Geza Banfai | Construction and infrastructure lawyer
Document Six?the Canadian Standard Form of Contract for Architectural Services?has undergone a major refresh that aims to better outline the roles and responsibilities of both architects and clients.
?The purpose of the contract is to create a fair and balanced standard form of agreement that respects the interests and obligations of both the client and the architect,? says Pierre Gallant, FRAIC, a member of the eight-person RAIC Practice Support Committee that drafted the revised document.
The goal is to have it accepted more readily,? says Gallant, a past principal with the engineering firm Morrison Hershfield in Vancouver. ?We hope that it?s perceived as fairer and reduces the use of supplementary conditions that at times create an onus on one party over another.? Document Six replaces the 2006 edition and will be available in both official languages early in 2017, together with a new Guide to Document Six.
It is a consensus-based document, developed with input from owner-client groups in the public and private sectors, provincial and territorial regulators, and insurers.
?Previous versions were perceived as being overly protective of architects and deemed by some clients to be unreasonable, so this version is focused as much on owners as it is on architects,? adds Gallant.
Document Six will for the first time include a standard-of-care provision to address ?imperfection? of services, explains Ottawa architect Rick Mac...