The design team: architects and engineers
What does each designer need from you, and what do they give you?
How design firms work and what architects, structural, MEP and civil engineers each own, need and hand over: so requests land with the right person, in the right form, at the right stage.
Understand
What it is, in plain language
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Learn
Short lessons with a quick check
- Lesson · 3 min · quizHow a design firm worksDesign firms work in stages, sell hours, and protect their designers' time. Knowing how they plan, staff and get paid explains why they model what they model, when they do.
- Lesson · 3 min · quizWhat architects do, and need from youThe architect leads the spatial design and usually the design team. Their model is the reference for spaces, levels and the building envelope, and they need coordination results they can turn into design decisions.
- Lesson · 3 min · quizWhat structural engineers do, and need from youStructural engineers make the building stand up. Their model shows what can't move without calculations, and every hole, chase and heavy load is a question they have to answer.
- Lesson · 3 min · quizWhat MEP engineers do, and need from youMechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers design the systems that make a building usable. Their models are the densest and change the most, so they need space early, stable references and coordination that respects how systems are designed.
- Lesson · 2 min · quizCivil and infrastructure teamsCivil engineers design what's around and under the building: earthworks, roads, drainage, utilities and, on infrastructure projects, the whole asset. They work in long, linear, real-world coordinates, which changes how models are made and shared.
Mayainformation manager
The one I see most often on real projects: asking a modeller directly for extra work, bypassing the design lead. Tick off the checklist as you put each thing in place.
Common mistakes
What goes wrong most often on real projects.
- Asking a modeller directly for extra work, bypassing the design lead.
- Editing or copying another team's elements instead of referencing them.
- Treating holes through structure as clashes to be closed rather than requests to approve.
- Forgetting the interfaces between building and civil works.
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