ᐅ Architect / Structural Engineer Services, Execution Plan, Scope

Hello everyone,

thank you very much for having me. I am proud to be part of this forum. After deciding to build a semi-detached house (without a basement), I hope to benefit from your experience and knowledge.

My first question concerns the planning process. I know a civil engineer who wants to create my plans together with an architect. Each would focus on their respective tasks. However, this might have been a bit premature. I have since looked into it more closely. The service phases of HOAI include nine stages: 1. Basic evaluation, 2. Preliminary planning, 3. Design planning, 4. Approval planning, 5. Execution planning, 6. Preparation of contract award, 7. Participation in contract award, 8. Construction supervision, 9. Project completion.

The services are provided up to phase 4, that is, the approval planning stage. This means the complete building application is submitted to the local building authority. That sounds great, but I have now reached the point where I feel the real work only starts here. How is the mason supposed to know how to work? No one on the construction site knows what to do. There is no information about the thickness of the foundation slab, or the floor, screed, etc. Do you agree with me? Or am I mistaken? It could also be that I show the workers the respective plans, and based on my plans, they provide the required work. For example: I show the carpenter and roofer my plan. They then create their own plan on how to build the roof structure. Or the electrician—they get my drawing and develop a solution based on my plans. The same goes for the heating engineer, plumber, screed installer, and so on.

Can you tell me which execution plan(s) should at least still be provided by the architect or civil engineer?

Thank you very much for your help!

Best regards,
Kalle

Kalle88 schrieb:
How is the mason supposed to know how to work? Nobody on the construction site knows how to work. There is no information about the thickness of the slab, nor the ceiling, screed, etc. Do you agree with me? Or am I mistaken?

This question is addressed in the
5th detailed design phase
6th preparation of tendering phase

Why do you need a structural engineer? Skip the structural engineer and hire an architect for design phases 1-8 or take a general contractor.

...why do you need another potential source of error?! Multiple tasks and one responsibility.

There are many possibilities...
For the building permit / planning permission, a structural calculation is required, which is done by a structural engineer; an architect cannot do this.
It contains all the information that the trades need to know for the construction.
It is still advisable to have the architect handle design phase 5 and then design phase 6, while the structural engineer completes design phase 5.

Lumpi_LE schrieb:
There are many options...
For the building permit / planning permission, a structural calculation is required, which is done by the structural engineer; an architect cannot do this.
It includes all the information the trades need for the construction.
It is still advisable to have the architect handle design phase 5 and then design phase 6, while the structural engineer takes care of phase 5.

But why? For me, the structural engineer employed by the shell construction contractor does the structural calculation, and that’s it. You might also need an energy consultant, and that’s all.

Many different responsibilities = many potential sources of errors.

As mentioned, there are many options.
After all, you also have a structural engineer, just not hired directly, but through the shell builder.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend that, as they usually work in the interest of the shell builder and not yours.