A while back I posted an article about Additional Services. There are a lot of circumstances that arise where additional compensation for Additional Services is called for. In that first post I offered a simple way to get the issue on the table and approved. The second part of the issue is recognizing Additional Services. ​

A year after I started my own firm, I was invited to design a hangar for my Dad's golfing buddy, who happened to have started an airline that was growing by leaps and bounds. We designed projects for his airline for about twenty years until they were bought out by one of the major airlines. One of the main skills that allowed us to keep up with their growth was my knowledge of project delivery methods - mostly book-learning, driven by interest.

When you are looking for work, this may seem counter-productive; but it is a good practice to evaluate every job beforehand. 
Your insurance agent, your attorney, and your marketing advisor will all agree that making sure this project is worth pursuing is a good thing. The insurance agent and the attorney are looking at the potential for trouble that working with this type of client, this particular client or this project type can lead to. 

Your marketing advisor is looking at the big picture of where you want to go and whether this opportunity is a step forward, sideways or backwards. The type of work you do and the people you work for speaks volumes to all your clients and potential clients. Choosing the right projects and the right clients is a key element in developing your niche and reaping the rewards that come from not being a commodity. 

From a purely business perspective, a project is like a new product line. You should evaluate both before jumping on board. For a project a detailed evaluation doesn't need to take much time, especially if you have an established method for doing the evaluation. The attached form came from combining several processes that were recommended to us over the years. 

The thrust of the evaluation is to uncover any concerns you have about the project or client beforehand, and then to develop a plan for addressing those concerns or "passing" on the project.
We found it works best with just two or three people involved: the person who found the opportunity and who knows the most about it, a principal of the firm, and perhaps one other senior person.

Once you go through the process a few times you will find that you want to keep the form handy as a kind of questionnaire to use with potential clients.

My first experience with NFPA was the Life Safety Code, NFPA 101. Back in the day, the National Building Code was the building code. The Life Safety Code was used as a supplement. I thought that was it. Then we were hired to design a hangar...

It turns out that hangars have the military’s fingerprints all over the governing code, NFPA 409. When we were designing that hangar, the plan examiner insisted on a deluge fire suppression system. The then current version of NFPA 409 said we were under the limits for that very expensive (and unnecessary?) requirement - $500,000 in 1983 dollars. Testing and accidental deluges cost $25,000 each for clean-up and re-charging the system. Ouch!

So we appealed the ruling, and WON! Happy client. Angry code official...

Everyone's heard of AIA Documents. I just saw this ad in a magazine and wondered what the buzz was all about. They are now a browser-based resource rather than a computer-based tool. So you can be anywhere when you work on their contracts and forms.

I think AIA Documents do a good job for all parties, and they have a good reputation as an industry standard. These days they are very easy to use, and the browser-based aspect is very nice. The other thing about AIA Documents is that they cover way more types of situations than you can ever do justice to - all types of construction contracts, change orders, BIM, sustainability, and on and on. There are 180 documents. Many of them would appeal to non-architect design professionals, too.

I think they are especially good for public projects. If you get into a legal shoot-out, you don't want to be 'armed' with your home made documents.

So how do you get them and how do you use them?

Back in the day, you bought them from your blueprinter or the local AIA office; then you filled them out with a typewriter. That was only slightly easier than stone tablets and chisels. Now, as I mentioned above, the AIA Documents are browser-based. In a nutshell:

• you go to the AIA Contract Documents website with this link
  
• decide what kind of account you want
  
• open the account
  
• preview documents if needed
  
• select the document that you need
  
• fill in the blanks 
  
• circulate the document to get comments or edits or approval 
  
• then finalize and print as a PDF for signatures 
  

The service is kind of pricey but there are buying options. And under the terms of an AIA Agreement, the cost of these forms for bidding or construction would normally be a reimbursable expense! At least with the unlimited licenses, maybe the individual document service too, you can save standard clauses for re-use. Here are the purchasing options from most to least expensive. The cost for AIA members would be less.

When you find yourself working with a Building Committee, you will normally find that they do not have any particular experience of serving on building committees or managing a building project.

There are exceptions - public schools, higher education, hospitals and organizations with a facility manager - but your first step is to determine what work they have done so far.

