2-3 Contracts

An architect is designing a new apartment building. The owner has a separate contract with the structural engineer. After the 100% CD set is issued to the contractor for construction, the structural engineer increases the floor beam size due to a miscalculation of the seismic load. As a result, the plumbing engineer needs to reroute the sanitary stack and the architect must redesign the bathroom layouts to accommodate a new chase.

What should the architect do first?

• Incorporate the changes into the drawings and issue a revision to the contractor.

• Revise the drawings and send an invoice to the structural engineer for additional design fee due to their errors. 

• Submit an additional service request to the owner for approval prior to incorporating changes into the drawings.

Using an AIA C401, an architect contracts with a subconsultant to help build the strategic plan and vision for a new airport project. The subconsultant is another architect who has airport and aviation industry expertise. When will the subconsultant receive their first payment?

• Schematic Design

• Design Development

• Construction Documents

• Construction Administration

Working under an AIA B101, an architect is hired by an owner to renovate an existing performing arts center. A design-bid-build delivery method will be used. The owner has contracts with an advising construction manager and a series of consultants who each coordinate their scope of work with the architect.

Instead of the agreed-upon 21 days, the owner's theatrical lighting consultant sends updated drawings to the architect for final coordination 14 days prior to completing the construction documents. The consultant's updated drawings show significantly more lighting equipment and materials than the previous coordination drawings. The start of bidding cannot be delayed.

What should the architecture firm do first after receiving the updated drawings?  

• Send the owner a request for compensation for additional coordination services.

• Instruct the electrical engineer to prioritize the coordination of the new lighting drawings.

• Ask the construction manager to update the theatrical lighting submittals.

An architect is executing a field survey for the renovation of an existing facility constructed in 1962 and unmodified since 1987. The architect observes what appears to be utility piping insulation that is original to the building.

How should the architect address this observation?

• Alert the local building official of the potential hazardous materials.

• Advise the owner to engage a third-party hazardous materials testing consultant.

• Direct the plumbing consultant to include potential hazardous materials abatement in their bid drawings.

An architect has designed a project that the owner needs to be operational before the end of the year. As the bid package is being put together, the owner asks the architect for the most appropriate method of ensuring that the selected contractor meets the deadline. The owner is committed to not changing the design during construction. 

Which one of the following should the architect recommend?

• Provide a contract provision for consequential damages to complete unfinished work.

• Provide a budget contingency for unforeseen schedule impacts.

• Provide a contract provision for liquidated damages.

An architect hires an electrical engineer using AIA C401. The electrical engineer, in turn, hires a specialty subconsultant. Review comments from the AHJ note that there are significant electrical code oversights that need to be addressed. The architect must inform the owner that these revisions will cause a delay in the overall project schedule.

Who is responsible to the owner for the delay in the project schedule?

• The architect

• The electrical engineer

• The specialty subconsultant

An architect is working on a large project with a construction manager (CM) as-contractor. All designers and engineers have been retained and the design is approximately 50% complete. Due to the size of the project, the CM is unable to secure a bond for the entire contracted project. Smaller construction contracts will be necessary. The owner and architect want all design and construction team members to continue in their current roles.

Which delivery method should the architect recommend to the owner?

• Design-build

• CM as-advisor

• Multiple prime

• Design-bid-build

A renovation project is under construction. According to the general contractor's schedule, the owner's hazardous materials remediation contractor is to remove a plaster ceiling that contains asbestos. The owner's contractor does not appear, delaying other construction work.  

How should the general contractor respond?

• Stop all work until the ceiling is removed. 

• Make a claim for delay and/or additional cost incurred as a result.

• Hire another remediation contractor and submit a change order to cover the cost.

An architect hires a structural engineer consultant for a new condominium project. Five days before the design document drawings are due, the owner requests that a rooftop garden and patio be included in the project. The structural engineer sends an e-mail to the architect, requesting additional time and compensation for the incorporation of the new roof modifications. 

If an e-mail is an approved form of documentation according to the consultant contract, what action should the architect take?

• Forward the e-mail request with a description to the owner for review and approval.

• Attach the e-mail to the owner's design document deliverables and invoice for payment.

• Reply to the e-mail asking the engineer to send their request to the architect in the form of a letter.

An architect is working on a renovation project under an AIA B101 agreement. The architect's compensation is to be calculated as 5% of the cost of the work. The cost of the work is initially determined to be $12,800,000. Compensation for the architect's basic services follows: Schematic Design: 12% Design Development: 23% Construction Documentation: 40% Construction Administration: 25%

At the beginning of construction, the underground foundation is uncovered and is found to require extra structural support, increasing the the total cost of work by 2%.

How much $ should the architect bill the owner for construction administration services when this phase is 25% complete?