Site search
Topic index
Acumen Practice Notes
Australian Institute of Architects
  • Practice
    Practice

    Guidance and advice on the day-to-day running of an architectural practice including an overview of business types, risk management, insurance and legislation requirements, managing staff, tailored marketing tips for the profession and office procedures and manuals.

    • Business structure and planning
    • Ethics
    • Fees
    • Human resources
    • Indigenous matters in architectural practice
    • Legislation
    • Marketing and communications
    • Negotiation and dispute resolution
    • Office administration
    • Quality management
    • Risk management and insurances
    • Work health and safety (WHS)
  • Project
    Project

    Guidance and advice on managing a project, from briefing and agreements to contracts, procurement methods, engagement of consultants and core services. Includes downloadable reference copies of the ABIC contracts and the Institute's Architect–Specialist Consultant Agreement, and digital versions of the Institute's Client Architect Agreement and the Client Architect Agreement for Limited Services.

    • Agreements
    • BIM – Building information modelling
    • Brief
    • Building contracts
    • Client and architect relationship
    • Core architectural services
    • Other architectural services
    • Procurement
    • Project bid
    • Project control
    • Specialist consultants
  • Resources
    Resources

    Resources to assist your day-to-day practice and management of projects, including extensive Guide letters for all stages of a project, Client information notes (designed to share with your client), Access design considerations, topical guidance and access to the free legal reference service.

    • Access design guide
    • Advocacy
    • Client information notes
    • Construction industry legal comment
    • COVID-19 project considerations
    • Free legal reference service
    • Glossary of terms
    • Guide letters
  • Environment
    Environment

    A database of over 175 peer-reviewed design notes covering guidance, tools and case studies of built environment sustainability for the architectural profession, including designing for resource and climate change considerations, and best practice regenerative and biophilic design.

    • Case studies
    • Energy
    • Equity
    • Glossary
    • Health and happiness
    • Materials
    • Place
    • Process
    • Water
  • Notepacks
    Notepacks

    Curated content across the Acumen database that puts topic-related notes in one convenient place.

    • Building procurement
    • Construction documentation
    • COVID-19
    • Disaster response
    • Embodied energy
    • Office manual
    • Social media
    • Starting a practice
    • Student SONA
  • More…
  • Sign up
  • Login
  • Sign up
  • Login
  1. Home
  2. Topic Index

