As a project progresses over time, the drawing sets progress with it. From Schematic Design to Construction Documents, each drawing set becomes more informative and descriptive about the scope of work. For example, all your projects may have the same base detail but a few of them have specific conditions around an arched opening or a door frame. These are the added details that relate to that specific project.
Many times we feel our clients misunderstand what it takes to create a drawing set and why a schematic design set isn’t enough to be a construction set if it is the same project. So this week we will show one of our projects floor plans, exterior elevations and sections from Schematic Design to Design Development and then to Construction Documents. See if you can spot the differences! (Hint: There are many ha!)
Schematic Design
In the SD phase, our drawings usually start at a smaller scale (typically 1/8″ or 1/16″) while the scope and general design are being worked through with the client.
Design Documents
Bump… bump bump it up! Design Development is when we bump up the scale to 1/4″. Depending on the project we sometimes have to also bump up the sheet size or in this project’s case, break the drawing onto two sheets. In this phase we are looking at the details, finishes and specifications!
Construction Documents
Construction Documents is where we get the package detailed and ready to be permitted and built from. In this phase annotations and detail callouts are key, they are important to show how we want things built and to help clarify the drawings and design intent as much as possible!
So! Were you able to spot the differences?! It’s important to have a complete and approved drawing set for each phase so that when you progress forward minimal design changes are being made that can often set you back!