The Steps of an Architectural Project: The Preliminary Phase (2/4)
- Kim Cloutier
- Sep 24
- 5 min read
Have you approved a sketch for your architectural project? Are you wondering what happens next, now that the idea is there, laid out on paper?
Good news: this is where everything starts to become real. It’s the exciting moment when your choices take shape — when you begin talking about materials, finishes, façades, and even start imagining the interior atmospheres, room by room.
In this article, we show you how an idea turns into reality: from technical drawings to administrative procedures, all the way to the start of construction.
You may already have gone through the initial steps: analyzing your needs, reviewing regulations, surveying the site, and exploring different spatial options. If not, the article “The Steps of an Architectural Project: The Conceptual Phase (1/4)” will introduce you to these essential stages.
1. Preliminary Plans: Structuring the Design
As soon as the sketch is selected, the architect moves on to developing the preliminary plans. This stage marks an important milestone: it transforms general ideas into concrete, measured, and drafted proposals. It typically lasts about a month.
It is also a favorable phase to begin discussions with potential contractors, especially for small- to medium-scale projects. Their experience can help validate certain construction options or identify early adjustments.
The objective is to produce technical documents that confirm the project’s feasibility. At this stage, spatial relationships are refined, volumetric choices are stabilized, and regulatory and construction constraints are anticipated.
Scaled floor plans, sections, and elevations
Initial selections of exterior materials and façade principles
Integration of preliminary engineering inputs (structural, mechanical, electrical)
Adjustments based on client feedback
Note : for smaller-scale projects, this phase can also provide an opportunity to consult with contractors in order to adjust certain construction options.
Your Responsibilities in This Concrete Phase of the Project
Your involvement is essential to move the project forward efficiently.
Promptly validate proposals
Give your approval or feedback as quickly as possible.
Provide the required administrative documents
Property titles, cadastral plans, technical documents, etc.
Facilitate site visits
For the engineer or the design team.
Maintain clear communication
Any changes to your budget or needs should be shared without delay.
2. Coordination with Engineers: Integrating Technical Expertise
This step involves consulting specialized engineers (structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing) to validate and refine the proposed technical solutions. Most projects benefit from their expertise, although certain smaller-scale interventions may not require it.
The architect can also suggest professional contacts and, if you wish, directly coordinate with the engineers to simplify communication. Their contribution helps anticipate technical constraints and integrate appropriate solutions as early as the preliminary plans.
3. Regulatory Review: Ensuring Compliance
This phase consists of confirming that the project complies with the regulatory requirements set by the municipality, particularly regarding structural, geographical, and aesthetic limits applicable to both new and existing constructions. Depending on the nature of the project, it may be necessary to integrate the constraints of the Planning Advisory Committee (CCU), especially for exterior aspects: dimensions, doors and windows, access, façades, street visibility, landscaping, and more. The goal is to anticipate necessary adjustments and avoid delays caused by non-compliance during the permit application and potential CCU review. This is also the stage where the final 2D floor plans of the interior spaces can be confirmed.
4. Façades and Exterior Materials: Defining the Project’s Identity
Once the volumes are stabilized, attention shifts to the building envelope. This is the stage where the project begins to take visual form. Openings (windows, balconies, doors) are defined, materials are chosen (wood, metal, brick, plaster…), and the project’s impact on its immediate environment is carefully considered. Light and shadow, perspectives, and surface treatments all take on their full meaning here.
At this stage:
Positioning of windows, doors, openings, and balconies
Selection of exterior materials (brick, wood, metal, plaster)
Analysis of sunlight, sightlines, and integration into the site
Respect for the built context—or a deliberate choice to contrast with it
5. Tendering: Choosing Your Partners
Once the technical documents are completed, the client — with the architect’s guidance — can begin meeting with potential contractors to discuss the project, its construction challenges, and the budgetary implications.
Rather than a formal tender process, this step often takes the form of individual consultations, particularly for small- to medium-scale projects.
At this stage, the architect helps to:
Identify suitable contractors
Present the project and expectations
Assess both human and professional compatibility between the parties
Support the negotiation of contract terms
The goal: to establish a relationship of trust with solid partners, both on a human and technical level.
6. Dossier pour demande de permis : composer avec les règles et les délais
When the plans are sufficiently advanced, the architect prepares the application file required to obtain the building permit. This is both a technical and strategic phase, as it demands a thorough understanding of urban planning regulations.
The file includes detailed plans, urban and landscape presentation documents, as well as the specific forms required by the borough. If the project is located in a sector subject to review, it must also be presented to the Planning Advisory Committee (CCU).
The file includes:
Plans compliant with zoning regulations
Urban and landscape integration documents
Borough-specific forms
Presentation to the CCU, if applicable
The architect ensures follow-up and adapts the project as needed, based on the recommendations issued by the city.
What is the CCU ?
In certain cases — particularly in areas designated as significant by the borough — design choices are subject to regulations intended to preserve the character of the neighborhood. This requires a strong sensitivity to the existing context and an ability to create in dialogue with the built heritage.
In such situations, the project must often be presented to the Comité consultatif d’urbanisme (CCU) — the municipal Planning Advisory Committee responsible for evaluating the quality of a project’s architectural integration into the urban fabric.
This step, distinct from and prior to the building permit application, typically adds about three additional months to the schedule, depending on borough processing times. It may also generate extra costs for preparing the required documentation (files, visuals, specific renderings). The procedure varies from one borough or municipality to another, which makes it necessary to anticipate and adapt the project early in the development phase.
In Summary: From the Preliminary Phase to the Executive Phase
In conclusion: giving form to your vision, step by step
Once the conceptual phase is completed — the stage where a sketch has been approved — the project enters a new dynamic. The preliminary phase helps structure this idea into concrete plans, while the approval phase, described in this article, prepares the ground for realization.
This process involves several key steps, often complex but essential to the project’s success:
Preliminary plans lay the technical foundations of the project, translating your choices into concrete, measured documents.
Coordination with engineers integrates the first structural, mechanical, or electrical constraints, helping to avoid major adjustments later on.
Regulatory validation confirms that the project complies with planning and building rules in force.
Work on façades and materials gives the building its visual identity, integrating aesthetics, context, and constraints.
Preparation of the final file provides a set of clear, complete documents, ready to be submitted to the City.
Permit submission — essential for obtaining official approval. In some cases, the project must also be presented before the Comité consultatif d’urbanisme (CCU), or Planning Advisory Committee, for a more in-depth analysis of its integration into the urban fabric.
Tendering helps you select contractors who are reliable and well-suited to your budget and needs.
Too often perceived as a purely administrative formality, this intermediate phase is in fact a strategic pivot: without a permit, no construction can begin.
That’s why it is crucial to surround yourself with professionals who can defend and advance your project before regulatory bodies, while ensuring its architectural coherence.
Your next step ?