Topic Index

Practice
Alternative dispute resolution
Fee disputes
Evidence and court procedure
Business structure and planning
Business planning
Asset planning
Business cycles
Starting a practice
Strategic planning
Buying a practice
Partnerships
Partners agreements
Proprietary companies
Sole practitioners
Succession planning
Valuing or selling a practice
Ethics
Codes of conduct
Australian Institute of Architects Code of Conduct
NSW Code of conduct
SA Code of conduct
Victorian Code of conduct
Queensland Code of conduct
Collaborations with other architects
Conduct toward other architects
Online ethics
Pro bono or reduced fee services
Fees
Low fees - implication for practices
Low fees - implications for the building industry
Payment of architect fees
Profit and profitability
Profit
Profitability
Human resources
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Gender equity
Leave entitlements and obligations
Managing people
Email policy
Flexible working arrangements
Keeping time records
Long term illness or injury absences
Managing teams
Pay increases for employees
Social functions in the business world
Social media and the workplace
Staff performance
Team behaviour
Teamwork
Time management
Workplace Health and Safety (WHS)
Mental health in the profession
Recruitment and employment
Casual or permanent employment
Employment agreements
Copyright and confidentiality - employees
Employee private commissions and liability
Engagement of contract staff
Graduates - practical experience
Induction of staff
Minimum wages and award rates
Student employment
Work experience and internships
Work experience for school students
Superannuation
Transfer of business
Indigenous matters in practice
Legislation
Architects Acts
Copyright
Architects and copyright
The value of copyright in designs
Copyright and architectural photography
DDA - Disability Discrimination Act
DDA – Existing Buildings not undergoing building work
DDA - the Premises Standards and building certification
DDA - the Premises Standards, BCA and alternative solutions
DDA overview - building access
Goods and services tax (GST)
GST - administration
GST - changes to administration
GST - definitions
GST - retainers, fees and charges
Moral rights
Client commissions and moral rights
Consent to infringement of moral rights
Moral rights FAQs
Moral rights guide and template letters
Waivers of moral rights and indemnities
Privacy legislation - coverage and exemptions
Security of payment (SOP)
Administering Security of Payment
Security of payment – ACT
Security of payment – NSW
Security of payment – NT
Security of payment – Qld
Security of payment – SA
Security of payment – Tas
Security of payment – Vic
Security of payment – WA
Taxable payments annual report (TPAR)
Marketing and communications
Brand creation and implementation
Event design and planning
Publicity management
Social media
Website design and best practice
Office administration and manual structure
Archiving
Document retention
Electronic document management
Records - storage and conservation
Cloud computing
Communications
Email disclaimers
Report writing
Meetings
Filing systems
Quality management
Australian Standards
Library of Standards
Standards - risk management
Quality control checklist
Quality control for working drawings
Quality control in preparing specifications and schedules
Risk management and insurances
Architects' liability
Duty to disclose liability
Public liability
Duty to correct and warn
Builders' liability to subsequent purchasers
Proportionate liability legislation
Project management services – liability for
Liability for negligence
Limitation of liability
Architects standard of care
Asbestos
Asbestos-containing materials
Professional indemnity insurance cover and asbestos
Common risks for architects
Risks of free design services
Requests for issuing certificates
Handing over project files
Damages
Due diligence reporting
Insurances
Professional indemnity insurance for architects
Managing professional indemnity claims
Professional indemnity cover exclusions
Professional indemnity insurance basics
Directors and officers insurance
General practice insurance
Insurance cover and WHS obligations
Projects in bushfire-prone areas
Qualifying advice
Work health and safety (WHS)
Safety during construction
Safety in design FAQs
Safety in design guide
The model WHS Acts and Regulations
Victoria: OHS Act section 28
Victoria: OHS Safe Design Requirements
WHS - Safe design law
Project
Agreements
Agreements - principles
Agreements for office and retail tenancy work
Commissioning tenancy works
Architect–Specialist Consultant Agreement (ASCA) 2017
Client and architect agreements
2019 Client Architect Agreement (CAA2019)
Bushfire or pro bono work – special conditions CAA 2019
2019 Client Architect Agreement for Limited Services
Client and Architect Agreement 2009 (CAA 2009)
Client and Architect Agreement 2009 guide letters
CAA 2009 schedules and signing page
AS 4122
Collateral warranties
Warranties in client and architect agreements
Client-generated agreements
Fitness for purpose
Legal person
Novation
Personal contracts
