BUILDING PLANNING AND

DRAWING
UNIT-1
• CONTENTS
1.1) Building process-overview,
1.2) Governmental constraints,
1.3) Classification of buildings,
1.4) Components of buildings,
1.5) Loads and Forces,
1.6) Building bye laws,
1.7) Orientation for building,
1.8) Principle of planning for building.
 1.1) BUILDING PROCESS -
Overview
• Building construction is a complex, significant, and rewarding process.

• Like the manufacturing of products, building construction requires an

ordered and planned assembly of materials.

• Additionally, even a modest-sized building must satisfy many performance

criteria and legal constraints,

• requires an immense variety of materials, and involves a large network of

design and production firms.
• The process by which a building project is delivered to its owner may be
divided into the
• following five phases, referred to as the project delivery phases.
a)Pre-design phase
b)Design phase
c)Preconstruction phase
d)Construction phase
e)Post-construction phase
1) Pre-design phase (or) Planning
Phase
• During the pre-design phase (also called the planning phase),
• the project is defined in terms of its
 function,
 purpose,
 scope,
 size, and economics.
• It is the most crucial of all the five phases,
• As the success or failure of the project may depend on how well
this phase is defined and managed.
• The clearer the project’s definition, the easier it is to proceed to
the subsequent phases.
 important pre-design tasks
• Building program definition, including activities, functions, and spaces required
in the building, along with their approximate sizes, and relationships with each
other.

• Economic feasibility assessment, including the project’s overall budget and

financing.

• Site assessment and selection, including the verification of the site’s

appropriateness and determining its designated land use

• Governmental constraints assessment, for example, building code constraints

and other legal aspects of the project.

• Design team selection

• For a house, or other small project, the program is usually
simple and can be developed by the owner without external
assistance.
• For a large project, however, where the owner may be an
institution (such as a corporation, school board, hospital,
temple, or governmental entity), developing the program may
be a complex exercise.
• This may be due to the size and complexity of the project or
the need to involve several individuals (a corporation’s board
of directors for example) in decision making.
• These constituencies may have different views of the project,
making it difficult to create a consensus.
• For a house, or other small project, the program is usually simple and can
be developed by the owner without external assistance.

• For a large project, however, where the owner may be an institution (such
as a corporation, school board, hospital, temple, or governmental
entity),developing the program may be a complex exercise.

• This may be due to the size and complexity of the project or the need to
involve several individuals (a corporation’s board of directors for example
in decision making.

• When the economic considerations of the project are paramount, the

owner may also consult a construction cost analyst.
• Whatever the situation, the owner’s program is the
first step in the project delivery process.

• It should be spelled out in writing and in sufficient

detail to guide design, reduce liability risk for the
architect, and avoid its misinterpretation.

• If a revision is made during the progress of the

project, the owner’s written approval is necessary
 Design phase
• The design phase begins after the selection of the
architect.
• Because the architect (usually a firm) may have
limited capabilities for handling the broad range
of building-design activities,
• In most projects, the design team consists of the
architect, civil and structural consultants, and
• mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire-
protection (MEPF) consultants.
• In complex projects, the design team may also include an
 acoustical consultant,
 roofing
 waterproofing consultant,
 cost consultant,
 building code consultant,
 signage consultant,
 interior designer,
 landscape architect, and so on.
• The design team comprises several different design firms.
• In such cases, the owner typically contracts the architect, who
in turn contracts the remaining design team.
• In most building projects, the design phase
consists of three stages:
 Schematic design stage
 Design development stage
 Construction documents stage
 Schematic design stage
• The schematic design gives graphic shape to the owner’s
program.

• It is an overall design concept that illustrates the key ideas of

the design solution.

• The schematic design usually goes through several revisions.

• because the first design proposal prepared by the architect

will rarely be approved by the owner.
• The architect communicates the design proposal(s)
to the owner through various types of drawings –
 Plans,
 Elevations,
 Sections,
 Freehand sketches,
 Three-dimensional graphics (isometrics,
 axonometrics, and perspectives).
• It is important to note that the schematic design drawings,
images, models, and simulations, regardless of how well they
are produced are not adequate to construct the building.

• Their objective is merely to communicate the design scheme

to the owner (and to consultants,
 Design Development stage
• Once the schematic design is approved by the owner, the process of
designing the building in greater detail begins.

• During this stage, the schematic design is developed further, hence the
term design development (DD) stage.

