The practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings is most usually a collective effort of different groups of professionals and trades. Depending on the size, complexity, and purpose of a particular building project, the project team may include:
A real estate developer who secures funding for the project;
One or more financial institutions or other investors that provide the funding
Local planning and code authorities
A Surveyor who performs an ALTA/ACSM and construction surveys throughout the project;
Construction managers who coordinate the effort of different groups of project participants;
Licensed architects and engineers who provide building design and prepare construction documents;
The principal design Engineering disciplines which would normally include the following professionals: Civil, Structural, Mechanical building services or HVAC (heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) Electrical Building Services, Plumbing and drainage. Also other possible design Engineer specialists may be involved such as Fire (prevention), Acoustic, facade engineers, building physics, Telecomms, AV (Audio Visual), BMS (Building Management Systems) Automatic controls etc. These design Engineers also prepare construction documents which are issued to specialist contractors to obtain a price for the works and to follow for the installations.
Landscape architects;
Interior designers;
Other consultants;
Contractors who provide construction services and install building systems such as climate control, electrical, plumbing, Decoration, fire protection, security and telecommunications;
Marketing or leasing agents;
Facility managers who are responsible for operating the building.
Regardless of their size or intended use, all buildings in the US must comply with zoning ordinances, building codes and other regulations such as fire codes, life safety codes and related standards.
Vehicles—such as trailers, caravans, ships and passenger aircraft—are treated as "buildings" for life safety purposes.