Principles for client/architect agreements
BIM – Building information modelling
Brief
Room data sheet
The briefing team
Building contracts
ABIC contracts
ABIC contracts – Australian Capital Territory
ABIC contracts – New South Wales
ABIC contracts – Northern Territory
ABIC contracts – Queensland
ABIC contracts – South Australia
ABIC contracts – Tasmania
ABIC contracts – Victoria
ABIC contracts – Western Australia
ABIC Basic Works BW 2018
ABIC Commercial Cost Plus CP-2014 C
ABIC Early Works Contract EW-1 2003
ABIC contract works insurance
ABIC SW 2018 H Schedule 2a – staged payments
Particular persons
Australian Standards contracts
Building contract - execution
Building contract insurances
Contract preparation
Contractual liability
Cost plus contracts
Special Conditions for HIA Alterations Additions Renovations
HIA ACT Residential Alterations and Additions
HIA NSW Residential Renovations and Additions
HIA NT Residential Alterations and Additions
HIA Qld Alteration, Addition and Renovation
HIA SA Alterations and Additions
HIA Tasmanian Residential Building
HIA Victorian Alterations, Additions and Renovations
HIA WA Lump Sum Alterations and Additions
Special Conditions for HIA New Homes Contracts
Special Conditions for HIA New Homes: ACT
Special Conditions for HIA New Homes: NSW
Special Conditions for HIA New Homes: NT
Special Conditions for HIA New Homes: Qld
Special Conditions for HIA New Homes: Tas
Special Conditions for HIA New Homes: Vic
Special Conditions for HIA Lump Sum: WA
Termination rights and insolvency events
Client and architect relationship
Core architectural services
Pre-design
Concept design
Design workshops (charrette)
Office fit-out projects
Design development
Condensation in Buildings Handbook
Contaminated land investigation
Designing for building health
Design considerations
Contaminated land
Heritage buildings
Indoor air quality (IAQ)
Site survey and survey types
Adverse possession
Sub-soil conditions
Geotechnical reports
Sub-soil conditions - provisions in contract documents
Termite management
Waterproofing
Working on or near boundaries
Material considerations
Delays in the supply of materials
Liability for manufactured products
Non-complying building products
Partition system acoustics
Planning/Development application
Construction documentation
Construction drawings
Errors and omissions
Guarantees and warranties
Preparation of contract documents - contaminated land
Referencing standard documents
Scope of services variation
Shop drawings
Specification writing
Contractor selection
Negotiated contracts
Tenders - calling
Tenders - receiving and selecting
Contract administration
Certificates
Clerk of works
Contract administration versus supervision
Contractor's role in construction
Extensions of time
Latent conditions
Mandatory inspections
Practical completion
Staged practical completion
Prevention Principle and the implied duty of cooperation
Progress payments
Provisional periods for delay
Remote sites - contract administration
Security – bank guarantees and cash retention
Surety bonds
Surety bonds - glossary of terms
Unconditional guarantees and cash retention
Substitutions
Partial services
Architects engaged as secondary or subconsultants
Partial services - agreements
Partial services - fees
Regulatory requirements
Approval processes for planning and construction
Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB)
Building Act (Tasmania) certification
Certificates of title
National Construction Code (NCC)
Noise from building sites
Protection of adjoining property
Statutory approvals
Post construction
Defects
Post-occupancy evaluation (POE)
Final completion and certificate
Other architectural services
Expert witness
Facilities management
Illustration
Inspections
Inspection checklists
Master planning
Project feasibility
Cash flow checklist
Depreciation allowance
Feasibility study
Lifecycle cost analysis
Value management
Project management and project managers
Project management - planning, programming and administration
Project management - responsibilities, liabilities and fees
Project management - scope of services
Project manager - architects working as
Project manager - working with
Record documentation
Trade package documentation
Working with or as a builder-developer
Procurement
Architects working together
Design and construct
Guaranteed maximum price
Fast-tracked projects
Fast-tracked projects - fees
Fast-tracked projects - implications
Fast-tracked projects - risks for architects
Financing of projects
Procurement - alternative methods
Procurement - critical considerations
Procurement options - checklist
Project alliancing
Alliancing - examples
Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
Project bid
Architect selection and commissions
Architectural competitions
Promotion via proposals and tenders
Quality Based Selection - why use?
Graduate and student commissions
Fee calculation
Charge-out rate
Determining fees for small projects
Salaries and overheads
Time records
Project control
Digital transfer considerations
Electronic data transfer - client and architect agreement