You want to know if they have a documented plan for the project as most Owner/Architect contracts state. So, if they have a documented plan and program, budget, and schedule, and they all seem realistic, you are ready to start designing. 

If they do not have a boni-fide plan, and if you begin designing in order to 'stumble upon' a solution that works for them, then you will almost certainly have some re-designing to do sooner or later. You and the building committee need a coherent plan for their project - a plan that will require little or no re-design. 

If there is no plan, or if it doesn't make sense, then you will need to back them up and take them through the planning that they need to do. The engineers and contractors on the committee will balk at this. This is where you point out that you are being asked to go 'off-script' and to proceed in a way that is unpredictable and that is not anticipated by the contract. So either way, planning first or jumping into design, you will need a larger fee than has been proposed because the scope of your work has changed. 

If you are asked to begin designing anyway, you should try to get the fee for Schematic Design changed to an hourly basis to compensate you for the inevitable redesign that you will have to do. You might consider spending some time, in that case, doing the planning that needs to be done so that the redesign doesn't come back to haunt you after Schematic Design is approved and you are back to a standard fee for Basic Services.

If you are given the chance to help them with the planning, here is an outline of how you might proceed.

• Find out who all the stakeholders are
  
• Ask "On the day that you move into the completed project, what has to have happened for you to feel that it is a success?"  
  
• Find out what is known already regarding size, restrictions (codes, process, approvals, etc.), context/neighborhood/location, budget (and method of funding), and schedule
  
• Consider alternatives that solve their needs
  
• Get clarity on what is driving the needs - pent-up growth, change, anticipated growth
  
• Determine if there are systems that they want to replace or that they need - security, networking, building management
  
• Get their reaction to a preliminary report stating what you have learned so far including any lack of 'fit' 
  
• Interview key staff to arrive at a verified size that is needed
  
• Check codes, zoning, and other restrictions
  
• Gather record drawings, surveys and GIS information
  
• Prepare a preliminary budget making it clear what it includes and what it doesn't (there is a tendency to think everything is included as though this is a bid to do the project)
  
• Prepare a preliminary schedule for the project
  

For small or simple projects this may satisfy the planning that is needed. For larger and more complex projects you may need to revisit each issue in terms of the others until you can jointly lay out a coherent plan for how they can achieve their goals for the project. Resist the temptation to draw floor plans, 3D models and so on. It is important that the Building Committee understands and buys into this plan. 'Selling' is not a part of this. In a perfect world this planning is something that they would have done on their own.

orig post date Nov2012

Every project needs a building permit. Jurisdiction doesn't change the code that you must comply with, but it often changes the process of obtaining a building permit. I like to apply for the permit before going out for bids so that any changes that are required by the plan review can be included before the bids are received.

The components of a permit application are jurisdiction, the application paperwork, the printing of sets of drawings / specifications, delivery, and the response to the inevitable corrections letter.

Jurisdiction

• Make a confirmed determination of jurisdiction as early as possible in the design process.
  
• Determine the city in which the project will be located.
  
• If the building has an occupant load UNDER 100, then the city where the project is proposed is usually the authority having jurisdiction. Verify this by calling the city’s building official. 
  
• If the building has an occupant load OVER 100, then the authority having jurisdiction may be a larger government body - the county, or state.
  
• Determine how long the review will take before we are notified of approval or conditions.
• [This is a good place to store the circumstances that you normally find, so that you learn as you go.]
  

Building Permit Application

• Research the application requirements of the jurisdiction
  
• Obtain/print the application forms
  
• Pencil-in the information for the application that is known
  
• Gather unknown info for application
  
• Determine who has to sign and how the signature will be obtained
  
• Complete the final application form
  
• Save a PDF for the file
  

Drawings

• Determine the number of sets of drawings required.
  
• Building permit may be phased, in which case just the applicable drawings are needed.
  
• Final permit requires all drawings of all disciplines.
  

Printing

1. Order loose sets of just their discipline delivered to consultants.
   
2. Consultants sign and stamp drawings.
   
3. Place a second order that includes first picking up the consultants' loose sealed sets.
   
4. The architectural sets are then printed and bound with the already signed/stamped consultant sets.
   
5. Have the sets delivered to the architect for signing and stamping and local delivery.
   
6. End here unless delivery will be by shipping the drawings. 
7. If the sets of drawings need to be shipped, then the architect's process is like the consultants' process.
   
