4 min read
Specifications Formats & Processes Refresh
Updated and republished: October 5, 2022
Outline Specs
3 min read
Reinventing? Let's Standardize!
The construction industry in general and the architectural profession specifically, seem to enjoy the same challenge on every project. You would...
2 min read
PPD - Basic Organization
Preliminary Project Descriptions (PPD) are a formal method of presenting construction project data in a consistent, organized fashion. PPDs are...
1 min read
It's a Digital World
Image Credit: Xylophone Films Blog post by Alberto Izarraraz on May 08, 2013
3 min read
Linking BIM and Specs Through PPDs
Technology provides a means to connect data. Standards provide the organizations that make the data connections meaningful.
4 min read
Specification Work Flow
It's linear - just like design! Start at the beginning and finish at the end. Straight line. No sidesteps. No circling back. No changed minds. Smooth...
3 min read
Who Controls Project Schedules?
As a consultant to architects, primarily, we must react to schedules set by someone else. It may be the owner, architect, construction manager, or...
3 min read
Building Design and Documentation Are Iterative
Building design starts with a concept, a sketch at a macro scale. At the first stroke of the designer's hand, there is no concern for concrete...
4 min read
Are Outline Specs Necessary?
A very good question. By searches on this blog, it is one question that definitely wants to be answered. Something must be necessary, but is it...
3 min read
Multipurpose Design Documents
What documents are architects obligated to produce? The obvious answer may be drawings, of course, to show what design must be constructed. Under AIA...