"The 2017 Revisions to AIA Standard Construction Contracts"
The American Association of Architects (AIA) has published form construction documents since 1888. Approximately every ten years, the AIA issues revisions to its form documents that comprise one of the most popular and commonly used sets of construction documents in the industry. Earlier this year, the AIA issued revisions to eleven of its forms and further anticipates that an additional eighteen forms and agreements will be released in the fall of 2017.
This article provides a general overview of the changes to the A201, A101, A102, and A103 documents. A201 contains the general conditions for owner-contractor agreements; A101 is the standard form agreement between owners and contractors on stipulated sum contracts; A102 is the standard form agreement between owners and contractors, where basis of payment is cost of work plus a fee with a guaranteed maximum price; and A103 is the standard form agreement between owners and contractors, where basis of payment is cost of work plus a fee without a guaranteed maximum price. This article also addresses two exhibits— the Insurance Exhibit and the Sustainable Project Exhibit. While the following article does not exhaustively cover all of the recent updates to the AIA contract documents, the article provides a general understanding of the major changes made to the AIA contracts so that you are mindful of these changes when using these contracts in your day-to-day operation.