AIA B105

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Show Notes:

WHAT’S IN THE B105. WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

Before we get into the B105 I wanted to touch on all the other owner/architect agreements.

• The first and probably the most common for larger projects is the B101.
• There is the no predefined scope which is the B102
• The B103 for large or complex projects
• B104 for limited scope projects
• of course the B105 for residential and small commercial projects
• B106 which is the pro bono services
• B107 for developer/builder/architect for prototypes of single family residential
• B108 federally funded projects
• B109 Multifamily or mixed use

Then you can get into the 140’s for Design Builder/Architect which is a whole other subject. So just a quick overview of the various contracts out there. Let’s get back to the agreement we were going to discuss today.

AIA B105 Download

The B105 is 3 pages so very light in comparison to the past episode when discussing the A201 which is huge. So Being only 3 pages we should be able to get through this rather painlessly.
The whole first page is just contact information and filling out a detailed description of the project.

The second page starts with the Architects Responsibilities. The Architect agrees to provide services for the project described earlier and then has a section where I would list out any consultants that would be assisting on the project as well.

There are 4 things that need to happen in the design phase.

• Review the owner’s scope of work
• Budget
• Schedule
• and reach an understanding with the owner on the project requirements

After the design phase the architect prepares construction documents and assist the owner in filing documents with governmental authorities, as well as obtaining proposals or bids and awarding contracts for construction. So basically assisting in the selection of the General contractor.
During construction the architect will act as the owners rep. All the communication during construction between the owner/contractor will go through the architect. The architects role in the CA or construction administration is describe in the A105 document. Which if you remember is the document between the owner and contractor for construction of residential and small commercial projects.
But generally without having to get into the A105 in detail, the services during construction are typically interpreting the construction documents, reviewing submittals, visiting the site, reviewing and certifying payments, and rejecting nonconforming work.

The Owners Responsibilities are to provide information about the objectives, schedule, constraints and existing conditions of the project.

The owner should establish a budget that includes reasonable contingencies and meets the project requirements. In the design phase I would recommend a 20% contingency and once construction docs have been created a 5-10%.

The owner is expected to provide decisions and furnish the required information in a timely manner in order to progress the project forward.

This is a section that scares most lawyers, it states that “the architect shall be entitled to rely on the accuracy and completeness of the owner’s information.” What that is generally saying is for example you as the owner provide me with a survey of the property. I have to accept and rely on that survey being correct and having the property boundaries in the correct location. Just as you relied on the surveyor to provide them in the right location to begin with.

Then it talks about the owner needing to provide services not provided by the architect such as the earlier example of the survey.

The last item in this owner section is that the owner needs to employ a contractor, experienced in the project type, to perform the work and provide price information.

The use of the documents is Article 3. I think I might have mentioned this in one of the two previous episodes but the drawings, specification and other documents are instruments of the architect’s service. So you are paying for the architects service not a set of drawings.

That is important because the owner’s right to use the drawings is with respect to this project. There is a different contract for situations where a building might be constructed over and over again.
The Architect retains all the rights and copyright of the drawings.

Termination, suspension or abandonment. If a project moves forward through design and is either suspended or abandoned the architect should be paid for the services performed. If the project is suspended for more than 90 days either the architect or the owner can terminate the agreement with written notice.

And the second to last section to the B105 is the miscellaneous provisions. The just discuss that the agreement is good in the location of the project. And that everything in this B105 relates to the A105. It also states that everything in the B105 is strictly between the owner and architect and is not beholden to any third party.

So now finally the last section. Payments and compensation to the Architect. They always save the payments to the end. In this section we enter the retainer amount and note that it will be applied to the final payment. We and that is the owner and architect include reimbursable’s plus percentage. Payments due and percentage interest of not paid. It also includes a brief section on additional services.

Then we both sign it. That is pretty much it. Just curious to see if you thought that was painful or not. It all sounds pretty straightforward to me, but I would love to hear your comments and get your feedback.

If you’re searching for a particular topic and want to hear more. Type it into the search bar and see if you get any results. I don’t have a ton of episodes yet but there might be something there for you.
If not, let me know. and I will try to get a show about the question or topic and get you answers.
On my website the right column on several of the pages, the podcast page for sure, has a call me button.

If you click on that you can enter your name and number. Press connect. Google voice will then call you on the number you provided, it can be anonymous if you check that button. Once google voice comes on they will ask you to press one. Press one to be connected to my show voicemail.
Give me a call and leave me a question for the show. I would love to hear your questions about architecture and work through the design challenges you are facing with your project.

I wanted to provide you with another resource out there. There is a complete book that the AIA put together that goes over each section in detail if you are interested.

The American Institute of Architects Official Guide to the 2007 AIA Contract Documents

So, just like I always do on each episode, I wanted to end with one final take away for you. This owner/architect agreement might sound simple and straightforward. As I mentioned in the past episodes, it is very important to have all the expectations in writing and my reasoning is not from a legal one. I just think that it allows people to revisit the project requirements and digest them. It is always helpful to be allowed the time to study a document and fully understand what the expectations are so no one gets disappointed or surprised. I approach each one of my projects with the most open communication I possibly can, I suggest that we all continue to do so and you will see that your project goes smoother and is more successful if we are open with expectations and have our roles in writing.

I was going to perhaps get into more detail on some contract stuff like change orders or allowances, but I might give those topics a rest for now. Stay tuned for next weeks show.

I wanted to end this episode with a quote from George Bernard Shaw:

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”