Integrated design
Structural and MEP design, coordinated with your architecture
Avenir's architects and engineers design the structure, electrical, plumbing, air conditioning and fire protection alongside the architecture, and check every discipline against it before a drawing is issued. A typical house set runs past 100 sheets, for the authority submission and for construction.
For houses, farmhouses and commercial buildings. Engineering comes with Avenir's Coordinated and Full scope design appointments and with Design + Build; construction is in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Our team replies within one working day. The first consultation is free.
- 100+
- drawing sheets in a typical Avenir house set, for approval and for construction
- 5
- engineering disciplines drawn with the architecture
- 8
- site items priced into the lump sum when Avenir builds from these drawings
Who answers for what
What structural and MEP design covers, and who answers for each set
A house plan shows rooms, doors and windows. It does not show how the building stands, or how water, power and air move through it. Those are the structural and MEP drawings (MEP means mechanical, electrical and plumbing), and each set is prepared and answered for by its own professional.
| Drawing set | What it fixes | Who answers for it |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Layouts, levels, sections, elevations, door and window schedules, and the set submitted to the authority | The architect |
| Structure | Foundations, columns, beams, slabs, stairs and their reinforcement, designed from calculations and the soil report | A structural engineer registered with the Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) |
| Electrical | Loads, distribution boards, circuits, lighting and power points, earthing, backup power and the connection for solar | An electrical engineer |
| Plumbing and drainage | Water supply, tanks and pumps, drainage falls, soil and vent pipes, septic tank and rainwater harvesting | A mechanical or plumbing engineer |
| Air conditioning (HVAC) | Indoor and outdoor unit positions, refrigerant and drain routes, ventilation and ceiling zones | A mechanical engineer |
| Fire protection | Detection and alarm layout, fire-resistant cabling, and fire fighting where the building needs it | An electrical or fire protection engineer |
| Solar By an affiliate | The array, inverter and batteries, designed and installed by the solar company; the roof structure and cable route coordinated by Avenir's design team | An experienced solar company Avenir works with as an affiliate (in DHA Lahore, only a vendor approved by the Private Power Infrastructure Board may install) |
In Pakistan, designing a building's foundations, frame and electrical and mechanical systems is professional engineering work under the Pakistan Engineering Council Act 1976 (section 2(k)). At Avenir every set is drawn inside one appointment. Our in-house engineers and the PEC-registered engineers we appoint work to the same architectural model, and our design team, led by the project architect, coordinates them before a drawing is issued. We tell you at proposal stage who signs each set for your authority.
Engineering comes with two of Avenir's three design scopes, and with Design + Build. Coordinated adds structural, electrical and plumbing drawings to the architecture. Full scope adds air conditioning, fire fighting and interior drawings. Compare the three design scopes, or see 1 Kanal house design and 2 Kanal house design.
One appointment, one team. We do not prepare structural or MEP drawings for a design drawn by another office. Coordination only works when one team controls every discipline from the first layout.
Coordinated drawings
Where three sets of drawings collide
Architectural, structural and MEP drawings are prepared by different disciplines. Drawn separately, they meet for the first time on site, where a beam crosses a stair or a pipe meets a column.
Turn the layers on and off as an architect does, then compare the same plan drawn separately and drawn together.
Drawn separately. Four clashes are waiting for the site.Drawn together. Each clash is resolved on the drawing, before it reaches site.
Part of a house ground floor, about 40 by 28 ft, drawn in five layers. Illustrative: not a design for any plot.
Select a clash on the drawing or in the list to see what happens when it is found on site, and how drawing the sets together resolves it.
1. Beam across the stair
Drawn separatelyThe structural drawing runs a beam across the stair flight, low enough to cut the headroom over the steps. Found on site, the stair is rebuilt or the beam broken out.
Drawn togetherThe beam moves to the end of the flight, where it carries the landing and leaves full headroom over every step.
Resolved between: Architect and structural engineer
2. Soil pipe through a column
Drawn separatelyThe plumbing drawing drops the kitchen soil pipe exactly where the structure puts a column. On site, the column is cored or the pipe is rerouted through the room.
Drawn togetherThe pipe runs in a shaft beside the column, and the column stays whole.
