Progress Mark 2

BILL OF QUANTITIES

The Bill of Quantities is a document drawn up by a quantity surveyor. It comprises of a list of materials and costs of an estimated quantity of the materials needed from start to completion of the building process, these could also include labour costs and services. The costs of construction should be proportional to the clients’ budget.

An additional extra fee is always added to this document in case of future problems with the construction that may arise.

ARCHITECTS’ ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

An architect is someone who designs buildings and spaces. Although this seems as a simple thing to do a lot has to be taken into consideration such as orientation of building, safety of occupants, building regulations, typography, climate, energy efficiency, etc.

• Always keep up with new building trends and technologies.
• Be able to produce municipal/council drawings.
• A senior technician architect can sign off their own drawings once registered. 
• Should be able to measure up sites, measure up or scale drawings.
• Be able to visualise and design according to the client’s wants and needs as far as possible.
• Be able to create aesthetically pleasing designs which are always improving and responding.
•  To its surroundings, climate and typography.
• An architect should be able to work within a team of professionals as well as an individual.
•  And should have basic knowledge of how to run a business.

SIGNING OF CONTRACTS

I feel in response to the work I have been doing within my internship that this is a very if not the most important part of an architects’ work.

A contract must be signed before any work has been done for a client AND before any of the work produced by the architect proceeds to be built. The contract should provide clients with a list of the architects’ costs and what work will take place for the client.

The importance of signing a contract cannot be stressed enough! It is the clients legal word that they will be paying for work done that they fully understand why they are paying and that they agree to the costs involved and cannot thereafter refuse to pay. It also states clauses where the client is held responsible for aspects of the design which they should be held accountable for.

There are different contracts that need to be signed by the architect. First before any work is done with plans the architect had to have a contract signed by the client agreeing on payment to be made for the work that the architect will be doing. Thereafter forms needs to be signed before applying through council, this is to state that the client approves of all work the architect is submitting and that the plans are following all requirement by council. Also there is a new energy efficiency form stating that new building regulations are followed and applied to the design.  The client has to sign all four copies of the plan submitted to council alongside the architect and if boundary lines are crossed neighbours consents must be added and they too need to sign the plans.

Once plans are approved and building is to commence, there has to be a contract between the architect and the builder this includes all work that has to be done and fees that has to be paid, there is always a small amount of money set aside in case of problems on site. 

Tender Document

A “tender” or “tender document” is a document that outlines a customer’s project requirements. Tender documents can take many forms but generally include the project requirements, resources currently available and an overview of how the final selection will be made. The tender document will include a budget, future visions and a clear breakdown of what’s required.

An architect will have different tender documents with the different companies whose service will be needed for the construction of the building. The tender document will include a breakdown of costs and quotes to the different procedures and materials needed, through construction. The tender documents are presented to the client by the architect and the client would give approval of the go ahead if they are satisfied.