Your FREE NCARB / ARE 5.0 Flashcards 2026 – 200+ Cards

NCARB / ARE 5.0 Flashcards

Standard of Care

The level of skill and diligence an ordinarily prudent, competent architect would exercise under similar circumstances. It is not a guarantee of perfection; AIA B101 expressly disclaims any warranty of services.

Sole proprietorship

A business owned by one person with no legal separation between owner and firm. It is simple to form but exposes the owner's personal assets to unlimited liability for the firm's debts and claims.

Professional corporation (PC)

An entity form many states require or allow for licensed professionals. It provides liability protection for ordinary business obligations while preserving professional-practice rules and licensee responsibility for negligence.

Limited liability company (LLC)

A flexible entity that shields owners' (members') personal assets from business debts while allowing pass-through taxation. Many states require a professional LLC (PLLC) form for architecture practice.

S corporation

A corporation that elects pass-through taxation, so income is taxed once at the shareholder level, avoiding the double taxation of a C corporation, while still providing a corporate liability shield.

Net operating revenue

Revenue the firm retains after deducting consultant fees and reimbursable expenses passed through to the client. It is the base for most firm financial ratios because it reflects money the firm keeps for labor, overhead, and profit.

Overhead rate

The ratio of indirect (non-billable) expenses to direct labor cost: $\text{overhead rate} = \dfrac{\text{indirect expenses}}{\text{direct labor}}$. A rate of $1.5$ means $1.50 of overhead per $1.00 of direct labor.

Net multiplier

Net operating revenue divided by direct labor — the revenue earned for each dollar of direct labor. It must exceed the break-even rate (1.0 plus the overhead rate) for the firm to profit.

Break-even rate

The multiplier needed to cover costs with no profit: $1.0 + \text{overhead rate}$. At a 1.5 overhead rate the break-even rate is $2.5$; profit is added on top to set the net multiplier.

Utilization rate

The percentage of an employee's total hours that are directly billable to projects. Higher utilization improves profitability; it is a key measure when deciding whether the firm can afford a new hire.

Professional liability (E&O) insurance

Coverage protecting a firm against claims of negligence, errors, or omissions in professional services. It does not cover bodily injury or property damage (general liability) or express warranties the architect personally makes.

General liability insurance

Coverage for third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from the firm's operations. It does not cover claims of professional negligence, which require errors-and-omissions (E&O) coverage.

Workers' compensation insurance

State-mandated coverage for employees injured in the course of employment, providing medical and wage-replacement benefits. Most U.S. jurisdictions legally require employers to carry it.

Betterment doctrine

A liability principle that an owner should not receive a free upgrade when an architect's error is corrected. The architect's liability is limited to costs the owner would not otherwise have incurred had the work been designed correctly.

Mediation

A non-binding, facilitative dispute-resolution process in which a neutral mediator helps parties reach a voluntary settlement. AIA documents typically require it as a condition precedent because it is faster and cheaper than arbitration or litigation.

Arbitration

A private dispute-resolution process in which a neutral arbitrator hears evidence and renders a binding decision. It is generally faster and more confidential than litigation but, unlike mediation, produces an enforceable ruling.

AIA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

The AIA's framework of canons, ethical standards, and enforceable rules governing members' obligations to the public, clients, the profession, colleagues, and the environment, including honesty, confidentiality, and conflict-of-interest duties.

Conflict of interest

A situation in which an architect's obligations to one party are compromised by interests in another. The AIA Code requires architects to avoid conflicts or fully disclose them and obtain informed consent.

Instruments of service

The drawings, specifications, models, and other documents an architect prepares. Under B101 the architect is the author and owner of the copyright, granting the owner a limited license to use them for the project.

Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act (AWCPA)

A 1990 U.S. law extending copyright protection to the design of a building as embodied in built work, plans, or drawings, complementing the architect's copyright in the instruments of service.

Stipulated-sum (lump-sum) contract

A fixed-price agreement in which the contractor performs the work for an agreed amount, placing cost-overrun risk on the contractor. It shifts the most cost risk away from the owner compared with cost-plus arrangements.