Resolved between: Plumbing and structural engineers
3. Air-conditioning drain through a beam
Drawn separatelyThe drain is drawn falling across a beam to reach a pipe in the kitchen. On site, the beam is drilled or the pipe is boxed in below the ceiling.
Drawn togetherThe drain leaves through the outside wall beside the unit, so it never meets the beam.
Resolved between: Air-conditioning designer and structural engineer
4. Board behind a door
Drawn separatelyThe electrical drawing puts the distribution board on the wall the open door folds back against. The door cannot open fully, or the board cannot be reached.
Drawn togetherThe board moves to a hall wall the door never covers.
Resolved between: Electrical engineer and architect
Your answer goes into your WhatsApp message. Our team replies within one working day.
Read the four clashes as a table
| Clash | Drawn separately | Drawn together | Resolved between |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Beam across the stair | The structural drawing runs a beam across the stair flight, low enough to cut the headroom over the steps. Found on site, the stair is rebuilt or the beam broken out. | The beam moves to the end of the flight, where it carries the landing and leaves full headroom over every step. | Architect and structural engineer |
| 2. Soil pipe through a column | The plumbing drawing drops the kitchen soil pipe exactly where the structure puts a column. On site, the column is cored or the pipe is rerouted through the room. | The pipe runs in a shaft beside the column, and the column stays whole. | Plumbing and structural engineers |
| 3. Air-conditioning drain through a beam | The drain is drawn falling across a beam to reach a pipe in the kitchen. On site, the beam is drilled or the pipe is boxed in below the ceiling. | The drain leaves through the outside wall beside the unit, so it never meets the beam. | Air-conditioning designer and structural engineer |
| 4. Board behind a door | The electrical drawing puts the distribution board on the wall the open door folds back against. The door cannot open fully, or the board cannot be reached. | The board moves to a hall wall the door never covers. | Electrical engineer and architect |
Approvals
What each authority asks for from the engineers
A building plan is never architecture alone. Each authority asks for the engineering in its own way, and a submission that misses an item comes back. These are the engineering items asked for with a house plan, taken from each authority's own published rules.
| Authority | Engineering with a house plan | Source |
|---|---|---|
| DHA Lahore | Structural, fire protection and MEP drawings go in with the architecture, with the original stability certificates DHA lists, including the structure certificate from the registered structural engineer (the regulations define a registered engineer as one registered with PEC), and an original soil or geotechnical report. Commercial buildings add the structural analysis report (ETABS or SAP). | DHA Construction & Development Regulations 2026 edition, Regs 14 and 15(t) and Definition 36; DHA Lahore Drawing Submission documents |
| DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi | An architect and a structural engineer on DHA's panel. Structural drawings signed by that engineer, with an undertaking and a certificate that the structure is safe, and a soil test report signed by a DHA-registered firm, from at least two boreholes. DHA may ask for detailed calculations on a house; they are mandatory for commercial and apartment buildings. There is no separate MEP set: drainage, sewer and water lines are shown on the submission plan. | DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi Revised Byelaws & Regulations 2022 (updated 2023), regs 8.4.1, 8.4.3, 8.5, 8.6.10, 8.6.13, 8.6.19 to 8.6.22 and 8.48 |
| LDA schemes | Above 38 ft (four storeys), a structural stability certificate with the structural drawings and calculations, vetted by a structural engineer on LDA's panel. The regulations define a structural engineer as a PEC-registered consulting engineer with five years' experience. The regulations list no MEP or fire drawings with a house plan. | LDA Building and Zoning Regulations 2019, as amended to January 2020: table 2.2.3, note (b); definitions, 1.1 |
| CDA (Islamabad) and RDA (Rawalpindi) | Rules differ between CDA sectors, RDA areas and the private schemes in both cities. We confirm the engineering items your plot needs from the authority's current rules at proposal stage. | Confirmed for each plot at proposal stage |
Avenir prepares the drawings for the authority that governs your plot and, where approval is in your scope, takes them through it. Bahria Town and other private schemes publish their own requirements, which we confirm for your plot at proposal stage. The full approval route is set out in our guides to DHA Lahore building byelaws, CDA and RDA approvals and DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Soil and foundations
The ground decides the foundations, not the plot size
A structural engineer cannot size a foundation from the plot dimensions. It needs a soil investigation: boreholes or test pits that show what the ground can carry, where the water sits and how the soil behaves when a basement is dug into it. Avenir arranges the investigation through the geotechnical companies on its panel, or the laboratory your authority names, and the structural design starts from the report. In DHA Lahore the structure certificate rests on a geotechnical investigation by UET or DHA's own materials testing laboratory, and the original report goes in with the building plan. DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi asks for at least two boreholes before the structural design (8.4.1).
