Learn the Tips, Become One of Those Who Know Building Construction and Architectural Practice, and Thrive! For architectural practice and building design and construction industry, there are two kinds of people: those who know, and those who don't. The tips of building design and construction and project management have been undercover-until now. Most of the existing books on building construction and architectural practice are too expensive, too complicated, and too long to be practical and helpful. This book simplifies the process to make it easier to understand and uncovers the tips of building design and construction and project management. It sets up a solid foundation and fundamental framework for this field. It covers every aspect of building construction and architectural practice in plain and concise language and introduces it to all people. Through practical case studies, it demonstrates the efficient and proper ways to handle various issues and problems in architectural practice and building design and construction industry. It is for ordinary people and aspiring young architects as well as seasoned professionals in the construction industry. For ordinary people, it uncovers the tips of building construction; for aspiring architects, it works as a construction industry survival guide and a guidebook to shorten the process in mastering architectural practice and climbing up the professional ladder; for seasoned architects, it has many checklists to refresh their memory. It is an indispensable reference book for ordinary people, architectural students, interns, drafters, designers, seasoned architects, engineers, construction administrators, superintendents, construction managers, contractors, and developers. You will learn: 1. How to develop your business and work with your client. 2. The entire process of building design and construction, including programming, entitlement, schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, and construction administration. 3. How to coordinate with governing agencies, including a county's health department and a city's planning, building, fire, public works departments, etc. 4. How to coordinate with your consultants, including soils, civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, plumbing engineers, landscape architects, etc. 5. How to create and use your own checklists to do quality control of your construction documents. 6. How to use various logs (i.e., RFI log, submittal log, field visit log, etc.) and lists (contact list, document control list, distribution list, etc.) to organize and simplify your work. 7. How to respond to RFI, issue CCDs, review change orders, submittals, etc. 8. How to make your architectural practice a profitable and successful business. About the author Gang Chen holds a master's degree from the School of Architecture, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, and a bachelor's degree from the School of Architecture, South China University of Technology. He has over 20 years of professional experience. Many of the projects he was in charge of or participated in have been published extensively in Architecture, Architectural Record, The Los Angeles Times, The Orange County Register, etc. He has worked on a variety of unusual projects, including well-known, large-scale healthcare and hospitality projects with over one billion dollars in construction costs, award-winning school designs, highly-acclaimed urban design and streetscape projects, multifamily housing, high-end custom homes, and regional and neighborhood shopping centers. Gang Chen is a LEED AP and a licensed architect in California. He is also the internationally acclaimed author for other fascinating books, including Planting Design Illustrated and LEED Exam Guides Series, which include one guidebook for each of the LEED exams.