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Projects that involve the alteration of or additions to an existing building or buildings will require obtaining or producing records of the existing conditions before design begins.
These records may include:
- measured drawings of the building(s) and relevant construction details
- measured drawings of the site including existing landscape and relevant features
- topographical and/or identification surveys
- survey of existing visible services (internal and external)
- details of materials and finishes
- photographic, video and other media record survey of existing site and buildings
- an assessment of the condition of the existing building(s), services and/or landscape
- record of condition of adjacent buildings, structures, services and landforms likely to be affected during construction works.
Some projects, particularly heritage restoration or alteration projects, may require additional records including:
- details of the method(s) of construction used (originally and in any previous alterations)
- details of the materials used (originally and in any previous alterations)
- details of any previous work undertaken and an assessment of the impact on the heritage values of that work
- investigation of finishes used and how these may have changed over time
- examination of other existing records.
The extent of records to be made will vary for each site and project, and will be influenced by the scope of works to be undertaken. Note that some of the record documents may need to be carried out by specialist consultants but may be coordinated by the architect.
The Institute’s 2024 Client Architect Agreement (CAA2024) includes provision for additional fees to be charged depending on scope of services required.
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