Cost-plus-fee contract

An agreement reimbursing the contractor's actual costs plus a fee. It shifts more cost risk to the owner than a lump sum and is often paired with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) to cap exposure.

Practice-wide quality management program

A firm-wide QA/QC system of standardized processes, checklists, and review milestones that delivers consistent quality and risk control across all projects, independent of which team performs the work.

Public health, safety, and welfare

The architect's paramount professional obligation. When a project request conflicts with this duty, the architect should decline or condition the engagement rather than proceed for fee considerations.

Additional services

Work beyond the agreed basic scope — such as redesigning previously approved work after an owner-directed change — for which the architect is entitled to additional compensation and, where appropriate, additional time under B101.

Scope creep

The gradual, uncompensated expansion of a project's services beyond the contracted scope. Defining included revisions and treating excess as additional services is the primary risk-management defense against it.

Indemnification clause

A contract provision in which one party agrees to compensate another for specified losses or claims. Architects negotiate to limit indemnity to losses caused by their own negligence to stay within insurable limits.

Marketing and business development

The firm-wide effort to identify prospects, build relationships, and win commissions through proposals, qualifications (e.g., SF330), and a clear value proposition, distinct from project-specific services.

Direct vs. indirect labor

Direct labor is time charged to specific billable projects; indirect labor is non-billable time (management, marketing, professional development). The split drives utilization and overhead calculations.

Profit-loss (P&L) statement

A financial report summarizing a firm's revenue, expenses, and resulting profit or loss over a period. It reveals whether the firm's multipliers and utilization are sustaining profitability.

Human resources management

The firm-wide function covering recruiting, staffing, compensation, professional development, and compliance with employment law, ensuring the firm has the right talent to deliver services profitably.

Knowledge management

A practice-wide system that captures standard details, lessons learned, and project documentation so institutional expertise is reused, improving efficiency, consistency, and risk reduction across projects.

Risk management (firm level)

The ongoing process of evaluating each potential project's risk profile — client, schedule, building type — and adjusting fee, scope clarity, schedule, and contract terms to mitigate the firm's exposure.

Joint venture

A temporary association of two or more firms formed to pursue a specific project, sharing resources, risk, and profit. It is distinct from a permanent partnership and ends when the project concludes.

Design-bid-build

A delivery method in which design documents are completed first, then a contractor is selected by competitive bid. The owner holds separate contracts with the architect (B101) and contractor (A101/A201).

Design-build

A delivery method in which a single entity holds both design and construction responsibility under one contract. Phases often overlap, so owner project requirements and design intent must be documented early and clearly.

Construction manager as constructor (CMc / CM at-risk)

A delivery method in which a construction manager joins during design to provide preconstruction services, then holds the trade contracts and typically guarantees a maximum price (GMP) for the work.

Integrated project delivery (IPD)

A collaborative delivery method binding owner, architect, and contractor under a multiparty agreement that shares risk and reward, aligning incentives and encouraging early collaboration and BIM use.

AIA B101

The Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect. It defines basic and additional services, the architect's standard of care, compensation by phase, and the owner's and architect's responsibilities.

AIA C401

The Standard Form of Agreement Between Architect and Consultant, used when the architect retains structural, MEP, or other consultants whose services it is responsible for coordinating.

AIA A101

The Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Contractor where the basis of payment is a stipulated (fixed) sum. It incorporates the A201 General Conditions by reference.

AIA A102

The Owner/Contractor agreement used when payment is the cost of the work plus a fee, with a guaranteed maximum price (GMP). It suits CM at-risk and negotiated delivery.

AIA A201 General Conditions

The document defining the rights, responsibilities, and relationships of the owner, contractor, and architect during construction. It is incorporated by reference into the A101/A102 owner-contractor agreements.

Basic services (B101)

The five core service phases under B101 — schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding/negotiation, and construction administration — covered by the basic fee.

Supplemental services

Services the owner and architect identify and agree to include at the time of signing, listed in the B101 agreement, distinct from contingent additional services that are triggered later by circumstances.

