By

Cheryl Ngiam/Mohd Adib Ramli

Taylors School of Architecture, Building, Design

At the end of this lecture students should be

able to :

Know and understand the different

documentation types in the various stages
of a professional design services

Understand in detail the principles, format,

conventions used in a working drawing

Documentation
Architectural services
Architectural working drawings
Objectives
Drawing schedule
Programming
Equipment
Format
Drawing conventions

Definition: material that provides official

information or evidence or that serves as a
record
Can be in written, printed, online, digital or
analog media
In architecture, mainly in the form of drawings,
tender and contract documents

The work of an architect generally

involves the following phases:
Schematic design
Design development
Construction documents
Bidding & Contract negotiation
Construction administration

 Develop feasible concept and

to present it in a form that the
client can accept and
understand
Projects function, goals, design
expectations, budget, site
requirements, exploration of
alternative designs, etc.
Usually in a form of concept
sketches, either by hand or
CAD

 Typical documentation developed by the end

of this phase:
Site and floor plans
Exterior elevations ( not all )
Building sections of critical areas
Landscape plan
Preliminary construction cost estimate
Hand sketches or CAD 3D renderings
Most of the works performed by architect

 Design is refined into a clear, coordinated

set of drawings
Involves C&S and M&E engineers
Decide on structure, materials, detailing,
servicing, special requirements, etc.
The drawings may or may not include
dimensions and notes
Subject to revisions and refinements
The drawings become the basis for
submission drawings submitted for local
authoritys approval

 At earlier stage the drawings usually done by

architect but later the draftsmen will add all
information required i.e. dimensions, scales,
sheet titles, etc.
The set of drawings typically includes:
Fully developed site and floor plans
Exterior elevations and building sections
Reflected ceiling plans, roof plan, details, etc
The documentation typically does not contain
as many details, dimensions and notes
compared to construction drawings

During this stage, there are two types of

submission drawings:
Planning submission to obtain Development
Order
Building submission to obtain Building Plan
Approval
Planning submission requires a town planner
if the size of the land is more than 5 acres
and the town planner need to submit Laporan
Cadangan Pemajuan ( LCP )

Building Plans Approval need to be submitted to

nine authorities namely:
Jabatan Bangunan
Jabatan Perancang
Jabatan Kejuruteraan
BOMBA
Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Telekom Berhad
Jabatan Alam Sekitar ( Department of Environment ),
if necessary
Jabatan Perkhidmatan Pembetungan/IWK
Jabatan Pengairan dan Saliran, if necessary

Example of a submission drawing

 Preparation of documents for tenders or

bidding which consist of:
Drawings: working drawings & details
Documents instruction to tenderers, form
of tender, preliminaries, preambles and
specifications, bills of quantities (BQ), etc.
Every aspect of how a project is to be put
together must be included
Contractor(s) will use these documents to
determine construction cost

 The documents has to

be accurate
If changes are required,
addendums are simply
added to the drawings
and documents and
submitted for approval
Specifications should be
of minimum standard

Example of a construction document

 The architect will serve as the manager of the

bidding/tender
Contractors will be invited to bid for a project
i.e. through a tender notice
The contractors will pick/buy a set of
construction documents, study the project to
determine the cost of construction and place a
bid on the project
Sometimes the project owner will look for the
lowest bidder
Lowest bidder does not ensure winning project

Example of a tender notice

Example of the content of a

Construction Document

 Monitoring the progress of a building during its

construction
Questions and problems arise which require
architect s attention
Architect and other
consultants need to
ensure that the
project is being built
according to plan

 When a project is complete to the satisfaction of

architect and other consultants, CCC (previously
CF) will be issued.

 Working drawings are prepared for:

Approval of a building by authorities
(submission drawings)
Contractor to price the work (tender
drawings)
Contractor to build a building
(construction drawings)
Documenting a building after its
completion (as-built drawings)

Drainage surface, underground, sump, etc.

main sewer line

sewerage & sanitary

Title block
notes

grid lines & dimensions

owner
room name
section lines

floor levels and finishes

architect
project title

specifications
setback

door & window types

drawing title
Scale, drawn by, ref. no. etc.

 You need to understand:

Who the drawing is for
What the drawing is for i.e.: for a new building,
renovation, built-in cabinets, etc.
The needs of the
person who will
read the drawing
to carry out the
work excellently

the client s not too happy with the way

I interpreted the drawings

Several things that need to be

considered when starting a
working drawing:
Drawing schedule
Programming
Equipment
Sheet set out
Specifications
The golden rules

 List the different

drawings you will
need to do

 Estimate how long each drawing will

take considering what needs to be
drawn
Make a time chart as this will indicate
if you can finish in the allowable time
Allow time for checking and making
necessary ammendments
Allow time for printing and folding the
drawings, etc.

 Computer drawings
Computer software & hardware
Means of printing the drawing

 Lettering best left until last

Try to keep all the text to one side
Advisable to use Layout Mode (Paper
Space) to set the drawing in AutoCAD
Benefits of using layout view:
Multiple drawings with/without similar scale can
be arranged easily on the same sheet
Text height can be standardized even when the
scale of drawings are different
A better idea of how the printed documents look
like

Allow time to test prints

 Things that could not be drawn, i.e. coats of

paint, specific brand for sanitary fittings go into
the specifications
Example of specifications:
110mm thk. brickwall with 20mm plaster to be
painted on bothsides
100mm x 50mm UPVC RWDP
Alumn. Frame sliding door to manufs detail
1500mm high ceramic wall tiles all round
internally for kitchen