Building and managing the development team in Portugal

• **Architect.** Authors the architectural project, leads the licensing submission and usually coordinates the specialty disciplines.
• **Engineers.** Structures, foundations, water and drainage, electrical, mechanical, telecommunications, acoustics, thermal and fire safety, each producing a signed specialty project.
• **Safety coordinator.** Statutory coordination duties in design and in execution, with obligations that attach to the client as well as the contractor.
• **Project manager.** Holds programme, budget, information flow and the interfaces the design team does not own.
• **Cost consultant.** Independent cost planning, tender evaluation and valuation checking; a distinct discipline from design.
• **Lawyer.** Title, contracts, structuring, tenancy or sales documentation, and dealings with authorities.
• **Accountant / tax adviser.** Vehicle set-up, VAT position, compliance and reporting.
• **Agent.** Market evidence during feasibility, then the sales or letting programme; must be properly licensed.

Appoint the lawyer and a cost or feasibility capability before committing to land. Appoint the architect to test the planning position before signing anything unconditional. Bring engineers in early enough to influence the scheme rather than to document it. Appoint the safety coordinator before design decisions constrain construction methodology. Appoint the contractor last on a traditional route, or early on a two-stage route.

WHAT EVERY APPOINTMENT SHOULD STATE

• the deliverables, by stage, in a listed form
• the duration of the appointment, explicitly including construction stage services
• the number of design iterations and what triggers an additional fee
• attendance requirements: meetings, site visits, authority meetings
• the coordination obligations between disciplines and who resolves conflicts
• professional registration, insurance level and its maintenance period
• intellectual property and the right to use the design with another team
• the fee schedule tied to deliverables, with retention where appropriate
• termination rights and what is handed over on termination.

Remote developers succeed when they impose rhythm rather than intensity: a fixed weekly written report against the programme, a monthly cost report reconciled to the appraisal, photographic records at defined intervals, and a scheduled decision list so that the team is never blocked waiting for an answer.

Visit at the moments that matter — before the licensing submission, at tender evaluation, at mobilisation, at first fix, and at practical completion. Visits that coincide with decisions are worth more than visits that coincide with progress.

Replacing a consultant mid-project costs time, fee and knowledge, so it should be a considered decision, not a reaction. It becomes justified when deliverables are repeatedly late without explanation, when coordination failures reach the contractor, when the professional cannot evidence current registration or insurance, or when communication has broken down to the point that the developer no longer trusts the reporting. Ensure the appointment allows it, and that the design can lawfully be taken forward by a successor.