Contingent additional services

Services triggered later by circumstances — such as revisions inconsistent with prior approvals or an owner-directed redesign — that entitle the architect to additional compensation when they arise.

Customary phase fee distribution

The typical split of the basic services fee: roughly SD 15%, DD 20%, CD 40%, Bidding/Negotiation 5%, and CA 20%. Construction documents carries the largest allocation.

Critical Path Method (CPM)

A scheduling technique that maps activities, durations, and dependencies to identify the longest path through the network. That path determines the minimum project duration.

Critical path

The longest continuous chain of activities through a CPM network, having zero total float. Any delay to a critical activity delays the entire project's completion.

Total float (slack)

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying project completion: $\text{late start} - \text{early start}$. Critical-path activities have zero total float.

Gantt chart

A bar chart displaying project activities as horizontal bars along a calendar axis, making durations, start/finish dates, and overlaps easy to visualize. It is a scheduling and communication tool, not a contract.

Project work plan

A document that organizes a project's scope, schedule, staffing, fee budget, and consultant coordination, guiding how the team will deliver the work profitably and on time.

Meeting minutes

The official record of discussions, decisions, and action items from a project meeting, distributed to participants afterward. The agenda, by contrast, is prepared beforehand to set topics.

Transmittal

A cover document recording the formal transfer of items — drawings, specifications, samples — between parties, creating a dated record of what was sent and received.

Project budgeting (fee allocation)

Aligning staffing to each phase's fee: the project manager compares the fee earned in a phase against projected labor costs to keep the project profitable and adequately staffed.

Consultant coordination

The architect's responsibility under B101 for the services of the consultants it retains, including engaging qualified specialists via C401 and integrating their work into the design.

Quality control (QC) review

A structured internal review of documents at phase milestones that identifies errors, omissions, and inconsistencies before issuance, reducing claims and rework — a core risk-reduction practice.

Constructability review

A coordination review that cross-checks structural, mechanical, electrical, and architectural drawings to catch conflicts and confirm the design can be built before documents are issued for bidding.

Resource management

Assembling the project team and allocating staff, consultants, and time to match scope and budget, forecasting staff hours from the fee available in each phase.

Authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)

The governmental office or official responsible for enforcing code and approving permits. Discretionary AHJ approvals, like zoning variances requiring public hearings, introduce schedule uncertainty.

Application for payment (architect's certification)

The contractor's periodic request for payment based on work in place. Under A201 the architect reviews it and certifies only amounts properly due, and may withhold certification for cause.

Schematic design (SD)

The first design phase, establishing the project's general scope, scale, and relationships through study drawings. It carries roughly 15% of the basic services fee.

Design development (DD)

The phase that refines schematic design, fixing materials, systems, and dimensions. It carries roughly 20% of the basic services fee and prepares the project for construction documents.

Project quality control objectives

Maintaining code compliance, coordination/constructability, and design-objective integrity throughout delivery so the documents reduce risk and meet the owner's program.

Communication plan

An agreed protocol defining who communicates what, to whom, and through which documents (RFIs, minutes, transmittals), keeping the team coordinated and creating a defensible project record.

Contract documents

The set that legally defines the work: the owner-contractor agreement, general and supplementary conditions, drawings, specifications, addenda, and modifications, collectively binding the parties.

Reimbursable expenses

Project-related costs — travel, reproduction, permit fees — that the owner reimburses the architect at cost (often plus a markup), separate from the architect's compensation for services.

Architectural programming

The systematic process of defining a project's goals, required spaces, square footages, adjacencies, and performance criteria before design begins, producing the program that drives design decisions.

Site analysis

The evaluation of a site's physical, environmental, regulatory, and contextual conditions — topography, soils, climate, access, utilities, zoning — to identify opportunities and constraints for design.

Floor area ratio (FAR)

A zoning limit on building bulk equal to permitted gross floor area divided by lot area. On a $20{,}000\ \text{ft}^2$ lot, an FAR of $3.0$ permits $60{,}000\ \text{ft}^2$ of floor area.

Setback

The minimum required distance a building must be placed from a property line, established by zoning to control spacing, light, air, and access. Relief from a setback requires a variance.

