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Procurement is the act or process of bringing about or bringing into existence buildings. It may also refer to the acquiring of buildings already existing but most commonly it refers to the total process of bringing into being a building that was not there before and embraces all the activities that might be necessary to the objective. The term ‘procurement’ may also refer to the acquiring and engagement of architectural services – ‘to procure architectural services’. Refer to related resources below for further information about the procurement of architectural services.
Architects' education and training has, until recently, been oriented towards the traditional relationship between architect, client and contractor, and the lump-sum contract. That is, the client briefs the architect, the architect prepares contract documents, and the contractor prices and builds from the contract documents. During construction the architect acts as the client's agent and as certifier of quality etc. However, other procurement methodologies have and continue to develop and in so doing, the requirements and services provided by architects change with it. Alternative procurement methods include:
- Design and construct
- Construction Management
- Turnkey
- Public Private Partnership (PPP)
- Varying relationship models including alliancing and Early contractor involvement.
Architects requested to participate in non-traditional procurement methods should:
- be able to clearly advise the client of the advantages and disadvantages of each of the alternatives
- have a full understanding of the organisational structure of the delivery method, clearly defined responsibilities and a full understanding of the lines of communication
- assess the risks associated with the alternative method in relation to the commercial position of the practice and the architect’s role as a professional adviser with expertise in building design.
Related resources
The Institute has developed a suite of guidelines and templates for the Procurement of architectural services, including:
- Code of Novation
- Research: procurement of architectural services
- Guidelines: expressions of interests (EOI) and requests for tender (RFT) for architectural services
- Client EOI invite template
- Architect EOI response template
- Client RFT invite template
- Architect RFT response template
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