EMI Mexico mobilizes teams of staff and volunteer design professionals to provide architecture & engineering conceptual design services for approved development projects. EMI’s Technical Assistance Pre-Application is the first step of the project approval process. Assessments and Concept Design services often begin with an EMI Project Trip, where the EMI team visits the project site for 5-7 days. The team will assess & survey the property and consult with the client ministry to review the project and develop design ideas that meet the needs of the ministry.
After the Project Trip, the Assessment or Concept Design documents are the published product of the groundwork & feedback from the Project Trip consultation and focus on the first phase of the development project. It usually takes 2-3 months to publish these documents. Concept Design documents can be used for sharing vision inside & outside the client ministry to build consensus and support for the project. Concept Design is a baseline for the project & as such can be refined further with critical alterations, used to formulate informed planning strategies, or given to a local builder to guide construction.
Once a concept design has been completed, and funds are being raised for a project, it is time to begin the detailed design process. While concept design documents the EMI Nicaragua are very well thought out and the finish product provides beautiful representations of a final product—they are not ready for construction.
In order to properly describe a project to a local contractor, construction company, or a volunteer team, detailed designs are needed that have been prepared to meet the design standards and norms in the location of the project. Additionally, depending on the location of the project, permits can be required.
Depending on the project, the Detailed Design phase can include construction ready plans and specification, assistance with the permitting process, connection to other local design professionals and preparations for construction. The Detailed Design phase usually ends at the delivery of Final Design documents (construction ready drawings, specifications and budgets).
EMI Mexico mobilizes teams of staff and contractor design professionals to provide construction support services for approved development projects. EMI’s Technical Assistance Pre-Application is the first step of the project approval process.
The scope of EMI Mexico’s construction support services varies based on project type and location.
Though the collaboration can and will be studied and adapted to the particular project, typical construction support usually consists of assisting the ministry client with supervision and oversight of the construction process. This can involve 1-3 day site visits to the project on the following phases during the project:
- Pre-construction meeting to discuss & review the Detailed Design plans with the key persons involved in project execution, i.e. the contractor / builder, site engineer / manager / representative, etc.
- Pre-construction layout of the building(s) on the site. This is to ensure the correct positioning of the building on the site master plan.
- Mid-construction review of progress at a key stage(s) to answer questions, review & address problems, etc. For instance, this could be before concrete is placed for the first floor of a building, or as the interior finishing work begins for the building.
- Post-construction review to identify missing items, develop a completion checklist, answer questions, review & address problems, etc.
Nonetheless, EMI construction management program services can be tailored to any specific project, the services can range from limited/peripheral inspections of a contractor’s work to detailed supervision, material, labor, time management and reporting of a full multi-phase construction project.