Zoning variance

Discretionary relief from a dimensional zoning requirement (such as a setback) granted by the zoning board of appeals based on a unique hardship to the property, not from the building official.

Special exception (conditional use)

Authorization for a use the zoning ordinance already contemplates, allowed under stated conditions when criteria are met. Unlike a variance, it concerns use rather than dimensional relief.

International Building Code (IBC)

The model building code, widely adopted in the U.S., that establishes minimum requirements for occupancy classification, construction type, allowable area and height, egress, and fire safety.

Occupancy classification

The IBC grouping of a building by its use (e.g., Assembly A, Business B, Mercantile M, Educational E). A 350-seat theater with a stage is Assembly Group A-1.

Construction type (IBC)

The IBC classification (Types I–V) describing a building's structural fire resistance. Together with occupancy it sets allowable building area, height, and number of stories.

Occupant load

The number of people a space is designed to hold, calculated from area divided by an occupancy factor in the IBC. It drives required egress width, number of exits, and plumbing fixtures.

Passive solar orientation

Siting a building with its long axis east-west and primary glazing facing south (in the Northern Hemisphere) to admit low winter sun while easily shading high summer sun, reducing energy loads.

Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA)

FEMA's designation for the 100-year floodplain. Occupied structures must have their lowest floor at or above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), or be dry-floodproofed where permitted.

Base Flood Elevation (BFE)

The computed elevation to which floodwater is anticipated to rise during the base (100-year) flood. Floodplain regulations key the required lowest-floor elevation to the BFE.

Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

A records-and-history review identifying recognized environmental conditions (potential contamination) on a site. It precedes any sampling (Phase II) and informs reuse, remediation, and liability decisions on brownfields.

Brownfield

A property whose redevelopment is complicated by actual or perceived environmental contamination, often former industrial land. A Phase I ESA is the typical first step before programming such a site.

Expansive (shrink-swell) soils

Clay soils that swell when wet and shrink when dry, causing differential foundation movement. Deep foundations or moisture-stabilized reinforced systems resist or bypass that movement.

Geotechnical report

A soils engineer's investigation of subsurface conditions — bearing capacity, water table, soil type, and hazards — used to select foundation systems and site-grading strategies.

Section 404 permit

A federal Clean Water Act permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers required to dredge or fill jurisdictional wetlands or other waters of the United States, in addition to local approvals.

Slope (percent grade)

The steepness of ground expressed as rise over run times 100: a fall of $8\ \text{ft}$ over $100\ \text{ft}$ is an $8\%$ slope. It governs drainage, access, and accessible-route limits.

Building program (space program)

The documented list of required spaces with areas, occupancies, adjacencies, and special requirements that quantifies the owner's needs and becomes the basis for testing design feasibility against budget and site.

Adjacency matrix

A programming tool charting the desired spatial relationships between spaces — which should be near, separated, or connected — to guide efficient functional planning.

Net-to-gross ratio (efficiency)

The relationship between usable (net assignable) area and total (gross) building area. A lower gross area for the same net program indicates a more efficient building layout.

Microclimate analysis

Study of localized site conditions — sun angles, prevailing winds, shade, drainage — to locate buildings and outdoor spaces for comfort, such as placing gathering areas in morning sun sheltered from cold winds.

Sustainability site analysis

Evaluating a site for environmental performance opportunities: solar access, stormwater management, native vegetation, heat-island mitigation, and minimizing disturbance, informing program and design strategy.

Easement

A legal right allowing a party to use a portion of another's land for a specific purpose (utilities, access, drainage). Easements constrain where a building and improvements may be placed.

Topographic survey

A measured drawing showing site contours, spot elevations, boundaries, existing features, and utilities. It is the base information for grading, drainage, and building placement.

Land-use and zoning research

Determining the permitted uses, density, height, setbacks, parking, and FAR for a parcel, plus overlay requirements (wetlands, floodplains, historic districts), to establish what may be built.

Building loads (programming context)

The anticipated demands a building must support — occupancy, equipment, structural, environmental — that programming identifies so the design can accommodate spatial and system requirements.

