Design firms manage different standards and procedures regarding the project types, location, and client requirements; in this post, I’ll explain the general process for most architectural design in the city of New York.
Curiously, most of the land lots in the city’s downtown area are occupied, then most of the projects are renovation projects; however, any project in NYC, either renovation, interior design, urban project or new infrastructure project, will be an adventure. The project types will vary depending on the architecture studio where you’ll have your program.
To have an overall project understanding in NYC, it is helpful to have an idea of the phases that involve a project. These phases can be similar to the ones in your home country; these are:
- Scope of Work: Scope of works in a project by project stakeholders. For example, guessing that you’ll work in a renovation building, in this phase, the team will define which works will be done by the owner of the building and which one will be going through the tenant that will occupy a retail space within the building that is being renovated.
- Schematic Design: The first design steps are held in this phase with the main requirements. This is the funniest part of the project, where everything starts getting into shape.
- Design Development: The shape of the schematic design starts being adjusted with detailed information that is crucial for the execution also; this phase includes the developed drawings with all the annotations such as dimensions, height symbols, main schedules, general details, etc.
- Construction Design: This phase includes all the previous requirements to ensure the completion of the projects, going deeper with every detail and technical specification to guarantee an integrated and effective design.
