Why a concept drawn overseas cannot be submitted as drawn
A concept set is built to communicate an idea: plans, elevations and visuals that convey proportion and atmosphere. An authority submission needs something else: setting out and dimensions, specifications, schedules and details in the format the building authority and the master developer expect.
Drawings prepared overseas often follow another country's conventions. The design can be perfectly good while the documentation does not line up, and that gap, not the design, is what stalls a concept at submission. On top of that, the authority and the master developer's design guidelines differ from community to community, so a package has to be prepared for the specific plot.
What the Architect of Record does for you
The Architect of Record is the licensed firm named on the submission. It converts the design intent into the drawings, specifications and schedules each reviewer expects, submits them, answers the comments, and signs off the construction stage.
For an owner with an international designer, the AOR is the bridge between concept and permit. The design decisions stay with you and your designer; the AOR documents them in a form the authority can review.
Rebuilding the concept, not redesigning it
Rebuilding a concept for submission is a re-drawing exercise. The proportions, planning, material palette and finishes you paid for are carried into submission-ready sheets rather than swapped for whatever is easiest to approve.
- What gets added: setting out and dimensions, wall and slab details, door and window schedules, material specifications, ceiling and lighting layouts, and coordination between disciplines.
- What gets checked: the authority's requirements for the plot and the master developer's design guidelines for the community.
- What stays: the architectural character and the interior intent.
When a previous consultant has stalled
Projects most often stall for documentation reasons rather than design reasons: an incomplete submission, drawings that do not address the returned comments, or a consultant who has gone quiet on the file.
A takeover starts with an audit of what has been submitted and what is outstanding, so you know where the project stands before anyone commits to a new approach. The aim is to keep the concept and correct the documentation, so the design fees already spent are not lost. Have these ready:
- Everything submitted to date.
- Correspondence with the authority and the master developer.
- The community's design guidelines.
- The original concept set from your designer.
Protecting the design through construction
Once approved, the drawing set becomes the reference. Anything proposed later on site is measured against it, so the design is not quietly diluted by substitutions.
The handoff between an overseas designer, a local consultant and a separate procurement firm is where intent is most often lost. When AOR documentation, FF&E sourcing and site supervision sit in one studio, specified furniture, finishes and custom pieces are matched to the approved design. Ganggaan is not the building contractor: it prequalifies, tenders and supervises the contractor, so the studio protecting the design is not the party building it.
Questions to ask before appointing an AOR
- Which authority and master developer govern my plot, and have you submitted to them before?
- How will you handle my designer's concept? The right answer is that it is rebuilt into submittable documentation, not redesigned.
- Who signs the submission, and who is my day-to-day contact?
- What happens when the authority returns comments, and is that inside the fee?
- Who tenders and supervises my contractor?
- Who owns the drawings, and can the submission set be amended without the original designer's permission?
Confirm the authority for your plot first
Authority requirements and master developer guidelines are plot specific, so confirm them before drawings are finalised. Which authority approves your project depends on the community and zone your plot sits in, and it's confirmed from your plot documents. See examples by community.
Ganggaan regularly steps in as Architect of Record when an international designer has produced a concept that cannot be submitted in Dubai as drawn, and keeps the designer you chose at the centre of the project.