Architectural design, construction drawings and permits

The same firm signs the drawings and builds the house. It sounds obvious and it almost never happens: when the designer does not build, design errors surface on site and the client pays for them.

Construction drawingsLine-item scheduleMunicipal permits

ArquiVal develops the architectural design, construction drawings, line-item schedule with unit prices, and permit management before the municipalities of Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit and Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Because the same firm builds afterwards, the design is made with real construction costs and methods in mind.

Architectural design, construction drawings and permits

What the design service delivers

Survey of the lot or existing building.
Concept design: zoning, massing and relation to the site.
Architectural design and construction drawings.
Plumbing and electrical drawings.
Line-item schedule with quantities and unit prices.
Construction programme by line item.
Building licence and municipal permits.

Designing for this climate, not for a magazine

In Banderas Bay a project is defined by three things before aesthetics: orientation against the western sun, real cross ventilation, and rainwater management. A badly oriented house here cannot be fixed with air conditioning; it gets paid for in electricity bills for twenty years.

Roofs and drainage work the same way. Rain here does not fall evenly, it falls concentrated in a few hours. A design that sizes downspouts by highland standards ends up leaking by the second year.

Frequently asked questions

Can I hire design only?

Yes. Architectural design and construction drawings can be contracted independently, and the client is free to build with whoever they choose.

What is a line-item schedule and why does it matter?

It breaks the work into items, each with quantity and unit price. It lets you compare bids from different builders on the same basis, approve changes without renegotiating everything, and audit real progress against what has been paid.