How the Revised AIA Contract Documents Will Affect Your Practice

To keep up with industry trends and important court decisions, every 10 years AIA Contract Documents are reviewed and updated. This year, the new revised core set of AIA contracts and forms will be released at AIA Conference on Architecture 2017 (A’17).

Changes to the 2017 documents that will affect architects include a single Sustainable Project Exhibit that can be added to any AIA document to address the risks and responsibilities associated with sustainable projects; new agreements containing a fill point to prompt the parties to discuss and insert an appropriate “termination fee” for terminations for convenience; and an added evaluation provision by the architect if the contractor proposes an alternative means and methods.

“It is critically important that architects learn about the 2017 revisions,” says Kenneth Cobleigh, Esq., managing director and counsel of AIA Contract Documents. “Many of them impact the role and responsibilities of the architect directly. Others directly impact the roles and responsibilities of the owner and the contractor, and the architect will need to understand those impacts in order to provide advice to the owner and to adequately perform contract administration services. We hope that all architects, and other industry participants, take advantage of the significant written resources and education programming opportunities available to learn about, and understand, the 2017 revisions and the full portfolio of AIA Contract Documents.”

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Source: American Institute of Architects