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 New! Many of the most popular AIA contract documents can now be downloaded online through the AIA Contract Documents on Demand eShop--please visit http://aiadocsondemand.ihs.com for more information.
AIA Contract Documents Price List, showing the current edition of each document, is available by calling AIA Chicago at (312) 670-7770. Information on the documents is also available by calling AIA National at (202) 626-7526, or online at www.aiacontractdocuments.org Documents Overview The American Institute of Architects (AIA) introduced its 2007 Update to AIA Contract Documents, which have defined the contractual relationships in the design and construction industry for 120 years. The AIA prepared the 2007 Update, which consists primarily of agreements in the popular A201 family of documents, with input from owners, contractors, attorneys, architects and engineers. The 2007 Update includes 40 revised, updated or new documents, including new owner/architect agreements. The AIA updates the A201 family on a ten year cycle to reflect changes in industry trends and practices. The revision process began in 2004, when the AIA solicited industry feedback on the 1997 A201 family of documents from more than a dozen industry groups, including the Associated General Contractors, the Associated Specialty Contractors, the American Subcontractors Association, the Associated Builders and Contractors, the Council of American Structural Engineers, the National Association of State Facilities Administrators, the Commercial Owners Association of America, the American Council of Construction Lawyers, and attorneys from Division 2, and 12 of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Construction Industry. The AIA Documents Committee and AIA staff attorneys met with most of the industry groups while working to address their concerns, which included dispute resolution, financial matters, the right to obtain payment information, insurance, the architect’s standard of care and sustainable design. The first drafts of the 2007 agreements were completed in 2005. The AIA sent the drafts out to the industry for review, made revisions to respond to the comments received, and sent out additional drafts in 2006 before finalizing the agreements for the November 2007 release. “We are very grateful to the industry for candidly sharing hundreds of comments—these provided the feedback we needed to address all parties’ concerns,” said Suzanne Harness, managing director and counsel, AIA Contract Documents, American Institute of Architects. “AIA documents are the most respected and widely used in the design and construction industry. We think that’s because we provide a winning combination: agreements that fairly balance the interests of contracting parties, and easy-to-use software that delivers documents in Microsoft Word®.” The documents produced by the AIA are the most widely used standard form contracts in the construction industry. They facilitate communication among all the parties involved in construction, which makes it easier to produce a high quality project in a timely and economical fashion. AIA documents are fair.
AIA contracts and forms are consensus documents that reflect advice from practicing architects, contractors, engineers as well as owners, surety bond producers, issuers and attorneys. AIA documents balance the interest of all the parties, so not one interest, including that of the architect, is unfairly presented. AIA documents reflect industry practices, not theory.
Where practices are inconsistent or no guidelines for practices exist, the AIA documents provide a consensus-based model for practitioners to follow. AIA documents reflect changing construction practices and technology.
AIA documents are revised regularly to accommodate changes in professional and industry practices, insurance and technology. AIA documents reflect the law.
AIA documents are revised and updated to incorporate changes resulting from court interpretations and rulings, legal precedent, and nuances. AIA documents are flexible.
AIA documents can be easily modified to accommodate individual project demands. Such changes are easily distinguished from the original, printed language. AIA documents are easy to interpret.