Foundation type and depth
Isolated, strip or raft footings, or piles where the ground or the authority calls for them.
Allowable bearing pressure
The working figure the engineer designs to, set below the ground's ultimate capacity by a safety factor. A bearing figure given without a report is a guess.
Water table
It decides basement waterproofing, dewatering during excavation and the design of the retaining walls.
Basements beside built houses
Retaining walls to the plot line and careful digging beside the neighbour. In DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi a basement deeper than 12 ft needs RCC piling on all four sides, designed from the soil report (8.51), and digging next to a built house is by hand only (8.56.11.4).
Earthquake loads
The structure is designed to the Building Code of Pakistan (Seismic Provisions 2007), which applies to the engineering design of buildings in Pakistan, for the earthquake zone the Code sets for the plot's location.
We never give a bearing figure or a foundation design without the report.
Building services
Services drawn for how a house here actually runs
A house in Pakistan needs services the grid and the mains do not provide on their own: backup power, stored water and pumps. The MEP drawings plan for them from the first layout, so tanks, batteries and outdoor units have a place before the slab is cast.
Backup power and solar provision
A ventilated place for the inverter and batteries, and a generator within the authority's limit: 25 KVA in DHA Lahore (Regulation 58) and 15 KVA in DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where a roof-mounted set also needs a structural engineer's certificate for the slab (8.42.1.4 and 8.42.1.7). Solar is designed and installed by experienced solar companies Avenir works with as affiliates, and the design team leaves roof space, structure and a cable route for it. In DHA Lahore only vendors approved by the Private Power Infrastructure Board may install solar (Regulation 67); DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi allows up to 10 kW on a house of up to 1 Kanal (8.68.1).
Water storage and pressure
Underground and overhead tanks, pumps and pressure for every floor, and a rainwater harvesting tank where the authority requires one. DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi makes it mandatory from 1 Kanal (1,200 gallons; 1,800 gallons for 2 Kanal), placed in the front setback and shown on the submission drawing (8.67.4 and 8.67.5). LDA schemes require one from 5 Marla (500 gallons at 10 Marla, 1,000 at 1 Kanal), with a recharge well from 15 Marla (5.6.6).
Drainage
Falls worked out floor by floor, soil and vent pipes kept in shafts, inspection chambers placed on the site plan, and a septic tank sized for the house where one is needed.
Air conditioning
Outdoor units placed where they can breathe and be serviced, refrigerant and drain routes kept clear of the beams, and ceiling zones fixed with the structure.
Fire protection and CCTV
DHA Lahore makes fire-fighting equipment and CCTV cameras mandatory in houses and commercial buildings, and Annex C of its regulations sets the detectors, call points and extinguishers by plot size. Detectors must be wired, never wireless, on fire-resistant cable in their own conduits, so the alarm is drawn before the slabs are poured. DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi requires fire extinguishers in every house (8.56.18).
Electrical loads and earthing
The load worked out room by room, distribution boards sized and placed where they can be reached, and earthing designed rather than assumed.
For the faults we see most often when drawings were not coordinated, see where drawing sets fail on site.
Bring the engineers in while the plan can still move
Tell us your plot size, location and what you want to build. We reply within one working day, and the first consultation is free.
Owners abroad: we start on WhatsApp, then a video call on Google Meet or Zoom at a time that suits you.
Larger buildings
Apartment, commercial and mixed-use buildings
In a plaza or an apartment building the engineering shapes the plan earlier and more visibly. The core, the shafts and the plant decide how much floor is left to sell or let.
Structural analysis
The frame is modelled and analysed by computer. DHA Lahore asks for the ETABS or SAP report with a commercial submission.
Cores and shafts
Lifts, stairs and service risers sized before the floor plates are fixed.
