Tremont Residence: Construction Administration
Construction recently began on this residence in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland that our office has been designing. Check out this previous blog post with some pictures of the construction process.
Construction of the Tremont residence
Before construction starts the architect’s office is busy creating construction documents and applying for permits, but once construction begins the architect’s office shifts into construction administration. The contractor is responsible for constructing the building as designed in the construction documents and the architect’s office works on construction administration items to this end. Construction administration involves responding to requests for information, issuing sketches to clarify the drawings, and working with the owner and contractor to keep the project on track.
Requests for Information (RFIs)
RFIs are the formal process for the architect to ask questions about the project. Sometimes the architect’s intent in the construction documents is unclear or unforeseen things arise in the construction process that require a solution. RFIs can refer to any aspect of the project. For this residence we have received RFIs for everything from confirming the contractor’s scope of work to what type of structural connection needs to be made at beams.
Sketches
Sketches are issued by the architect when changes to the construction documents occur. The sketches above show some of the changes that have been made to the project. The first sketch shows changes to the front door of the residence. The door’s size was revised and a metal cladding material was added to the exterior side. The next three sketches show changes that were made to the master bathroom. Some of the things that changed include the addition of a second shower head and additional electrical work to install a shower controller.
Material selection
One major difference between commercial and residential projects are the materials used. Residential projects tend to use more personalized and higher quality materials than commercial projects do. The material selections for this residence have been in progress for a while. We’ve been working with the client to get the design exactly where they want it. Check out some pages from a recent material presentation below. We love all the textures from the wood grain, stone, and handmade tile.
