Best workflow in architectural firm

[koolarsenal]

Hi, I'm a new graduate architect. I have no idea what workflow in a professional architectural firm is. Here is my own workflow:

1. Each drawing ( floor plan, elevation, section...) is a separate file, made from xref files. For example, my floor plan is made of xref files like: column, axis, wall, door, furniture...

2. In a new file,  I xref all above drawings at model space.

3. At paper space, I xref my template attribute title blocks, adjust page setup to meet my requirements, insert viewport, adjust viewport scale, add notes to sheet.

4. Create multiple layout tab, each layout is a single sheet.

That's it, can you share your company workflow, please?

[Cad64]

5 hours ago, koolarsenal said:

Here is my own workflow:

1. Each drawing ( floor plan, elevation, section...) is a separate file, made from xref files. For example, my floor plan is made of xref files like: column, axis, wall, door, furniture...

 

I would typically create a floor plan by drawing the walls and then inserting blocks on different layers for furniture, columns, doors, etc. That way, the entire floor plan is contained within one drawing file and I can freeze layers to turn off furniture or doors or whatever if I need to. I wouldn't have an xref for doors and then another one for furniture and another one for columns. That's just too many xrefs.

 

 

[BIGAL]

For me a different approach but it is dependent on the type of building, for domestic I have software so draw the house in full 3d so elevations etc are views of the main model. It sounds like someone has already drawn it up rather than being done by you. Like Cad64 the doors and windows are "Punched" into the walls. 2d or 3d furniture can be added so walk throughs can be made.

 

I can see problems with doors etc in a xref move door lots of work in 2 dwgs.

 

 

[koolarsenal]

2 hours ago, Cad64 said:

 

I would typically create a floor plan by drawing the walls and then inserting blocks on different layers for furniture, columns, doors, etc. That way, the entire floor plan is contained within one drawing file and I can freeze layers to turn off furniture or doors or whatever if I need to. I wouldn't have an xref for doors and then another one for furniture and another one for columns. That's just too many xrefs.

 

 

Yeah, your way is so much simpler than mine, but what if I want to change the column position, or axis position. If you use block, you can not update the new column position in every other drawings, right?

[Cad64]

33 minutes ago, koolarsenal said:

Yeah, your way is so much simpler than mine, but what if I want to change the column position, or axis position. If you use block, you can not update the new column position in every other drawings, right?

 

If you're working on a multi-level building and each floor is in a separate drawing, then it would make sense to have columns in an xref so they can be inserted into each drawing. My work typically doesn't involve multiple levels, so I don't run into situations like that, but I typically try to keep xref's to a minimum as much as possible. I've worked with people who liked to make xrefs for everything and it drove me nuts. I will never forget the time I had an xref for sidewalk score joints. Why there was an xref for score joints, I will never understand, but that's the kind of thing I was dealing with. I have also worked with people who refused to use xrefs, so they would duplicate everything in every drawing, which of course made revisions a nightmare. So basically, use xrefs when they make sense, use blocks when they make sense, and work smart, not hard.

[koolarsenal]

5 minutes ago, Cad64 said:

 

If you're working on a multi-level building and each floor is in a separate drawing, then it would make sense to have columns in an xref so they can be inserted into each drawing. My work typically doesn't involve multiple levels, so I don't run into situations like that, but I typically try to keep xref's to a minimum as much as possible. I've worked with people who liked to make xrefs for everything and it drove me nuts. I will never forget the time I had an xref for sidewalk score joints. Why there was an xref for score joints, I will never understand, but that's the kind of thing I was dealing with. I have also worked with people who refused to use xrefs, so they would duplicate everything in every drawing, which of course made revisions a nightmare. So basically, use xrefs when they make sense, use blocks when they make sense, and work smart, not hard.

Not only on a multi-level building, even in a simplest project you'll have floor plan, ceiling plan, tile floor plan... if you change column position or add some walls how can you update in all other plans if you use blocks?

[ammobake]

This is a large response, so.. apologies in advance.

A true workflow at a firm like this depends on the extent of the project and the requirements of the client.

 

From what I've seen in the past, most design firms have their own, kind of, niche market(s) - whether that be bridge design,  residential/housing developments, DOT road and highway projects or large scale structural designs for stadiums and large aircraft hangars, bulk fuels storage, etc... With some firms hiring hundreds of people to handle a variety of different disciplines as needed by the requirements of the client and the types of projects they plan to take on.

 

A firm can kind of expand out into other areas like doing their own testing, soil sampling, and hiring engineers for specific niche design stuff like runway design, storm water system redesigns, .... To make the firm capable of handling design work for projects that require those kinds of niche skillsets to complete a project.

 

But, from what I've seen, in most cases design firms will generally only expand out to the extent deemed immediately needed to support of it's primary source of work.

