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Section & Ground
PROJECT STAGES08 STAGES

From first conversation to handover

Clients rarely arrive knowing how an architectural project is staged, and the gap causes most of the friction: work expected before it is possible, decisions reopened after they were closed, durations assumed rather than agreed. Here is the whole sequence, with the parts that depend on you marked as such.

  1. STAGE 01

    First Conversation

    TYPICAL DURATION1 week

    A conversation about the site, the budget and what you are trying to do. No charge, and no obligation on either side. About one in three of these ends with us suggesting you talk to someone else, which is a good outcome for everybody.

    What we do

    • Understanding the brief as you currently hold it
    • An honest view on whether this practice is the right fit for the project
    • An outline of the likely fee structure and programme

    What you do

    • Share the site location and any documents you already have
    • Be candid about the budget — a range is enough, but it has to be real

    Fee proposal and outline programme.

  2. STAGE 02

    Appointment & Site Appraisal

    TYPICAL DURATION2 – 4 weeks

    The appointment is signed and the site is properly understood before any design begins. It is tempting to skip ahead to drawings here, and it is always a mistake.

    What we do

    • Review of title documents, survey and applicable development control regulations
    • Site visit and photographic record
    • Establishing the buildable envelope

    What you do

    • Appoint a licensed surveyor for the measured survey
    • Provide title documents and any prior approvals
    • Commission soil investigation if the structural engineer requires it

    Site appraisal note and confirmed buildable envelope.

  3. STAGE 03

    Schematic Design

    TYPICAL DURATION6 – 10 weeks

    The design proposition takes shape. Expect to see more than one, expect to reject some, and expect us to have drawn the section before the plan looks finished.

    What we do

    • Options tested in plan and section
    • A physical study model, usually at 1:100
    • Massing studied against light, orientation and neighbours
    • Presentation of a preferred option with the reasoning behind it

    What you do

    • Attend review meetings — typically three across this stage
    • Consolidate feedback across everyone who has a say, and give it once
    • Sign off the scheme before design development starts

    Schematic drawing set, area statement and study model.

  4. STAGE 04

    Design Development & Approvals

    TYPICAL DURATION8 – 16 weeks, plus authority time

    Consultants come on board and the scheme goes to the sanctioning authority. Authority timelines belong to the authority; nobody on the project controls them, and any programme that assumes otherwise is fiction.

    What we do

    • Coordination with structural and MEP consultants
    • Preparation and submission of approval drawings
    • Responding to authority queries

    What you do

    • Appoint the consultants recommended, or nominate your own
    • Pay statutory fees, scrutiny charges and premiums directly
    • Accept that this stage has a variable tail, and plan around it

    Sanctioned drawings and a coordinated consultant set.

  5. STAGE 05

    Construction Documentation

    TYPICAL DURATION10 – 16 weeks

    The longest stage, and the one you will see least of. This is where the building is actually decided — every detail settled here is one nobody has to invent on site.

    What we do

    • Fully dimensioned drawings and construction details
    • Door, window, finishes and sanitary schedules
    • Specification of materials and workmanship

    What you do

    • Make finish and fitting selections to the agreed dates
    • Resist reopening closed decisions — changes here are cheap on paper and expensive on site

    Good-for-construction drawing set and specification.

  6. STAGE 06

    Tender & Appointment of Contractor

    TYPICAL DURATION4 – 8 weeks

    Getting comparable numbers from contractors you would actually be willing to work with. We would rather have three good returns than six indifferent ones.

    What we do

    • Issue of tenders to an agreed shortlist
    • Like-for-like comparison of returns
    • Recommendation with the reasoning stated

    What you do

    • Agree the shortlist
    • Take independent legal advice on the building contract
    • Appoint the contractor — this decision is yours, not ours

    Tender comparison and written recommendation.

  7. STAGE 07

    Construction

    TYPICAL DURATIONVaries with scale — typically 12 – 24 months

    We visit, answer questions and check the work against the drawings. This is periodic administration, not daily supervision, and the distinction matters both legally and practically.

    What we do

    • Site visits every fortnight, and weekly through the finishing trades
    • Review of shop drawings and material samples
    • Clarification drawings as queries arise
    • Certification of stage payments, where we are appointed to do so

    What you do

    • Release payments to the contractor on the certified schedule
    • Route all instructions through us, never directly to trades
    • Expect some variation — no site is exactly as drawn

    A building, and a set of as-built records.

  8. STAGE 08

    Completion & Handover

    TYPICAL DURATION3 – 6 weeks

    Snagging, documentation, and the point at which the building becomes yours to run. We ask to come back after the first monsoon, which is when a building tells you the truth.

    What we do

    • Snag list and review of rectification
    • Compilation of warranties, manuals and as-built drawings
    • Final photographic record, where a photographer is appointed

    What you do

    • Walk the building and raise everything you notice, once
    • Retain the handover documentation — it is needed for any future work

    Handover file, and a project we would like to publish.

A NOTE ON PROGRAMME

Durations above are elapsed time, not effort

They assume decisions arrive when they are asked for. The two stages that most often overrun are approvals — where the timeline belongs to the sanctioning authority, not to anyone on the project — and construction documentation, where reopening a settled decision costs weeks rather than days.

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