Feasibility study

An early analysis testing whether a proposed program fits the site, budget, schedule, and code constraints, identifying alternatives before committing to design.

Site diagram

A graphic representation summarizing site analysis findings — sun, wind, views, access, constraints — communicating opportunities and limitations that shape the design response.

Historic district / preservation review

A regulatory overlay requiring a certificate of appropriateness for exterior changes in designated historic areas, constraining materials, massing, and alterations to protect historic character.

Wetlands buffer

A protected setback around delineated wetlands within which disturbance is limited or prohibited, identified during site analysis to keep building improvements outside regulated areas.

Spatial and functional relationships

How program spaces connect, adjoin, or separate to support a building's operations and circulation. Programming prioritizes these relationships before three-dimensional design begins.

Schematic design (PPD context)

The phase translating the program into a building concept — massing, organization, primary systems, and site arrangement — establishing the design direction tested against code, budget, and program.

Building systems integration

Coordinating structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and envelope systems with architecture so they fit the building configuration, support the program, and resolve without conflict.

Means of egress

The continuous, unobstructed path from any occupied point to a public way, comprising the exit access, the exit, and the exit discharge. The IBC sizes it by occupant load.

Travel distance (egress)

The maximum permitted length of the exit-access path from the most remote occupied point to an exit, set by the IBC based on occupancy and sprinkler protection.

Common path of egress travel

The portion of exit-access travel where occupants have only one direction to an exit before reaching a point with two separate paths. The IBC limits its length to protect life safety.

Fire-resistance rating

The time, in hours, an assembly resists fire and structural collapse under standard test conditions. The IBC requires rated walls, floors, and structure based on construction type and occupancy separation.

Occupancy separation

Fire-rated construction required between different occupancy groups in a mixed-use building to limit fire spread, with ratings set by IBC tables based on the adjacent uses.

Structural system selection

Choosing a primary structure (steel frame, concrete, masonry, wood, etc.) that suits the spans, loads, fire requirements, height, and budget, integrating with architectural and MEP systems.

Lateral load resistance

A building's capacity to resist horizontal forces from wind and seismic events through systems such as shear walls, braced frames, or moment frames, integrated early in design.

HVAC system selection

Choosing a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning approach (e.g., VAV, packaged units, radiant, VRF) suited to the building's loads, zoning, energy goals, and spatial constraints.

Daylighting strategy

Using building orientation, glazing, shading, and floor-plate depth to admit useful natural light while controlling glare and heat gain, reducing lighting energy and improving occupant comfort.

Passive design strategies

Non-mechanical approaches — orientation, massing, thermal mass, natural ventilation, shading — that reduce energy demand before active systems are sized, central to sustainable design.

Building envelope (PPD context)

The assembly of walls, roof, foundation, windows, and air/water barriers separating interior from exterior. Its design controls heat, air, and moisture flow and drives energy performance.

Thermal bridging

Heat transfer through conductive elements (studs, slabs, framing) that bypass insulation, reducing envelope performance. Continuous insulation and thermal breaks mitigate it.

Accessibility (ADA / ICC A117.1)

Requirements ensuring buildings are usable by people with disabilities, governing accessible routes, clearances, reach ranges, and fixtures. ICC A117.1 sets technical standards adopted by the IBC.

Accessible route clear width

The minimum unobstructed width of an accessible path, generally $36\ \text{in}$, narrowing to no less than $32\ \text{in}$ only at points such as doorways, per ICC A117.1.

Energy code (IECC / ASHRAE 90.1)

Regulations setting minimum energy efficiency for envelope, lighting, and mechanical systems. Compliance is shown by prescriptive paths or whole-building performance modeling.

Project integration of program and systems

The PPD core skill of synthesizing building configuration, structural, MEP, and envelope systems, the program, and environmental conditions into a coordinated, code-compliant design.

Parti

The central organizing concept or big idea of a design — the diagram that captures its essential arrangement and ordering principle, guiding decisions through schematic design.

Building configuration

The overall arrangement of a building's volumes, floor plates, cores, and circulation that responds to site, program, and structure, established during planning and design.