Plant space
Water storage and pumping, electrical rooms and space for a transformer where the load needs one, kept off the lettable floors where the plot allows.
Fire fighting and escape
Routes, compartments and equipment as the authority requires for the building's height and use.
Basement parking
Ventilation and drainage, and a column grid that suits parking bays.
More on apartment building design, commercial building design and feasibility and development consultancy.
From drawings to price
A price is only as complete as the drawings behind it
A construction rate quoted before the structure and services are drawn is a guess about quantities. The structural drawings fix the concrete and steel, and the MEP drawings fix the pipe, cable, fittings and equipment. Without them, the gaps come back later as extras.
- Step 1
Coordinated drawings
Architecture, structure and MEP on one plan revision.
- Step 2
Quantities
Taken off every sheet: concrete, steel, masonry, pipe, cable, fittings.
- Step 3
Verified BOQ
The bill of quantities checked against the drawings and the plot conditions.
- Step 4
One lump sum
The construction price, with the site items inside it.
When Avenir builds, it prices from complete architectural, structural and MEP drawings, the plot conditions and a verified BOQ, and quotes one lump sum. Eight site items that rate quotes often leave out are calculated and included. The planning rates on our cost guide are a starting point; the quotation is calculated from your drawings, with those eight items inside it.
Eight site items inside the lump sum
- Boundary walls
- Main gate columns
- Parapet walls
- Underground and overhead water tanks
- Septic tank
- PCC or kacha flooring to side passages
- PCC or kacha flooring to garage and porch
- Sun shades
Read more on house construction, Design + Build and the planning rates.
Built from our drawings
Avenir projects taken from drawing to site
When Avenir designs and builds, the site team works from the drawings the design team issued. Five of these houses were designed and built by Avenir; the sixth is under construction.
2 Kanal modern house, DHA Phase 8 Lahore
Designed and built
2 Kanal house, DHA Phase 9 Prism Lahore
Designed and built9,400 sq ft including the basement.
View the project
2 Kanal neo-classical house, Gulberg Greens Islamabad
Designed and built10,000 sq ft including the basement.
View the project
2 Kanal modern house, AWT Lahore
Designed and built View the project
4 Acre modern farmhouse, Raiwind Road Lahore
Designed and built View the project30,000 sq ft residence, Chak Shahzad Islamabad
Under constructionOn site now. Its project page follows completion.
One team from the first drawing to handover
With Design + Build, the drawings you approve become a verified BOQ and one lump-sum price, and the same team answers for both. Construction is in Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
Progress reports come every week during construction.
How it runs
How the engineering runs inside an Avenir appointment
Engineering does not wait for a finished plan. It starts once a layout is chosen, so the structure and services can still shape the plan instead of being squeezed into it.
1. Brief and soil investigation
Plot, rooms, floors and budget bracket agreed. Avenir orders the soil investigation from a panel company.
You receiveA written brief; the soil report
2. Structure with the layout
Column grid, spans, stair and shaft positions agreed while the layout is developed.
You receiveThe chosen layout with its structural grid
3. Submission set
The architecture and the engineering your authority asks for, modelled together in BIM and checked by the design team before anything is submitted.
You receiveThe submission drawings, followed through approval where approval is in your scope
4. Detailed engineering
Structural calculations and drawings; electrical and plumbing drawings; air conditioning and fire protection in Full scope; the affiliated solar company's layout coordinated with the roof and wiring.
You receiveA drawing set for each discipline in your scope
5. Coordination
Every discipline checked against the others in the model, then revised until they agree.
You receiveA coordinated model and drawings
6. Issued for construction
The full set, more than 100 sheets for a typical house.
You receiveDrawings issued for construction
7. During construction
Architect site visits at the stages that matter (5 in Coordinated, 10 in Full scope), or the Design + Build site team builds to the drawings.
You receiveSite visits, or weekly progress reports under Design + Build
Before you appoint us. The first consultation is free. Once a meeting is set, we share our design brief form so the meeting is useful, and the written fee proposal follows within two working days of the meeting.
Owners abroad. We start on WhatsApp, then a video call on Google Meet or Zoom at a time that suits you. See how we work with owners abroad.
Before you build
Six checks for any set of engineering drawings
Whoever prepares your drawings, these checks show whether the engineering is complete before money is spent on site.
