Appointing a principal designer and a building designer

The party engaging in a building project (usually the owner of the building site or the person for whose use the building is intended) ensures that the building is designed and constructed according to the rules and regulations governing construction, as well as the permit granted.

The principal designer and the building designer are statutory parties to a construction project, and both must be appointed to the project as early as the building permit application stage. You can find contact details for designers in the qualification registers (link to the list of qualification registers).

The principal designer is responsible for the overall design and its quality, as well as the compatibility of various plans. Other duties of the principal designer include ensuring that the building project has the necessary specialist designers. Their role is particularly emphasised in detaced house projects, where the party engaging in the building project may not necessarily be a construction professional.

The building designer is responsible for the architectural design of the site and thus, among other things, the placement of the building on the site. The building designer produces the main drawings for the site, which are used when applying for a building permit.

The specific characteristics of a building project affect the difficulty categories of the design tasks (difficulty categories: minor–ordinary–demanding–highly demanding–exceptionally demanding). Ask your designer to assess the difficulty category of the design task.

Ask the principal designer to assess the need for other designers and appoint the designers in question

During the design phase

• Note: zoning regulations, matters stipulated in the building order, and the area’s construction method instructions
• Order the basic information package for builders (in Finnish) (verkkokauppa@hameenlinna.fi)
• Start the project in Lupapiste (in Finnish): draft / visible to the authority OR a request for advice
• Add the applicants (the parties engaging in the project) to Lupapiste
• Add the designers’ FISE qualification certificate or a certificate of qualification in accordance with the transitional provision to Lupapiste. Invite the principal designer to Lupapiste and ensure that they add their consent to the system
• Commission agreements with the building designer and other necessary designers
• If necessary, seek advice from the building inspector for your area via either the electronic appointment system (in Finnish) or Lupapiste (in Finnish)