Site design

The arrangement of building, parking, circulation, grading, landscaping, and stormwater on the site to respond to context, code, accessibility, and sustainability goals.

Stormwater management

Strategies — detention, retention, bioswales, permeable paving, green roofs — that control runoff quantity and quality to meet regulations and reduce environmental impact.

Heat island mitigation

Strategies such as reflective roofing, shade trees, and permeable or light-colored paving that reduce localized temperature increases from dark, impervious surfaces.

Cost estimating (design phase)

Projecting probable construction cost as design develops, comparing alternatives against the program and budget so the design stays affordable before documents are completed.

Value engineering

A structured review of design alternatives, materials, and systems to deliver required function at lower cost without sacrificing performance, often triggered when estimates exceed budget.

Life safety plan

A drawing summarizing code analysis — occupancy, occupant loads, exits, travel distances, fire ratings, and accessibility — demonstrating that the design meets egress and fire-safety requirements.

Plumbing fixture count

The number of required toilets, lavatories, and other fixtures, set by code based on occupancy and occupant load, that the design must accommodate in the building plan.

Vertical transportation

Elevators, escalators, and stairs sized and located to move occupants efficiently and meet accessibility and egress requirements, integrated into the building core and configuration.

Acoustic design

Controlling sound transmission and room acoustics through assembly selection, isolation, and absorption, integrated with the envelope and partitions to meet program performance needs.

Renewable energy integration

Incorporating systems such as photovoltaics, solar thermal, or geothermal into the design to offset energy demand, coordinated with orientation, structure, and the building envelope.

Fire suppression (sprinkler) system

An automatic system that controls or extinguishes fire. Providing sprinklers can increase allowable area and travel distance and reduce required fire-resistance ratings under the IBC.

Span and structural grid

The spacing of columns and beams that organizes structure and influences planning flexibility, MEP routing, and cost. Selecting an efficient grid integrates structure with program and systems.

Building height and area limits

IBC maximums on stories, height, and floor area derived from occupancy and construction type, with increases allowed for sprinklers and frontage that shape the building's massing.

Construction documents (CDs)

The detailed drawings and specifications that define the quality, configuration, and assembly of the work for permitting, bidding, and construction. They carry roughly 40% of the basic fee.

Project manual

The bound volume containing the bidding requirements, contract forms, conditions of the contract, and specifications — everything written, as opposed to the drawings, for a project.

Specifications

The written requirements for materials, products, workmanship, and execution that complement the drawings. Where drawings show quantity and location, specifications govern quality and standards.

CSI MasterFormat

The standard numbering system organizing specifications into divisions (e.g., 03 Concrete, 09 Finishes) and sections, providing a consistent framework for the project manual and product information.

SectionFormat / PageFormat

CSI standards organizing each specification section into three parts — General, Products, and Execution — and a consistent page layout for clarity and coordination.

Prescriptive specification

A spec that names exact products, materials, and methods the contractor must use, giving the architect maximum control over the result but less flexibility for the contractor.

Performance specification

A spec stating the required result and performance criteria, leaving the means and product selection to the contractor, used when innovation or competition in methods is desired.

Proprietary specification

A spec identifying specific manufacturers or products by name, sometimes with 'or equal' language, when a particular product's characteristics are required for the design intent.

Detailing

The development of drawings showing how materials and components are assembled and connected so they perform structurally and control water, air, and thermal movement at junctions.

Material selection and properties

Choosing materials based on strength, durability, fire performance, moisture resistance, appearance, sustainability, and cost so assemblies meet the design intent and code at the detail level.

Coordination of disciplines (CDs)

Reconciling architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and specialty drawings so systems fit together without conflict, a primary aim of the construction documents phase.

Building Information Modeling (BIM)

A 3D, data-rich modeling process that integrates building geometry and information, supporting clash detection, coordination, quantity takeoffs, and documentation across disciplines.

Clash detection

Using a coordinated BIM model to find physical conflicts between systems (e.g., ductwork hitting beams) before construction, reducing field changes, RFIs, and rework.

Wall section

A vertical cut through the building envelope from foundation to roof showing the assembly's layers, dimensions, materials, and how water, air, and thermal control are maintained.