AIA documents use the commong meaning of words and phrases. Industry and legal jargon is avoided whenever possible. Document Summary The AIA Documents Synopses is a quick reference for determining the appropriate uses for each of the contracts administrative forms published by the American Institute of Architects. That purpose naturally presumes independent judgment on the reader’s part, as well as advice of counsel. This introduction is intended to provide an overview for readers who are not yet familiar with the AIA documents. There are over 80 AIA contracts and administrative forms in print today. The ancestor of all of these was the Uniform Contract, an owner-contractor agreement, first published in 1888. This was followed, in 1911, by AIA’s first standardized general conditions for construction. The 1997 edition of AIA Document A201 is the fifteenth edition of those general conditions. Many Practices common in the construction industry today became established through their inclusion in AIA’s general conditions and its other standardized documents. Arbitration, the one-year correction period, and the architect’s role in deciding disputes are just three of these. And while the AIA documents have had a profound influence on the industry, the influence also runs the other way. The AIA regularly revises its documents to take into account recent developments in the construction industry and the law. New standardized documents for design/build and for different types of construction management have been published in recent years, and documents for international practice are now under consideration. Because the AIA documents are frequently updated, users should consult an AIA component chapter or obtain a current copy of the AIA Contract Documents Price List to determine the current editions. The documents’ relationship to the industry influencing it, and in turn being influenced by it-is paralleled by their relationship to the law. The AIA documents are intended for nationwide use, and are not drafted to conform to the law of any one state. With that caveat, however, AIA contract documents provide a solid basis of contract provisions that are enforceable under the law existing at the time of publication. Case law on contracts for design and construction has for the past century been based largely on the language of AIA standardized documents and contracts derived from them. These court cases are listed in The American Institute of Architects Legal Citator. Recent cases are summarized, and all cases are keyed to the specific provisions in the AIA documents to which they relate. Sample copies of the entire set of AIA standard forms of agreement and related documents are contained in The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice and companion CD. The listings in the Synopses are organized according to letter series, a system of classification that cuts across the various families and refers to the specific purpose of each document. The letter designations indicate the following: A-Series–owner-contractor documents
B-Series–owner-architect documents
C-Series–architect-consultant documents
D-Series–architect-industry documents
G-Series–architect’s office and project forms
E-Series–digital practice forms The preceding paragraphs contain several references to "standardized documents," a term that covers most AIA documents. AIA standardized documents are intended to be used in their original, printed form. Much of the efficiency these documents bring to a transaction depends on their being used in this way: people with experience in the construction industry are familiar with them, and can quickly evaluate the proposed transaction based on the modifications made to the standardized document — if those modification stand out. If modifications are blended into text of these documents that has been retyped or scanned, this advantage is lost. The modifications themselves may be derived from another type of document published by the AIA. These are model documents, whose language is intended to be reproduced and adapted by users. One such repository of model text is A511. It is intended for use in developing supplementary conditions, an important component of the contract for construction. B511 serves a similar purpose with respect to owner-architect agreements. AIA documents are currently available in both printed and electronic format. The software package AIA Contract Documents; Electronic Format for Windows enables users to access and print out the AIA documents. Modifications are clearly shown; deleted language appears with strike-throughs, and added language is underscored. Systems requirements for Version 3.0 of this software are: Microsoft Windows 98, Me, NT, 2000 or XP operating systems Microsoft Word 97, 2000,XP or 2003
Minimum 128 MB RAM; recommended 256 MB 10 MB of free hard drive
Mouse
VGA or SVGA color monitor
Laser printer supported by Windows 98, or Windows NT 4.0
Excel 5.0 or higher for Windows (need for select G-series documents) AIA documents in printed form may be obtained from AIA Chicago at this site or by calling (312) 670-7770. The software package AIA contract Documents: Electronic Format for Windows may be obtained by calling (800) 242-3837. References You and Your Architect
This booklet, available free to AIA members, reviews issues to be considered by an owner preparing to retain an architect. The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice (Hardcover/CD-Rom Format)
The Handbook has been the architecture profession’s premier manual of practice since its first publication in 1917. The companion CD contains the entire set of AIA standard forms of agreement and related documents (more than 75 in all). Chapters in the 13th edition fall into four sections:
Client: Exploring how clients are motivated, how they think, and what they value, and how architects can build stronger relationships with existing and new clients
Business: Addressing support functions vital to architctural practic
Delivery: Presenting processes that define, obligate, and deliver professional services
Services: Profiling a range of core and expanded services with which architects can respond t all of a client’s facility-related needs, including those beyond the design and creation of physical space. The new edition includes pointers that lead to related material in the Handbook, reference markers for related reources from the institute, summaries from the AIA firm Survey 2000-2002, notes amplifying ideas and sources for further information, and quotations providing insight from noted architects and other luminaires. The Documents Supplement Service
This is a subscription service through which users of the Handbook can receive sample copies of new AIA documents as they are published. Subscribers also receive the Supplement, a newsletter of articles and comment on the AIA documents. Subscriptions may be obtained by calling (800) 365-2724. The American Institute of Architects Legal Citator.
Steven G. M. Stein, ed. New York: Matthew Bender, 1997.
Please call (800) 833-9844 Promises, Promises: Forging Healthy Project Relationships
This is a series of continuing education manuals, each of which may be used either for seminar presentation or for self-study. AIA members receive five learning units for each manual used in a workshop format under the sponsorship of the AIA Documents Program. Self-study/facilitator manuals and participant’s manuals may be obtained from AIA distributors or by calling (800) 365-2724.
Sweet, Justin. Sweet on Construction Industry Contracts: Major AIA Documents.
Construction Law Library, vol. 1. New York: Aspen Publishers, 1996. Please call (800) 225-5945. Sabo, Werner. Legal Guide to AIA Documents.
fourth ed. New York: Aspen Publishers, 1992. Please call (800) 638-8437.
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