• Although the emphasis in the SD stage is on the creative, conceptual,

and innovative aspects of design,

• the DD stage focuses on developing practical and pragmatic solutions

for the exterior envelope, structure, fenestration, interior systems,

• Efficient execution of the construction documents depends directly on

how well the DD is managed.
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTS (CD) STAGE
• The purpose of the construction documents (CD) stage is to
prepare all documents required by the contractor to construct
the building.
• Each consultant advises the architect, but they also
collaborate with each other (generally through the architect)
• The construction documents consist of the following:
• Construction drawings
• Specifications
 Construction drawings
• During the CD stage, the architect and consultants
prepare their own sets of drawings,
• Construction drawings,has
 Architectural construction drawings,
 Civil & Structural construction drawings,
 MEPF(mechanical electrical,plumbing,fire)
construction drawings,
 Landscape
 construction drawings, and so on.
• They consist of floor plans, elevations, sections, and
various large-scale details.
• Therefore, they must indicate
• The geometry,
• Layout,
• Dimensions,
• Type of materials,
• Details of assembling the components,
• Colors and textures, and so on.
• Construction drawings are also used by the
contractor
• to prepare a detailed cost estimate of the
project at the time of bidding.
 Specifications
• Buildings cannot be constructed from drawings alone .
• because there is a great deal of information that cannot be
included in the drawings
• locations of columns, their dimensions, and the material used
(such as reinforced concrete),
• the quality of materials,
• their properties,
• the test methods required ,cannot be furnished on the
drawings.
• This information is included in the document called
specifications.
• Specifications are written technical
descriptions of the design intent,
• Where as the drawings provide the graphic
description.
• specifications and the construction drawings -
complement each other and generally deal
with different aspects of the project.
• the contractor must carefully study and compare
the drawings and the specifications and report
inconsistencies to the architect.
• If the conflict between the specifications and the
construction drawings goes unnoticed initially
• but later results in a dispute, the courts have in
most cases resolved in favour of the specifications.
• implying that the specifications, not the drawings,
govern the project
 Construction Document set
• Just as the construction drawings are prepared separately by
the architect
• and each consultant for their respective portions of the work,
so are the specifications.
• The specifications from various design team members are
assembled by the architect in a single document, called the
project manual.
• Because the specifications consist of printed (typed) pages
(not graphic images),
• a project manual is a bound document - like a book. The major
component of a project manual is the specifications
• The set of construction drawings (from various
design team members) and the project
manual together constitute what is known as
the constructiondocument set.
• The construction document set is the
document that the architect uses to invite bids
from prospective contractor…….
 Governmental Constraints
• Objective:
• you will be introduced to some of the administrative aspects
in the building process.

• It will make you to understand the general terminology used

in building process with definitions as and when applicable.

• In India the code that has to be fallowed for building process

implementation is NBC (National Building Code),

• which is published by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards).

• The primary requirement of a building is that it should be safe and healthy.
• Visual appeal and economic viability, though important, are secondary
requirements.

• To deliver a safe and healthy building is primarily the responsibility of the

design and construction professionals -
architects, engineers, and builders.

• However, as with all public health and safety issues, the design and
construction of buildings is regulated under numerous Central, state, and
local laws.
•
• The most important of these laws are contained in a document called the
building code.
• A building code is enforced by local jurisdictions such
as the cities or municipalities,
• No building may be constructed unless it
meets the requirements of the building code of
the local jurisdiction.
• Ongoing technological developments in the
building industry require that building codes
be constantly reviewed and revised.
 Bureau of Indian Standards.

• This task is usually beyond the resources of

most local jurisdictions. It is, therefore,
handled by an independent agency - Bureau of
Indian Standards.
• whose primary responsibility is to develop,
maintain, and publish the building code and
the other related codes.
 Building code ???
• The objective of a building code is to ensure that all
new construction and renovated buildings ,
provide a minimum level of
safety,
health, and
welfare to the occupants and public at large.

A building code does not regulate aspects of design

that relate to a building’s appearance.
• It deals with the issues of a building’s
performance.
• Therefore, aesthetics, color, and form related
attributes are outside the purview of building
codes.
• Additionally, the code protects not only the
safety, health, and welfare of the owner of the
project but also the general public.
• In more specific terms, a building code
regulates the following aspects of building
design and construction:
Life safety
Fire safety
Structural safety
Health and welfare
Property protection
 Life Safety
• Although both fire safety and structural safety are essentially
life safety issues, the reverse is not always true.
• The term life safety has its own independent existence in
building codes,
 Figure 2.1
• For example, a guardrail on a balcony, apart
from being structurally adequate,

• must provide protection from people falling

over the top of the rail or from between its
vertical or horizontal members, .
• The relationship between the treads and risers of a
staircase,
• the dimensional uniformity of the treads and risers,
the slope of a ramp, etc., are some other examples of
life safety issues in codes, Figure 2.2
 Fire Safety
• Fire safety regulations in building codes are
among the most important regulations.
• If onewere to separate structural regulations
from building codes,
• the bulk of the remaining regulations relate, in
one way or another, to fire safety issues.
• Obviously, fire safety regulations relate to the
use of fire-resistant materials and construction.
• The types of building construction, as defined
by the codes, are directly related to the
• fire resistance of the major components of
the
o building - walls,
o floor slabs, roofs, beams,
o columns, and so on.
• One of the most important set of fire safety
regulations deals,
• with the means of egress from the building (escape
routes) should a fire occur.

• Building codes regulate various aspects of the

means of egress system in a building.

• including the width and height of exit enclosures fire

resistance of materials used therein, illumination
levels in exit enclosures, exit signs, and so on
• including the width and height of exit
enclosures,
• fire resistance of materials used therein,
illumination levels in exit enclosures, exit
signs, and
• so on, Figure 2.3.