 

So, for example, for DOT highway projects a company contracted to do the design work might hire engineers to handle environmental permitting, writing SWPPP's, erosion control, doing fish and plant field studies for projects requiring environmental permitting, or even hiring its own survey crews to do field work instead of farming it out to a subcontractor.

 

Stuff like roads and highways might be a bad example here because the requirements can be complex...

 

But it is a good example of how some firms approach the design for a project.  The design will, essentially, pass through many people's hands with each doing their own design work for a specific portion of the project and the drafting staff just putting it together to meet the drawing standards of the client.  In many cases, at least for roads and highways, the drafters don't do much design work, specifically.

 

For architectural work for a "Drafter" it is much more straightforward.

 

The Client determines their needs and provides either a rough sketch or a rough statement of work that clarifies their needs and wants.  Do they already own the property they plan to build on? What kind of timescale do they expect to have a final product in their hands?  Some of those questions need to be answered so that you can provide an accurate quote.  Your quote should be based on an hourly rate.  Estimate the time it will take to complete the project given your own skill level based on an 8 hour work day.

 

A reasonable hourly rate for your skill level - that's kind of ambiguous - but I can tell you that starting out as a freelance drafter 16 years ago my rate was 42/hour (obviously, different these days).

 

Also, you should clarify how you are doing this math in the quote document, itself, so everyone is on the same page.  And make sure all parties sign the proposal document for your own record keeping and invoicing purposes later on down the line.

 

As a drafter, working with your client is critical and asking questions to clarify things and coming up with alternative options along the way is pretty standard.

 

If the project is in a municipality or city the requirements are usually spelled out by the local building department what needs to be drafted to meet their minimum requirements to get them to stamp your project approved.  Here in Fairbanks, Alaska the local building department requires a site plan, foundation plan, foundation/footing details, floor plan, all 4 elevation drawings, a roof plan and at least 2 cross sections of the building.  The drawing set gets sent to the building department for a stamp that can require 1 or 2 weeks.  But I usually leave the permitting up to the client to handle unless they specifically request my assistance.

 

In some cases you may need to have a building permit maintained on site and not having one can incur steep fines.  So I always convey this to the client too.  And, in some cases there are some engineering requirements that need to be taken into account that you may need to be aware of for your local area.

 

The roof load requirements for snow load are also clearly stated on the website (50 psf is normal here) so for us its important to keep that in mind up here when building in the city limits.

 

All design work you do is not meant to be 100% accurate as it is conceptual only.  But the builders will use the set to construct the building so you always have to keep that in mind.

 

In many cases I will provide even more information than is required just for the sake of the client.  Like window/door schedules so they can order those as early as possible.

 

Your client would also need to acquire a dig permit so they may need direction on what to do and where to go in that regard.

 

The good thing about taking on a project like this as a "Drafter" and not an "Engineer" is that you and your client have an understanding on what your responsibilities are when both parties are taking on the project. So you can help point things out and assist the client in making their own decisions but you are basically there to produce a set of drawings and nothing else.

 

This doesn't mean you have no say in the design.  You might have ideas or ways of solving a design problem that the client hasn't considered.  Or you might have a way to make a space more architecturally appealing in some way that the client may want to include in the design - like a lofted coffin truss in a living room to give it more character or an idea for accent lighting in a specific room - there are many examples.   But cost is always going to be important for the client.  So it's something you have to keep in mind when proposing these kinds of changes (You aren't designing a new Taj mahal).

 

-ChriS

 

 

Edited December 17, 2020 by ammobake

[ammobake]

One really important thing I forgot to mention is you need to assess what the client is actually taking on.

Are they constructing a new building?

Are they planning to demolish an existing structure in order to build a new one?

Is it a renovation to an existing structure?

 

The reason I bring this up is that In the case it is a renovation, there are additional considerations that are really important - Things that you need to consider before any drafting work commences so that you can provide an accurate price proposal to the client and also not screw yourself.

 

Old structures are sometimes so old that there are no records or plans on file with the municipality.  This can be a headache for a drafter as you may be put in a position where you need to as-built the entire building, yourself, in order to have a starting point for creating demolition and renovation plans in CAD.

 

This isn't an issue as long as both parties know what they're getting into.

I usually include asbuilting an existing building as a separate line item in the price proposal.  The process of measuring and sketching everything out can take longer than the actual CAD work (I've been in this boat before).

 

If it is a "historic building", there can be additional hoops you need to jump through.  Depending on the nature of the building, you might not be allowed to alter the exterior in any way, move any windows, add any windows, etc..  It just depends on what the city will or will not allow.  And these kinds of issues can drag out the approval process.

 

All important things to get a handle on early.

 

-ChriS