Air barrier

A continuous component or assembly that resists uncontrolled air leakage through the envelope, critical for energy performance and moisture control, detailed for continuity at all transitions.

Vapor retarder

A material limiting moisture diffusion through an assembly, positioned according to climate to prevent condensation within walls and roofs. Its placement is a key envelope detailing decision.

Flashing

Thin, water-resistant material installed at envelope transitions — sills, heads, parapets, intersections — to direct water away and maintain the drainage plane, detailed to prevent leaks.

Expansion / control joints

Designed gaps that allow materials to move with thermal and moisture changes without cracking, detailed in masonry, concrete, and finishes to control where movement occurs.

Thermal expansion

The dimensional change of materials with temperature, accommodated by expansion joints and connection details so assemblies do not buckle, crack, or fail under temperature swings.

Curtain wall

A non-load-bearing exterior wall system, typically aluminum-framed with glass or panel infill, hung from the structure. Its detailing manages water, air, thermal movement, and structural attachment.

Sizing MEP and structural systems (PDD)

Coordinating with engineers to confirm the dimensions and space requirements of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural components so they integrate within the documented building.

Schedules (door / window / finish)

Tabular drawings listing repetitive elements — doors, windows, finishes — with their types, sizes, and properties, organizing detailed information efficiently within the construction documents.

Drawing coordination with specifications

Ensuring the drawings and the specifications agree and do not duplicate or conflict, so the contract documents convey a single, consistent set of requirements.

Detail-level code compliance

Applying IBC and specialty regulations (accessibility, energy, Fair Housing, historic) at the level of assemblies and details so the documented design meets requirements as built.

Fair Housing Act design requirements

Federal accessibility requirements for covered multifamily dwellings, addressing accessible entrances, routes, and usable features, applied at the documentation level alongside other accessibility codes.

Drainage plane / water-resistive barrier

The continuous layer behind the cladding that intercepts and drains incidental water, integrated with flashing and the air barrier to keep water out of the wall assembly.

Construction cost estimate (PDD)

Analyzing the probable cost of the documented design against budget, supporting value engineering and material substitution decisions during documentation, though the smallest objective area in PDD.

Sustainability documentation

Incorporating energy, water, materials, and indoor-environmental requirements into the drawings and specifications so sustainable design intent is enforceable in the contract documents.

Assembly U-factor / R-value

Measures of envelope thermal performance: R-value is resistance to heat flow; U-factor is its inverse (overall transmittance). Detailing targets code-required values for walls, roofs, and glazing.

Bidding requirements (project manual)

The front-end documents — invitation to bid, instructions to bidders, bid forms — included in the project manual that govern how contractors submit proposals.

Supplementary conditions

Project-specific modifications and additions to the AIA A201 General Conditions, included in the project manual to tailor the general conditions to the particular project.

Substrate and finish compatibility

Ensuring selected finishes and their substrates are compatible in adhesion, movement, and moisture behavior so detailed assemblies perform and do not fail prematurely.

Specialty system coordination

Integrating specialty systems — conveying, fire protection, security, AV — with architectural, structural, and MEP work in the documents so they have space and support.

Construction contract administration (CA)

The architect's services during construction — observing the work, responding to RFIs, reviewing submittals, certifying payment, and evaluating conformance with the contract documents.

Submittal

Information the contractor provides for the architect's review — shop drawings, product data, samples, mock-ups — to confirm the proposed items conform with the design intent of the contract documents.

Shop drawings

Detailed fabrication and installation drawings prepared by the contractor or supplier showing how a component will be made and installed, reviewed by the architect for conformance with design intent.

Request for information (RFI)

A formal written question from the contractor seeking clarification or additional information about the contract documents. The architect's response becomes part of the project record.

Change order (CO)

A written modification to the contract, signed by owner, contractor, and architect, that adjusts the contract sum, contract time, or scope of work. It documents agreed changes to the contract.

Construction change directive (CCD)

An owner-and-architect-issued directive ordering a change in the work before owner and contractor agree on cost or time, used to keep work moving when a change order is not yet executed.

