The single most outsourced piece of architecture work is not the exciting design part. It is the construction documents. If you want steady remote work with US studios, this is the deliverable to understand and own, because it is the exact thing they most want to hand off.
The American Institute of Architects splits design into three phases. A CD set is the last of them, and understanding the other two is what makes the last one make sense.
| Phase | What it produces | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| SD (Schematic Design) | Preliminary drawings, layout, overall form | Clarity of the concept |
| DD (Design Development) | Coordinated architectural, structural, and MEP detail, often a pricing set | Resolving how it goes together |
| CD (Construction Documents) | The final, build-ready drawings and specifications | Precision and completeness |
The CD phase is usually the longest, with the most check points, often broken into a 50 percent, 90 percent, and 100 percent set. Precision is everything here, because an error becomes an RFI on site, and an RFI costs time and money.
A CD set is a coordinated drawing package across disciplines: architectural (A sheets), structural (S), and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (M, E, P). The disciplines have to align so nothing clashes when the building is built.
Inside it you have dimensions, details, and annotations, schedules for doors, windows, and finishes, general notes, and material specifications. It is organized to standards, whether the studio's own sheet and layer conventions or broader ones like the AIA layer guidelines and ISO 19650.
The same drawings can be issued for different purposes, and the names matter. A permit set goes to the authority for approval, a pricing or bid set goes out for cost, and a GFC set, good for construction, is the version the field builds from.
The CD phase is the longest and most labor-intensive part of a project, which makes it the most expensive to carry entirely with permanent in-house staff. That economics is the whole reason the work travels.
Sending CD production to a remote team lets a studio scale capacity up and down by project without adding permanent overhead, get faster turnaround, and keep its senior people focused on design and client relationships. Remote teams are especially valuable through DD and CD, which is exactly where demand for LATAM production talent concentrates.
CD production is the most available and most repeatable remote work in architecture. It is judged on precision and on following standards, not on being in the room.
If you can produce a clean, coordinated, code-aware set to a studio's standards, you are producing the single deliverable they most want off their plate. That is a durable position to hold.
Not every set is equal, and studios learn fast who they can rely on. A few things make the difference.
The path is concrete. Master documentation in Revit and AutoCAD, sheets, schedules, details, and annotation, and learn US sheet standards and general-notes conventions so your set looks native to a US studio.
Build real code awareness, then let your portfolio show a genuine coordinated set, not only renders. A drafter who documents cleanly and coordinates is worth more than a flashy modeler who leaves gaps, a point we return to in how to build a portfolio that gets interviews.
We connect pre-vetted LATAM architects, drafters, and modelers with AEC firms in the US and Canada, and we handle the legal side, payments, and compliance so you can focus on the production. You produce the set, the firm's registered architects review and stamp it, and you stay assigned to one studio. If that fits you, explore remote roles for architects and drafters.
It is the final, build-ready package of drawings and specifications that tells the contractor exactly how to build the project. It is the last of the three design phases, after schematic design and design development.
SD sets the concept and layout, DD develops and coordinates the detail and is often used to price the project, and CD produces the final, build-ready drawings. Each feeds the next.
Coordinated architectural, structural, and MEP drawings, plus dimensions, details, annotations, schedules for doors, windows, and finishes, general notes, and material specifications.
It is the longest, most labor-intensive phase, so carrying it fully in-house is costly. Outsourcing lets a studio scale production by project without permanent overhead and keep senior staff on design.
They are the same drawings issued for different purposes. A permit set is for approval by the authority, a bid or pricing set is for cost, and a GFC set, good for construction, is the version the field builds from.
No. You can produce the set as production support. The studio's registered architects review it, take responsibility, and stamp it.
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