WASHINGTON, DC — The release this week of a new contract developed by the American Institute of Architects aims to help bring a collaborative effort to building construction and enable integrated design in buildings of all sizes.
The new "Multi-Party Agreement for Integrated Project Delivery," document number C191-2009 in the organization's catalog, brings together the building owner, architect, contractor and any other participants in a project and sets forth all groups' responsibilities with regards to communication, information sharing and decision-making from the outset.
The contract can be applied to any size project, and lays out terms for establishing project goals and compensation for each party dependent on the success of the project. Integrated project design is considered by many to be a cornerstone to green building. Achieving that working relationship among multiple project partners has traditionally been a challenge, often creating incentives that undermine environmental building goals. The new tools are intended to make the contractual process easier for collaboration, and to align all parties’ goals.
"[The new contract] reflects the shift away from working in silos and supports new collaborative methods being employed among architects, owners and contractors," Michael B. Bomba, an associate counsel at the AIA, said in a statement.
The AIA calls the new contract a "paradigm-shifting" document, focusing as it does on joint benefit and joint responsibility. Because each individual or group's success and compensation is tied to the achievement of the owner's pre-stated goals for the project, the contract encourages all teams to work for the good of the project. The collaborative management structure incorporated in the document also aims to minimize disputes among parties, while at the same time encouraging them to work through any disputes that do arise as they happen.
The AIA has created a number of documents pertaining to the shift toward integrated design; a free document, "Integrated Project Delivery: A Guide," is available at the AIA website.
More information about AIA Contract Documents can be found at www.aia.org/contractdocs.