8. Final step is to have printer pick up all loose drawings, cover letter, application and check.
   
9. Printer binds sets and ships for us.
   
10. Confirm this last step with blueprint house.
    

Local Delivery

• Hand deliver drawings with application if local.
  
• Use office credit card or a check to pay application fee.
  

Corrections Letter Response

• Once the plans have been reviewed, there is often a need to clarify or change the documents based on a Corrections Letter from the authority having jurisdiction. 
  
• The letter will list the needed corrections for, or conditions of, approval.
  
• Share the letter with our consultants and get their responses or corrected documents that address the issues under their control.
  
• Document how we plan to comply as demonstrated in the example letter. Use this example as a model to start the response to the Corrections Letter.
  

You will almost certainly want to modify this process for your circumstances. But the point is to have a plan that you work toward implementing while you are completing the drawings and preparing to go out for bids. We have found in recent years new code-related requirements are cropping up. Two that come to mind are:

1. showing documentation on the drawings of how special inspections (IBC requirement that jurisdictions interpret differently) will be completed and by whom, and
   
2. showing occupant loads, and exit capacities on the drawings.
   

Having a documented process makes it easier to hit all the compliance bases without losing your momentum or encountering delays.

MGMT-01 is a collection of 3 master files related to Owner-Architect contracts: a Contract, a Letter of Engagement, and a Supplemental Authorization.

These documents were introduced in the earlier posts linked above. Hopefully you will get some useful ideas about contracts themselves or the process that can make it easy to manage getting a written contract.

The Letter of Engagement is a simple way to get an agreement as soon as you are asked to start work. It contains enough Terms and Conditions to lay a decent groundwork for your legal relationship with your client. Because it describes how you will get paid, it also is a good test to see if the client is for real. This Letter of Engagement is intended to be supplanted later with an AIA (or similar) contract; or with the Contract included here.

The third template is a simple one-page authorization form that you can use when the inevitable change in scope occurs or when additional services of another kind come up. This form gets the cost ramifications on the table as simply as possible.

Separating an existing building from a new addition by a firewall always (it seems) has unanticipated consequences. This refers to a true firewall rather than a fire separation wall. No matter how hard you try, there is always a surprise waiting for you. 

Technically a firewall must be able to remain standing after the collapse of the structure on either side. This means that the wall cannot help support that structure. A favored way around this is to use two walls, each supporting the structure that is on its side. This approach triggers the need for two fire doors at each opening, one in each wall. Two doors creates all kind of collateral issues, and usually results in a vestibule to separate the doors, which in turn is fire-rated construction.

The alternative is to use a free-standing firewall, which is basically a cantilevered wall anchored in its footing. Engineers tend to over-react to this situation. Maybe they should. 

The two drawings below show how complicated the situation can become. Click the images to download a PDF for easier viewing; or download Plans here and Sections here.

We used single, self-supporting firewalls where we had to pass through the firewall. Elsewhere we resorted to the double-wall solution to avoid the underpinning required by the single wall.

The problem with a single wall that is braced by the construction on each side is that a collapsing building creates a wind load on the wall. There are ways to anchor the wall to resist the wind load; and there are ways to let the structure fall away. There just aren't any good ways of doing both on both sides of the same firewall. If your code official knows this, ...

If you are designing an addition to a complicated, large building that pre-dates modern codes, you might be asked to prove that exits are adequate. The method that worked for us in this scenario was this: show the results of our calculations on a floor plan by giving the occupant load of each space, the capacity of corridors and stairs, and the  capacity of the exit doors. See the enlargeable legend to the left.

The building in question had six different levels including a basement and a 'mezzanine'. Previous additions had also obscured the exit strategy. The drawing below is downloadable as a PDF for better viewing.

The first effort was a table to show all this information but it was impossible to follow. Once we hit on this diagrammatic approach, we had the extra benefit that the code official could spot check us very easily. The result was that the plan was accepted once we reviewed the process and how to interpret the diagram. The original diagram was also color-coded by hand to show where the numbers came from. A color plotter would have eliminated that work.

