Before we start to process permits for the construction of a house, a project is required. What does such a project contain and what is important in it? Are today's projects expensive? The price often depends on the usable area of the house, its complexity or, in the case of the interior of an apartment, the complexity of the design and the materials used. 

An architect can be helpful and a good project will save not only time but also finances.

Each project is individual and requires an individual approach to the solution. It is advisable to choose an architect who is experienced. Experience is not only a portfolio of work, but also verbal communication directly with the architect will tell you a lot about the quality of the architect. A proven architect is communicative and can respond promptly to your questions or identify the pros and cons of your investment from the outset.

COMPREHENSIVE PROJECT DOCUMENTATION

Project documentation has its own specifics. It can be project documentation of interior furnishing and project documentation of construction. Each of them includes different elements and takes a different time interval for processing.

The complexity of the project documentation is understood to mean that in addition to the design activity, the architect also carries out engineering activity. Design activity is the development of planning documents and spatial planning documentation, the development of documentation necessary for the issuance of zoning decisions and the development of building design necessary for the issuance of building permits, including static and dynamic calculations of building structures. Engineering activity is a set of activities carried out on behalf of the client (builder) by a legal entity or a natural person in order to ensure the preparation and implementation of constructions. We can say that the architect becomes not only the designer but also the author and project manager in the project.

THE SEQUENCE OF PROCUREMENT OF PROJECT DOCUMENTATION.

Land

First of all, it is necessary to correctly select the land on which we want to build and determine its pros or cons, and especially to evaluate the suitability of the land for the intended construction of the building according to your ideas.

The architect also offers consultancy services and you should take advantage of his advice right from the start when you are still choosing the land. He will offer you relevant insight and specify whether it is possible and appropriate to build the building you have in mind and on what scale.

After purchasing the land, you become the owner of the land with the title deed. Important document to start processing the architectural study. Another factor that is good to know is to know if the land is connected to existing utilities. If it is not, it is necessary to find out if it is even possible to connect the building (increased construction costs). Before signing the purchase contract, it is advisable to check all the legal requirements for the land. You can contact the architect for help. It may be that there is a seal on the land in question, or the plots may be unsettled, which needs to be put right first.

Typical family house or customized house project?

Before you start dealing with permits, you need to have the project you want to build on. Without a project, the building authority will not issue you with a building permit. There are two ways to get a project. One is to buy a standardised house (a catalogue house) or a tailor-made house project from an architect.

The initial amount of the typified project is lower, but if we take into account that this house needs to be fitted on the land, align the cardinal points and with this often come changes in the project, it will be necessary to pay extra to the base price. The price after the applied changes may be closer to the price for an individual project of a family house by an architect tailored to your ideas.

Criteria for selection can also be finances and the time you want or need to have the project available. After taking all the criteria into account, it is important to remember that an investment in a house is an investment in the future. So we probably won't be building a house again for the next 50 -100 years. Therefore, a "few hundred" extra for a custom-made project from an architect can ultimately mean the comfort you have longed for all your life, or dissatisfaction after just a few years of using a standardized family house.

Architectural study

It is the basic stage of project documentation. It is the first stage and it verifies the suitability of the layout in relation to the cardinal points, the land, sufficient insolation as well as the incorporation of the client's conditions and ideas.

A bespoke project based on
architectural study, prepared by an architect
together with the client - the builder.

The architectural study includes the philosophy of the solution, an accompanying report with basic data about the building, the situation of the plot with the location of the house and the situation of the surrounding plots, floor plans of all the designed floors, transverse and longitudinal section of the building. It shall also include view drawings, which may include material and color design of the building, basic square footage of the building. The study also includes a visualization of the exterior of the building and a color scheme. The visualization gives you a realistic view of your future house and is a tool where changes in either material or color solution can be edited very quickly.

Project for planning permission

After the architectural study is processed, a project for Issuance of planning permission, which is the first stage of project documentation. Subsequently, an application for planning permission will be submitted to the relevant public authorities and, in addition, the network managers must be consulted. The application for a zoning decision should include the name, surname and address of the applicant, a list of the parties to the proceedings, a brief description of the area concerned, the parcel numbers of the land according to the land register and the parcel numbers of adjacent land and buildings. The documentation must be delivered to the building authority in duplicate. All this information is also provided by the architect or can be found in the Act No. 50/1976 Coll. on spatial planning and building regulations or in the publication Tariff for designing bid prices for design works and engineering activities by Unika publishing house.

Project for building permit

After the issuance of the zoning decision follows the types of project documentation stage - the development of a project for a building permit. The design documentation of the building shall be submitted to the construction procedure. It shall include an accompanying report with data that complements the basic construction data provided in the application for a building permit. The project documentation shall also include a summary technical report. It must sufficiently describe and explain the following matters: the urban, architectural and civil engineering design of the building and its structural parts, the use of appropriate construction products, the fire safety solution, the energy and water supply, waste water disposal, waste disposal and its connection to existing networks, measures to ensure health and safety during construction, etc.

The project for the building permit also includes a building plan, which is a representation of the overall situation of the building with the marking of the boundaries of the land, their parcel numbers, underground networks, connections or protection zones. Also required are demarcation drawings, construction drawings, which show the proposed condition, the static assessment of the building or the design of the surrounding area - paved and unpaved areas. All the necessary documents for the issuance of a building permit can be obtained at the relevant building office, where you will be informed about the details of the necessary documents and various statements from the institutions concerned (statements from waterworks, power stations, gasworks, telecommunications, fire protection, etc.). The building authority may request a copy of the land map or the names and addresses of the parties to the proceedings. It is possible to start dealing with permits from institutions already during the preparation of the project documentation for the building permit, but in practice you will usually encounter the fact that it is better to deal with the statements with complete project documentation.

...in the next articles we will explain how the building permit and the preparation for the construction is done 😉