What Electrical, Mechanical & Civil Engineers Do in your Project

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It is imperative that Architects work closely with the three types of engineers mentioned above in the design of buildings. However, it could be confusing in the beginning when trying to understand what role does each engineer play. Here's a simple breakdown (that may be updated later on). Please take note that this is the understanding in the Singapore context, and may differ from country to country:

Electrical Engineer
  • He prepares the electrical, lighting and data items for your building; usually, architects need to talk to him during the design stage if there are any specific lighting looks in the room or specialised electrical equipment to consider
  • His lighting designs have to meet minimum lux requirements based on the location and function of each space, if you are thinking of using a mixture of daylight and electrical light in a space, you need to have more lengthy discussions with his as well as lighting suppliers
  • He will tell you his requirements for the location and size of his electrical related spaces, including items such as the minimum size and location of electrical shafts, TER/LAN rooms, consumer switch rooms, high tension room, transformer room, electrical substation, etc.
  • As electrical shafts often carry equipment that cannot be bent excessively, he will usually insist to have his shaft at the same place at the a same size for each floor if you are building a multi-storey building
  • For important electrical related rooms, it is very very important for them to stay dry, as such, it is always a good consideration to place these rooms far away from the prospects of getting wet because of rain or wet areas. In addition, always remember to provide adequate waterproofing for these rooms
  • He will design the electrical connections for all fire and escape related items such as strobe light, exit signs as well, however, Architects need to provide him with the location of such items before he can continue further
  • Usually, electrical installations do not take up too much ceiling/ floor space, so allocating up to 200mm of depth to them within the ceiling is enough; however, the type of ceiling chosen will have repercussions for the location where he can place his lighting, as such, always discuss for the location of lighting
Mechanical Engineer
  • He prepares the ACMV, plumbing, sanitary and fire protection items for your building; usually, architects need to talk to him during the design stage to make sure the toilet layout will be feasible with their pipe layouts, and if you have specific requirements for the air-conditioning used in different spaces, as well as to whether sprinklers will be used for your building (or other specialised types of fire fighting systems)
  • He will tell you his requirements for the location and size of his mechanical related spaces, including items such as the minimum size and location of mechanical shafts, AHU room, water pump rooms, etc. He will also take up a large amount of space on the roof for his other equipment such as cooling towers, chiller plants, etc. He will also take up space on the ground level for inspection chambers, grease traps, etc.
  • For sanitary shafts, there is a maximum bend that each pipe can take in order to ensure smooth movement of the liquids inside. As such, always check with him to ensure that the shafts you provided in the toilet is enough and in a location that is logical for his pipe layout
  • The AHU room also needs to be adequately positioned such that all air-conditioned spaces on that floor could receive adequate cooling; usually, it has to be somewhere central
  • Usually, ACMV equipments will take up a large amount of space in the ceiling, adding up to 800mm or even more than 1000mm of depth. As such, always discuss the ceiling height of any AC/ mechanically ventilated floor well to ensure that Architects still have the depth that we want per floor; in addition, discuss the location his air inlets and outlets are located in order to ensure that the eventual ceiling design is what you wanted
  • In Singapore, he is also the person that will help you to calculate your ETTV and RTTV in terms of the amount of heat that your building receives from its exterior facade and roof
Civil Engineer
  • He prepares the structural layout of your building; usually, architects need to talk to him the earliest in the design stage to get the structural design sorted out; this starts from deciding the type of structure used for the building (RC? Steel? Timber?), then to the location of structural supports, the size of these structural supports, and also the thickness of floor plates and beams (if any)
  • It is important to discuss the column and slab sizes so that the alignment of walls, rhythm of spaces and depth of ceilings are enough; if any slab size changed for any of the floors, it is important to notify him immediately
  • He will also calculate items such as the size of detection tanks
  • During the first part of a building's construction, it is very important to discuss the size and location of pile caps/ footings, and examine if there are clashes between structural and M&E items
  • If there are lifts and escalators in the building, it is important to coordinate between the electrical and civil engineers to ensure there is adequate size and space for lift and escalator pits

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