A soil report sits behind the foundations, and the structural drawings name it.
A PEC-registered structural engineer signs the structure, and the calculations are available if you ask for them.
Every discipline is drawn on the same plan revision. A plumbing drawing based on an old layout is how a pipe ends up through a beam.
Shafts, ceiling zones and beam depths appear on the architectural sections, not only on the engineering sheets.
The set is marked issued for construction, not only for approval, before the contractor starts.
The construction price was taken from these drawings, through a bill of quantities.
Avenir confirms in writing, at proposal stage, who signs each set of your drawings.
Questions
Questions about structural and MEP design
Do I need a structural engineer for a house in Pakistan?
Yes. Designing a building's foundations, frame and electrical and mechanical systems is professional engineering work under the Pakistan Engineering Council Act 1976, and the authorities ask for it. DHA Lahore wants a structure stability certificate from a registered structural engineer with the plan (its regulations define a registered engineer as one registered with PEC), and DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi wants structural drawings signed by an engineer on its panel.
Does Avenir prepare structural and MEP drawings for another architect's design?
No. Structural and MEP design is part of an Avenir design or Design + Build appointment, because coordination only works when one team controls every discipline from the first layout. If you already have drawings from another office, we can review them before they go to the authority or the site.
Who does the engineering at Avenir?
Our in-house engineers and the PEC-registered engineers we appoint, coordinated by our design team under the project architect. We tell you at proposal stage who signs each set for your authority.
Which engineering disciplines are included?
Structure, electrical, plumbing and drainage, air conditioning and fire protection. Structural, electrical and plumbing drawings come with the Coordinated design scope; air conditioning, fire fighting and interior drawings are added in Full scope. Solar is designed and installed by experienced solar companies Avenir works with as affiliates; our design team coordinates their layout with the roof structure and the electrical drawings. Your fee proposal lists the drawings before you sign.
Is a soil test needed before the structural design?
Yes. The foundation design starts from a soil investigation, never from the plot size. Avenir arranges it through the geotechnical companies on its panel, or the laboratory your authority names. DHA Lahore asks for the original soil or geotechnical report with the building plan, from UET or DHA's own materials testing laboratory, and DHA Islamabad and Rawalpindi asks for a report signed by a DHA-registered firm, from at least two boreholes.
How many drawings does a house need?
A typical Avenir house set runs past 100 sheets, across the authority submission and the drawings issued for construction. A one-page map (naqsha) shows rooms, doors and windows, but not how the house stands or how its services run.
Does Avenir use BIM?
Yes. The architecture, structure and services are modelled together and checked against each other before drawings are issued. On a house, the value lies in finding a beam in the way of a duct on screen rather than on site.
Do the drawings cover backup power and solar?
Backup power, yes: the electrical design gives the inverter, batteries and generator a place within the authority's limits. Solar is designed and installed by experienced solar companies we work with as affiliates. Our design team leaves the roof space and structure for the array and coordinates its cable route with the electrical drawings before the slab is cast.
When does the engineering start?
Once a layout is chosen, before the submission drawings. The column grid, spans, stair and shaft positions are agreed while the plan can still change, so the structure and services shape the plan instead of being forced into it.
Can any contractor build from these drawings?
Yes. The drawing set is yours, and a competent contractor can price and build from it. If Avenir builds, the same drawings become a verified bill of quantities and one lump-sum price.
How are design and engineering fees set?
The fee follows the work. The scope you choose, the authority that approves the plan, whether we obtain the approval and the site visits all move it, and plot size is only a starting point. The first consultation is free, and the written fee proposal follows within two working days of our meeting. Our design fee page explains each factor.
Do you engineer apartment and commercial buildings as well as houses?
Yes. In larger buildings the engineering shapes the plan earlier: cores, shafts, plant space, fire escape and basement parking are fixed before the floor plates. DHA Lahore also asks for the structural analysis report with a commercial submission.
Start here
Start with your plot and what you want to build
Plot size, location and a rough brief are enough to begin. Our team replies within one working day, and the first consultation is free.
- Plot size
- Location
- A rough brief
Lahore office: 139, CCA, DHA Phase 5, Lahore 54000. Islamabad office: 101, Luxus Mall, Gulberg Greens, Islamabad 44000.