Architect's supplemental instructions (ASI)

A minor clarification or order for minor changes that does not affect the contract sum or time, issued by the architect to adjust the work consistent with the contract documents.

Application and certificate for payment

The contractor's payment request, which the architect reviews against work in place and certifies for amounts properly due. The architect may withhold certification for non-conforming work.

Schedule of values

A breakdown allocating the contract sum among the portions of the work, used as the basis for reviewing the contractor's applications for payment and evaluating progress.

Retainage

A percentage of each progress payment withheld by the owner until the work nears completion, providing security that the contractor will finish and correct defects.

Construction observation

The architect's periodic visits to the site to become generally familiar with the progress and quality of the work and to determine, in general, whether it conforms with the contract documents.

Substantial completion

The stage when the work is sufficiently complete for the owner to occupy or use it for its intended purpose. It triggers warranty start dates, final payment timing, and the punch list.

Punch list

The architect's and owner's list of incomplete or non-conforming items the contractor must finish or correct before final completion, prepared at or near substantial completion.

Final completion

The point at which all work, including punch-list items, is finished in accordance with the contract documents, allowing final payment and release of remaining retainage.

Certificate of occupancy

The document issued by the building official confirming a building complies with code and is safe to occupy, typically required before the owner may use the completed building.

Warranty (construction)

The contractor's assurance, typically one year under A201, that the work conforms to the contract documents and is free of defects, with the period generally beginning at substantial completion.

Record drawings (as-builts)

Drawings documenting the actual constructed conditions, including changes made during construction, assembled at closeout for the owner's future maintenance and modifications.

Closeout documents

The materials delivered at project completion — warranties, record drawings, operation and maintenance manuals, releases of liens, and final certifications — that conclude the contract.

Post-occupancy evaluation (POE)

A structured assessment of a completed building's performance in use, gathering feedback on how well it serves occupants and meets goals, informing operations and future projects.

Preconstruction activities

The architect's role in bidding or negotiation — assisting in evaluating bids, contractor selection criteria, and contract or design changes to adjust cost — before construction begins.

Addendum

A written change to the bidding documents issued before bids are received, modifying drawings or specifications. Addenda become part of the contract documents once incorporated.

Bid evaluation

The review of contractors' bids for completeness, responsiveness, and qualifications, with the architect assisting the owner in comparing proposals and recommending award.

Mock-up

A full-scale sample of an assembly or finish built for review and approval before mass production or installation, establishing the standard of quality the work must meet.

Non-conforming work

Work that does not meet the contract documents. The architect may reject it and require correction; under A201 the contractor is responsible for bringing it into conformance.

Field report (observation report)

The architect's written record of a site visit, noting observations of progress, conformance, and issues, documenting the construction-observation role for the project record.

Initial decision maker (IDM)

Under A201, the party (typically the architect) who renders an initial decision on claims between owner and contractor before mediation, a required step in dispute resolution.

Liquidated damages

A predetermined sum stated in the contract that the contractor owes the owner for each day of unexcused delay, compensating for losses that are difficult to calculate after the fact.

Allowance

A budgeted amount included in the contract sum for items not yet selected at bidding, reconciled by change order when the actual cost of the selected item is known.

Unit price

A pre-agreed price per measured quantity of work used to value additions or deletions when exact quantities are unknown at bidding, applied as the work proceeds.

Product data submittal

Manufacturer information — catalog cuts, performance data, installation instructions — the contractor submits to demonstrate a proposed product conforms with the specifications.

Substitution request

A contractor's proposal to use a product different from that specified, which the architect evaluates for equivalence in quality, performance, and design intent before approving or rejecting.

Release of liens

A document in which the contractor and subcontractors waive their right to file mechanic's liens, typically required with payment applications and at closeout to protect the owner's title.

Project closeout

The final phase concluding the contract: completing punch-list work, delivering warranties, record drawings, and O&M manuals, releasing retainage, and certifying final completion.

Building performance evaluation

Assessing how a completed building performs against design goals — energy, comfort, function — during operation, often via a POE, to verify outcomes and inform future work.