnish the information necessary for all other team members, including engineers, interior designers, and any other member of the design team, whether internal to the architect's firm or acting as subconsultant, to begin their work. The information provided includes the information discussed above, but the architect is also responsible for establishing key internal deadlines as well and setting up recurring project meetings so that the team is well coordinated in their work and can be sure to meet design deadlines for the client.

The architect must then work towards providing schematic design information to these team members. Once basic building massing and layouts are established, the architect is typically responsible for the computer modeling / drafting of the schematic design schemes, which must then be handed off to the engineers and other team members so that they may begin to work on their drawings and do their initial system selections and design calculations. In today's design industry, this type of collaboration is often accomplished through the use of BIM models on the cloud, although traditional 2D CAD files are also often sent as base files for others' work. Sometimes it is a mixture of both, with the architect (and specific engineers) utilizing a BIM model and then exporting particular sheets from the model as 2D CAD files for any consultants who are not utilizing BIM for their work.

As design progresses, the team members in turn are responsible for providing information and background drawings/models to the architect who has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that each party's work is coordinated within the whole and will also perform a quality review of the work. At each key design stage, a deliverable is provided to the client, which must then be reviewed with the client before the team is given the go-ahead to proceed with the next stage of design work. These deliverables are typically provided at the end of the schematic design, design development, and construction document stage. The final documents provided to the client are often referred to as the Bid Documents. Often a client will also require deliverables at additional points between these stages. For example, there may be a 95% Construction Documents Set prior to the submission of the final Bid Documents. The deliverable stages are typically outlined in the contract between the architect and client.

The documents submitted to the client typically include drawings, specifications, and estimates. Architectural drawings included in a submission typically include floor plans, reflected ceiling plans, building sections, elevations, wall sections, details (for both interior and exterior conditions), door and window schedules, and finish schedules. Each engineering discipline on the project also includes drawings within the drawing set. These usually include plans, details, schedules, and diagrams specific to their discipline. Specifications are provided for each item used on the project, in addition to front end specs which define other requirements for the work on the project. In a schematic design submission, it is often only required to provide an outline of the specification sections which will be included in the project, with the specification sections themselves only being developed and submitted in the later design submissions. The expectations for the degree to which specifications should be developed at each submission, as well as drawings that should be added, are often client-specific. Larger clients who undertake many construction projects likely have well-defined levels of development defined for each submission of the design development process. In any case, it is important that expectations for the deliverables are understood at the start of the project so that design work can progress smoothly.

In addition to the drawings, specifications, and estimates, additional material may also be provided depending on the client's needs. For example, renderings or interior finish boards might be required so that the client can review and provide feedback on design decisions. Sometimes a design narrative is also included in submissions to the client, which is a written description of the work and the design intentions for the project and can be useful in the early stages of a project. The need for the design team to provide these additional items would be indicated in the contract between the architect and client. Engineers' calculations are also often included in a submission, depending on the type of work.

After the Bid Documents, which are typically signed and stamped by the lead licensed professionals working on the project, are submitted and accepted by the client, the project can be put out for contractors to bid on. The architect's work is not over at this point, as the architect typically assists the owner with this process and provides answers to potential contractor's questions about the design documents. Sometimes addenda, or updated drawings, clarifying some design intent are required to be issued as well.

Once a contractor has been engaged and permits have been obtained, the construction process can begin, with the responsibility for the work now largely shifting to the contractor. It is also the contractor who must now provide documents to the architect and owner for their review, namely construction schedules, submittals, requests for payment, and change orders, among other items. The architect typically also conducts site visits to review the quality and progress of the work, often issuing field reports to the client to communicate the progress on the project and any issues observed at the site. The construction process concludes with the completion of punch list items and a final payment to the contractor, at which point the building is finally "handed off" to the owner. 

As can be observed from the above description, there are numerous handoffs between architects, engineers, clients, and contractors throughout the design process. When design or construction issues arise, the process can be even less linear as the team works out potential design solutions. The work of each party often depends on the quality and timeliness of the handoffs provided by the others. Understanding these handoffs is key to a successful workflow and, ultimately, to the success of a building project. Each team member must have a firm grasp of what is needed from other team members as well as what must be provided to the other team members. This is key not only to keeping a project on schedule and within budget but also for the overall quality of the end product.

About the Author: Adam Castelli

Adam Castelli is a licensed architect and engineer currently practicing in the Pittsburgh area. He holds a master's degree in architecture from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Villanova University.