Electronic data transfer - third-party agreement
Project budget management
Budget estimates - overview
Budget estimates – influencing factors
Budget estimates – methods
Budget estimates - staging
Budget estimates – terminology
Contingency sum
Depreciation
Insolvent contractor
Measurement of buildings
Prime cost items and provisional sums
Replacement costs
Project records
Checklist of project records
Electronic communications
Records disposal
Project time management
Float – adjustment of time
Managing time during construction
Program as a contract document
Project time management in design and documentation
Time performance warranties
Specialist consultants
Specialist consultants - employing
Specialist consultants - engagement
Specialist consultants - selection
AS 4121
Specialist consultants - terms of engagement
Architect's liability for specialist consultants
Consult Australia Contract
Specialist consultants - payment
Specialist consultants - types
Fire safety engineering vs fire services engineering
The role of the fire safety engineer in the design team
When to engage a fire safety engineer
Specialist consultants after practical completion
Specialist consultants during construction
Specialist consultants prior to construction
Resources
Access design guide
Access guides for best practice
Access to heritage places
Design for hearing impairment
Design for vision impairment
External stairs and ramps
Junior ambulant toilets
Lighting guide for inclusive design
Access guides for fit out
Accessible auditorium / lecture room
Accessible change cubicle
Accessible fitting cubicle
Accessible parenting / baby change room
Accessible reception counter
Accessible tea point
Accessible ticket office
Accessible utility room
Accessible waiting room
Drinking fountains and water filling points
Access requirements in the NCC
Accessible adult change facilities
Accessible entry
Visual emergency warning systems
Advocacy
Client information notes
Client note: Architects' fees
Client note: Contingency sums
Client note: Contractor variations resulting in a credit
Client note: Copyright in architecture
Client note: Insurance for work to existing buildings
Client note: Managing your project costs
Client note: Opening up and testing the works
Client note: Practical completion and the final certificate
Client note: Progress payments during construction
Client note: Selecting an architect
Client note: The independent role of the project manager
Client note: Variations to scope of work
Client note: What are an architect's moral rights?
Client note: Your brief to your architect
Construction industry legal comment
COVID-19 project considerations
COVID-19 contract related FAQs
COVID-19 risks and contract options
COVID-19 site inspection considerations
Free legal reference service
Guide letters
Guide letter 1: Advice to client - conditions of engagement
Guide letter 2: Confirmation to client
Guide letter 3: Advice to client - specialist consultants
Guide letter 4: Request to specialist consultants
Guide letter 5: Advice - engagement of specialist consultant
Guide letter 6: Request to client for confirmation
Guide letter 7: Confirmation - appointment of consultant
Guide letter 8: Briefing of specialist consultant
Guide letter 9: Recommendation to client - additional fees
Guide letter 10: Site - request to client for information
Guide letter 11: Advice to client - architects' fees due
Guide letter 12: Secondary consultants' fee accounts
Guide letter 13: Advice to client on authority conditions
Guide letter 14: Advice to client at completion of stage
Guide letter 15: Advice to client - pre-contract progress
Guide letter 16: Advice to client on implications of changes
Guide letter 17: Recommendation to client - clerk of works
Guide letter 18: Advice to client - building contract
Guide letter 19: Confirmation to client - contract
Guide letter 20: Pre-tender information
Guide letter 21: Confirmation to client - tender details
Guide letter 22: Recommendation to client - tender report
Guide letter 23: Successful tenderer - letter of acceptance
Guide letter 24: Successful tenderer - RFI
Guide letter 25: Unsuccessful tenderers - advice
Guide letter 26: Insurance - request to contractor
Guide letter 27: Clerk of works – employment advice
Guide letter 28: Advice to client - execution of contract
Guide letter 29: Recommendation to client - variations
Guide letter 30: Advice to client - expenditure
Guide letter 31: Advice to client - building progress
Guide letter 32: Advice to client - contractor's breach
Guide letter 33: Advice to client - works nearing completion
Guide letter 34: Advice to contractor - practical completion
Guide letter 35: Confirmation to client - defects
Guide letter 36: Advice to contractor - defects
Guide letter 37: Advice to client - final certificate
Guide letter 38: Completion - thanking contractor
Guide letter 39: Documenting a project from another practice
Environment
Case studies
Agricultural use of residues
Building T, Deakin University
Commercial
Albert Road, South Melbourne
Australian Ethical Investment Headquarters
Integrated design process of Council House 2
