NBR 16636: what it says and how it affects your pricing

What NBR 16636 is

An ABNT standard published in 2017. It defines "Preparation and development of specialized technical services for architectural and urban design" — and it replaced the old NBR 13531 and NBR 13532 (from 1995), cancelled in December 2017. If you still hear "NBR 13532", this is the current standard that took its place. It lists the phases, the content of each one and the sequence. It is the base for public contracts and a reference for private contracts.

The 8 defined phases

1. LV - Levantamento de Dados (Data Survey)
2. PN - Programa de Necessidades (Brief of Requirements)
3. EV - Estudo de Viabilidade (Feasibility Study)
4. EP - Estudo Preliminar (Preliminary Study)
5. AP - Anteprojeto (Schematic Design)
6. PL - Projeto Legal (Legal Project)
7. PB - Projeto Básico (Basic Project, executive)
8. PE - Projeto para Execução (Project for Execution)

Each phase has specific deliverables. PN is a written document; EP is a floor plan plus sketch; AP already has a detailed floor plan, sections and elevations; PE has all the construction details.

Impact on proposal scope

In the proposal, list what goes into each phase based on the NBR. This protects against scope creep:

• "Anteprojeto includes floor plans, sections and elevations at an adequate scale (NBR 16636)."
• "Construction detailing is the PE phase, it is not included in the AP."

Client asks for construction detail in the schematic design? You say: "That is the PE phase, I can quote it separately". A technical argument, not a personal one.

Impact on pricing

You split the fee across the phases. Typical distribution:

• LV + PN: 5-8%
• EP + AP: 25-35%
• PL: 10-15%
• PB + PE: 45-55%

You charge an installment at the end of each delivery. If the client wants only the schematic design now, they pay up to AP, and you stay free to move forward when they decide.