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Many Administrators can
spend their tenure without ever
embarking on a significant
construction project in their
district- so it’s understandable
that the role played by the
District Architect is unclear to
many. A successful construction
project can be a highpoint of an
administrator’s career, or can
turn into a major headache.
Ideally your District Architect
can serve as a trusted advisor
leading you through the
process, just as your Attorney or Accountant assists
in negotiations or audits. Most are familiar with the
School Code requirements to use an Architect to
perform 10 year Health Life Safety surveys, or to seal
Permit drawings for projects exceeding $50,000, but
beyond that details can be hazy. We will briefly
summarize the most common construction delivery
methods, and the Architect’s role in each.
Design/ Bid/ Build
This construction delivery method, also commonly
referred to as Public Bid or General Contractor, is the
traditional method that has been relied upon for
decades. Many believe that publicly bidding to
receive a single lump sum bid from a General
Contractor results in the lowest possible price since
the “winner” in this process is the responsive
Contractor with the lowest price. In this method a
District retains an Architectural firm to work with them
to program and design a project to suit the needs,
and then the Architect prepares Construction
Documents that form the core of the bidding
documents. The Architect takes responsibility for not
only designing the project, but also administering the
bidding and construction administration of the project,
and serving as the primary interface between the
District and the General Contractor hired by the
District. This delivery method is probably the most
common, but has some drawbacks- the emphasis on
low bid as the primary selection method can lead to
conflict during construction since the Contractors
sometimes take liberties with the Construction
Document requirements in an effort to gain an edge
over their competitors. In the public sector where
taxpayer money is being spent it is important that no
particular vendor or contractor is given an unfair
advantage. For this reason the Architect develops
open specifications that allow a minimum of three
different products for virtually all building
components. As part of their lump sum bid, the
General Contractor assumes responsibility for
coordinating all of the selected building components
during a submittal process consisting of shop
drawings, samples and mockups reviewed by the
Architect and the District. Understanding the process
will help you better understand how the Architect
works to help Districts deal with day-to-day issues
District architects and
construction delivery methods
John F. Ochoa, AIA
President, CEO
FGM Architects