I call them Constraints. You may know them by another name. Obstacles. Restrictions. Hurdles. Red Tape. No matter the project, there are always constraints. There is nothing sexy or exciting about constraints, but you ignore them at your peril. Clients expect you to know about such things. In almost every case, you will have to surrender to constraint's influence eventually, often at great cost for re-working your design to comply.

As the world gets more sophisticated and complicated, the list of potential constraints grows. Building code and zoning used to be about the extent of the constraints you might face. Now the list is at least 15 topics. Besides Building code and zoning, we have added storm water management, hazardous materials, department of transportation, ADA (which now applies to everything), special inspections, and a number of issues that are client-driven but not always obvious. Our Constraints Checklist is downloadable here.

To address the growing list of client-specific Constraints, we have also developed a questionnaire template to try and elicit this information before it gets to be a headache. Here is the Questionnaire for download too.

Those pesky building codes!
Not many things can wreck your building floor plans like code requirements that sneak up on you. Overlooking a seemingly innocuous requirement can set you back hours in the beginning of design and days at the end of design. 

The only solution is to review the code early and often. This doesn’t have to be as overwhelming as it sounds. Use a checklist at the earliest opportunity to document the requirements that will apply to your project and how your design complies. At the end of the design phase, read over the checklist and update any changes that have occurred, making sure that you are still in compliance. 

The designer needs to be the one who checks the code, even though most designers hate this. It is the only way to avoid constant re-designs to correct code problems uncovered by your in-house expert (after too much time has been spent doing it wrong).

There are a few checklists out there on the Internet that you could use*. Those rarely seem that useful. You could create your own. If your work is repetitive, this will save time. Even if your work is not repetitive, customizing the checklist to your needs will save time in the long run. The checklist below is for the International Building Code. It covers the issues that we usually need to check; your need is probably different! Use this one as a guide to make your own.

SINCE THIS ARTICLE WAS FIRST PUBLISHED a lot has changed. So it's time for an update.


Finding information on Architekwiki can be done in two ways.

The first way is by using the Google site search widget to filter the articles based on your key word(s).

The second way is by using the categories of the blog in question to filter the articles. We will address them one at a time. [Footnote: from time to time duplicates show up in the lists of categories for unknown reasons. I attempt to eliminate them.]

For the WIKI page there are 20 categories, listed below. Every article is tagged with one of the first four categories and also with one or more of the other 16 categories. (You will note the actual category list are in alphabetical order.)

WIKI categories and a brief description of their intended content.

1. Business Development - sales, marketing, promotion, PR, etc
   
2. Management - steering the various aspects of the practice of architecture
   
3. Services - the architectural services provided to clients
   
4. Finances - money management
   
5. Communications - verbal, written, published
   
6. People - staff, clients, consultants, vendors
   
7. Process - a standardized multi-step task 
   
8. Projects - a unique and complex undertaking for clients or for the practice
   
9. Records - saved communications and work products
   
10. Tools - physical, digital or conceptual ways to do work
    
11. Miscellaneous - catch all 
    
12. Legal Issues - contracts, laws, codes
    
13. Money - fees, value, compensation, etc
    
14. Estimating - projecting or predicting costs, quantities, and time
    
15. Planning - determining the steps required to achieve a result
    
16. Standards - adopted templates or methods 
    
17. Design - creatively determining the possibilities and deciding among them
    
18. Specifications - written guidelines, requirements or instructions
    
19. Time - using and measuring it
    
20. Concepts - ideas and ways of looking at an issue
    

 
For the DETAILS page there are 14 categories, each represents a category in the UNIFORMAT II system. This article will give you more information about UNIFORMAT. The one exception is Proj Dwgs, which is used to tag articles about an entire project.

For the BLOG page there are 6 categories as follows. Others may be added from time to time.

• Chronology - articles that document the growth of Architekwiki
• Humor - attempts at being funny
• Miscellaneous - not worthy of individual categories
• Opinion - me just saying ...
• Thoughts - me just thinking outloud on the screeen
• Work In Progress - stuff that is being planned (maybe)

Updated: September 28, 2013