Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Integrated Design
2.1
Conventional Design and Construction
Strategies and Players
The main players in a conventional (traditional) method of designing and constructing
a building are the building owner, architect, engineers, commissioning team, and
general and subcontractors. Code reviewers and authorities having jurisdiction that
review the design documents and upon approval of the design issue building con-
struction permits are the secondary group of the players. Finally last group of the
players are the fi rm's attorneys that handle the fi rm's lawsuits and prepare educa-
tional presentations for the fi rm managers and employees, in order to familiarize
them with the basics of defensive and protective architectural, engineering, and con-
struction practices.
In a typical traditional design and construction process owner's needs and expec-
tations are primarily communicated to the architect. Architect then designs a
preliminary building and depending on the size and type of the building, employs a
group of engineers including structural, civil, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, fi re
protection, fi re alarm, audio-visual, and acoustical engineers to design the building
engineering aspects. A close communication among all these players is essential for
delivering a successful design product.
Design process in a typical consulting engineering fi rm usually starts with recep-
tion of the architectural preliminary plans and guidelines. These preliminary plans
as a minimum show the orientation, function, and sizes of each space in the building
as it is intended by the building owner and as it is envisioned by the architect.
Usually at this time there is only suffi cient information for a preliminary engineer-
ing design. Different design engineers always need considerably more information
to be capable of performing their expected designs meaningfully. This additional
information includes items such as building sections and elevations, number of
