Q.
What is required in the designing stage?
A.
Usually there are two parts in the designing stage. One a rough design and later on a detailed design.
INITIAL DESIGN
The architect will analyse your brief requirements and present initial design proposals. To develop an initial design, your architect will draw up a measured survey and make an appraisal of your house and its architectural possibilities. The design may still change at this stage or your architect may provide you with a number of alternative proposals in form of drawings and sketch designs. You and your architect are likely to have several discussions about these proposals. Drawings can be sometimes difficult to understand but this is an important stage in the design and a two-way process into which you must feed your concerns and requirements.
Stage Payment: 25% of fee
DEVELOPED DESIGN
Having translated your brief into a design, your architect will develop the initial proposal into a more developed design. At the developed design stage, your architect will need to finalise the layout of spaces, the materials for construction and incorporate the work of any specialist consultants, such as a structural engineer who will advise on the structure. You will also need to decide on the renewable energy sources (i.e. solar panels) you wish to use, as they impact on the design. Your architect will present the developed design to you and discuss its implications, for example on timescale and project cost. If planning permission is required for the project, your architect will prepare the drawings and make the application on your behalf.
Stage Payment: 25% of fee
Detailed Design
Once you have instructed your architect to proceed with the developed design, they will produce full construction drawings, including site works and specification finishes. A technical and quality specification also forms part of the detailed design to ensure that the project requirements are clearly formulated for the contractor. The detailed design will have to incorporate any changes as required under a Grant of Planning Permission. Your architect will also liaise closely with specialist consultants, such as the structural engineer, to incorporate their designs contributions.
Ref:
http://www.riai.ie/consumer_services/working_with_an_architect/the_project_stages/
http://www.riai.ie/consumer_services/working_with_an_architect/the_project_stages/