#417 - DESIGN ARCHITECT & EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT ROLES EXPLAINED
SUMMARY
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design discuss the responsibilities and roles of the Design Architect and the Architect of Record (AOR) also known as the Executive Architect when working together during each project phase from pre-design to concept design; schematic design; design development; construction documentation; bidding; and construction. They also discuss legal liabilities; fee differences; knowledge overlap; and more. Enjoy!
TIMESTAMPS
(00:00) Design Architect vs Executive Architect.
“The responsibilities of the design and executive architect are very different. The Design Architect sets the big design vision for the project. The Executive Architect, also known as the Architect of Record, is responsible for turning that vision into reality by managing construction documents, construction administration, and permitting. When you have these two entities working together, all design decisions and design oversight happen by the design architect, and the architect of record is there to help them execute their vision. [At the start of a project, it's very important to establish the role of these two architects to avoid them talking over each other.]” (03:54)
(06:42) Pre-Design Phase.
(09:38) Concept Design Phase.
(13:25) Schematic Design Phase.
(17:04) Design Development.
(24:14) Construction Documents.
“[After the design phases] clients and Executive Architects could think, “Let’s change this design detail here to make it work for construction. It’s not a big deal.” But if that repeats a thousand times across the whole project, it will become an issue. Clients should understand the value of the services from each professional. If you hire a design architect for their design vision, then it makes sense to have the design architecture involved during Construction Documents. [Oftentimes, during Construction Documents, the design architect is like consultant that ensures the project is progressing towards the right direction.]” (28:39)
(30:34) Bidding and Construction Phase.
“The person who did the construction documents should always be the one performing construction administration. [When the executive architect goes on site they have the drawing in their head of that exact thing, and they understand how it’s meant to look.] Construction administration is also the phase where contractors will have questions. So the executive architect will report back to the design architect if any of the construction issues have a big impact on the project’s design.” (32:20)
(33:21) Legal liabilities of design and executive architects.
(36:17) Fees for Design vs Executive Architect.
“The Architect of Record is doing all the construction administration, all the construction documentation, half of the design development, and maybe more depending on the situation, which means the Executive Architect is doing around 55-75% of the work. Clients have asked me, “Why is the Executive Architect’s fee and billable hours higher than the Design Architect's? The Design Architect has designed the whole project. The only thing the Executive Architect has to do is the permit drawings and visit the site now and then. And the contractors are doing the heavy lifting during construction.” This question is based on false information. That's not how buildings happen. There is sometimes the misconception that the Design Architect has designed the whole project so there’s not much left to do. When in reality, the bulk of the architecture work happens after the design phases.” (38:59)
(45:12) Keys for successful teamwork.
“When you hire a Design Architect and an Executive Architect, you want to make sure that both parties get along and understand what they're hired for. Some offices only work as the Architect of Record (AOR), and that's their business model. They just want to accomplish what's been designed and those people tend to be great because they're extremely focused and they don't have ego. They're just interested in the technical side of the project. Some offices do both design and AOR. It’s important to establish clear responsibilities among all the parties in this case so there is no confusion or frustration from one side to the other, especially when there are gaps during the process or design.” (45:22)
“A key takeaway for clients when hiring architects is that if a Design Architect only produces the design but has no interest in being involved during construction documentation, it's a major red flag. Ideally, you want to hire two offices that overlap in knowledge but also understand that their responsibilities do not overlap. [As a client, you should hire a design architect who understands the basics of construction technicalities and how to navigate around the different building codes because those should be considered during design.]” (54:05)
(01:05:53) Summary.
