by Brianna Crandall — July 11, 2014—The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently announced the release of seven updated documents in the AIA Contract Documents Design-Build family. The AIA noted the significance of this release, as these documents are among the most frequently used documents of the entire AIA portfolio and are preferred by the industry at large for use on commercial design-build projects.
The 2014 Design-Build documents build on the core strengths of the 2004 edition documents. At the same time, they enhance early interaction and overall greater collaboration between the owner and the design-builder, calling for clearly defined and mandated Owner’s Criteria for the project and requiring submission of a Preliminary Design by the design-builder.
The 2014 Design-Build family of documents reportedly maintains the level of usability found in the 2004 edition. The array of agreements continues to accommodate the various ways in which design-build projects are delivered. The key document is, of course, the agreement between the owner and the design-builder. In addition, there are agreements for use between the design-builder and architect, the design-builder and contractor, the architect and consultants, and the contractor and subcontractors.
If the owner desires independent consulting services with respect to the project design and/or construction, there is also an agreement for use between the owner and that independent consultant. To help understand these design-build project variations, and the related contracts, the AIA Contract Documents team created free Design-Build Relationship Diagrams.
Other changes include updated insurance provisions that are consistent with current industry terminology and practices, and a Sustainable Project exhibit, which can be used if the owner has identified a sustainable objective as part of the Owner’s Criteria. The Sustainable Project exhibit is derived from the most recent AIA Sustainable Project Documents and describes the process by which the owner and design-builder will work to achieve the sustainable objective.
The seven updated Design-Build documents are:
- A141—2014, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Design-Builder
- A142—2014, Standard Form of Agreement Between Design-Builder and Contractor
- A441—2014, Standard Form of Agreement Between Contractor and Subcontractor for a Design-Build Project
- B143—2014, Standard Form of Agreement Between Design-Builder and Architect
- C141—2014, Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Consultant for a Design-Build Project
- C441—2014, Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Consultant for a Design-Build Project
- G744—2014, Certificate of Substantial Completion for a Design-Build Project
The updated Design-Build documents are available in the latest version of the AIA Contract Documents desktop software, and online through AIA Documents-on-Demand, and AIA Documents-on-Demand Plus.
