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SherazKhan13 Apr 2019 12:55Hello,
I am a graduate student at Bauhaus University Weimar currently working on my master’s thesis. I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate any help.
1. Which documents are submitted to the planning department to obtain a building permit / planning permission?
2. Are these documents provided as drawings or as a 3D model?
3. How does the planning department verify that escape and rescue routes comply with the regulations?
4. How does the planning department communicate any issues found in the drawings or model to the designer?
Thank you very much for your time.
I am a graduate student at Bauhaus University Weimar currently working on my master’s thesis. I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate any help.
1. Which documents are submitted to the planning department to obtain a building permit / planning permission?
2. Are these documents provided as drawings or as a 3D model?
3. How does the planning department verify that escape and rescue routes comply with the regulations?
4. How does the planning department communicate any issues found in the drawings or model to the designer?
Thank you very much for your time.
S
SherazKhan13 Apr 2019 13:47I am pursuing a Master's degree in natural hazards and risks in building construction.
My thesis focuses on object-based model checking of building regulation compliance. Yes, I am familiar with the building code and state building regulations. But the procedure is not described in detail there—only the types of permits or planning permissions available. I want to understand how the process works in a real-world scenario.
My thesis focuses on object-based model checking of building regulation compliance. Yes, I am familiar with the building code and state building regulations. But the procedure is not described in detail there—only the types of permits or planning permissions available. I want to understand how the process works in a real-world scenario.
Ah, BIM, a brave new world. As long as not even 16 federal states can agree on a uniform state building code, automated calculations of setback distances are already failing; so a digital life-cycle model of a building including a digital approval process will probably still take some time. But well, visions are important.
Today, in North Rhine-Westphalia, the process usually works like this, using the example of a simple single-family house under §64 of the North Rhine-Westphalia Building Code, without special features, with a land-use plan and optional surveyor involvement:
- The surveyor downloads the cadastral data in NAS format from the cadastral authority’s server, incorporates the analogue/digital land-use plan and the conducted topographic survey, and sends the preliminary site plan as a DWG file to the authorized building application preparer
- The authorized preparer creates floor plans, elevations, and sections and sends them back to the surveyor as a DWG file
- The surveyor adds the planned building to the site plan, calculates the setback distances, floor area ratio, plot ratio, number of storeys verification, and provides five printed copies to the building application preparer
- The building application preparer completes the forms (building permit application, building description, statistics, exemption requests, etc.) according to the state building code and prints out floor plans, elevations, and sections in five copies
- One package goes to the client, one remains with the building application preparer, and three are submitted to the approval authority
- The approval authority involves other agencies as needed (depending on the individual case, e.g., municipal office, environmental agency, surveying office, land registry, planning department, civil engineering department) by sending copies by mail
- After reviewing the feedback and completing the examination, the building permit is issued by official notice to the client
Does this answer points 1 and 2?
3. What exactly do you mean? For example, in the attic of a single-family house, it is checked whether the roof window is large enough and the window sill low enough to serve as a second escape route. For larger halls, the planner must indicate escape route lengths within the fire compartments on the plans. For large projects, a fire safety report is required.
4. The client receives a letter listing the identified defects with a request to remedy them within a deadline. A copy is sent to the building application preparer.
A lot of text, yet still incomplete. For more detailed information, I recommend an internship at an architectural firm or an approval authority.
There are even some municipalities that already know and use digital signatures!
Today, in North Rhine-Westphalia, the process usually works like this, using the example of a simple single-family house under §64 of the North Rhine-Westphalia Building Code, without special features, with a land-use plan and optional surveyor involvement:
- The surveyor downloads the cadastral data in NAS format from the cadastral authority’s server, incorporates the analogue/digital land-use plan and the conducted topographic survey, and sends the preliminary site plan as a DWG file to the authorized building application preparer
- The authorized preparer creates floor plans, elevations, and sections and sends them back to the surveyor as a DWG file
- The surveyor adds the planned building to the site plan, calculates the setback distances, floor area ratio, plot ratio, number of storeys verification, and provides five printed copies to the building application preparer
- The building application preparer completes the forms (building permit application, building description, statistics, exemption requests, etc.) according to the state building code and prints out floor plans, elevations, and sections in five copies
- One package goes to the client, one remains with the building application preparer, and three are submitted to the approval authority
- The approval authority involves other agencies as needed (depending on the individual case, e.g., municipal office, environmental agency, surveying office, land registry, planning department, civil engineering department) by sending copies by mail
- After reviewing the feedback and completing the examination, the building permit is issued by official notice to the client
Does this answer points 1 and 2?
3. What exactly do you mean? For example, in the attic of a single-family house, it is checked whether the roof window is large enough and the window sill low enough to serve as a second escape route. For larger halls, the planner must indicate escape route lengths within the fire compartments on the plans. For large projects, a fire safety report is required.
4. The client receives a letter listing the identified defects with a request to remedy them within a deadline. A copy is sent to the building application preparer.
A lot of text, yet still incomplete. For more detailed information, I recommend an internship at an architectural firm or an approval authority.
There are even some municipalities that already know and use digital signatures!
S
SherazKhan13 Apr 2019 15:01Thank you very much for your explanation and time. Do you have a source for all these explanations so that I can read or cite them in detail? An internship is not an option right now, as I am currently in the middle of my master’s thesis. Once again, I am very grateful for your time and help.
SherazKhan schrieb:
Do you have a source for all these explanations? Professional experience.
I have already mentioned the other important sources: the Building Code and the Building Regulations of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). A key regulation here in NRW is the Building Inspection Ordinance (BauPrüfVO), which in other German states is usually called the Building Application Ordinance (BauVorlVO).
Each municipality can set its own specific procedural rules—either in writing or by oral tradition. However, these are not generally binding. Long live federalism!