James Street Market, Brisbane
Lighting at Australian Greenhouse Offices, Canberra
Office building retrofit at 55 St Andrews Place
Santos Headquarters, Adelaide – 5 Star Green Star CBD Office
Conversion of a heritage-listed industrial building
Kelvin Grove Urban Village
Newcastle CSIRO Energy Centre
Post occupancy evaluation of evaporative cooling
Residential
Clovelly house
Energy performance of new project homes, Perth
Filter house
George Street apartments
Nightingale 2.0 - Fairfield
The Armstrong-Mobbs house
The Pemberton house
The Prasad house
Welcome to the Jungle House
The Erskine Building, Christchurch
Urine-separation and dry composting
Energy
Carbon emissions from domestic appliances
Carbon emissions from domestic built-in appliances
Carbon emissions from domestic local energy generation
Cutting lifetime residential GHG emissions
Energy and water efficiency in commercial office buildings
Energy saving design
A guide to daylighting of buildings
A solar atlas for Tasmania
Airtightness and thermal bridging in buildings
Best practice in lighting
Construction details for cool temperate climates
Daylighting of buildings
Double-skin facades
Facade systems for commercial buildings
Passivhaus: low energy buildings in Australasia
Rating systems for glazings
Residential passive design
Thermal mass for temperate climates
Thermal mass for cool temperate climates
Thermal mass in building design
Thermal performance in a dry temperate climate
Energy saving technologies
Artificial lighting design
Building thermostats – a pilot study
Building thermostats – issues
Building-integrated photovoltaics
Chilled ceilings and beams
Residential appliances and equipment
Low-energy hot water systems
Operating a building
Photovoltaic cells
The legal right to solar access
Implementing energy efficiency
Life cycle energy analysis
Non-residential buildings and greenhouse gas emissions
Revisiting energy efficiency in commercial buildings
Transitioning to zero carbon housing
Ventilation
Circulating fans energy efficiency
Emerging technologies in ventilation
Natural ventilation in passive design
Single-sided ventilation
Environment glossary
Equity
Co-housing – an introduction
Co-housing – the Australian context
Designing to heal – part A
Designing to heal – part B
Enabling play friendly places
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
Social sustainability
Socially responsible planning and urban design
Supporting social value through the design process
Health and happiness
Biophilic design: an introduction for designers
Design for minimal radiation exposure
Designing user-friendly passive buildings
Green buildings and productivity
Health and productivity in sustainable buildings
Indoor environment quality
Adaptive comfort
Applying the adaptive model of comfort
Impact of indoor environment quality in office buildings
Indoor environment quality and facility design
Light pollution
Mental landscapes
Protecting against solar UVR
The shade audit
Urban air quality
Materials
Building materials selection – greenhouse strategies
Comparative service life assessment of window systems
Concrete and sustainability
Green specifying
Lead hazards in construction – a designer's guide
Life cycle assessment (LCA)
Life cycle assessment for wood products
Life cycle assessment of buildings
Low CO2 Concrete
Phase change materials – overview
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) – its use in construction
Strategies and resources for material selection
Straw bale construction
Sustainable housing using lightweight cellular concrete
The environmental impact of building materials
Timber and wood
Applications and ESD decision making
Environmentally certified products – background
Environmentally certified products – in Australia
Environmentally certified products – overview
Timber use in residential construction and demolition
Waste management
Design for disassembly
Ecological waste
Material selection for waste minimisation
Place
Climate
Building design principles in the UAE
Climate change adaptation
Climate change and sustainability
Climate responsive design
Design considerations for the Australian Alps
Development in bushfire prone areas
Heat stress resistant residential design
Climate-adaptive architecture
Urban design in the UAE
GIS and remote sensing for transport
Habitat and ecology
Biodiversity and the built environment
Birds and buildings
Benefits of green roofs
Green roofs
Living walls
Measuring site biodiversity
Repair of the natural environment
Roof and facade gardens
Vegetation and habitat conservation
Infrastructure and transportation
Land use
Architecture, planning and food
Assessment and design of wind farms
Contaminated land
Erosion and sediment control
Land resource assessment
Lend Lease and sustainability
Permaculture - introduction
Permaculture principles and application
Planning the green city
Site planning and design for bushfire
Sustainability in metropolitan planning
Sustainable communities
Towards sustainable urbanism
Urban planning for sustainability
Physical activity links to healthcare costs and productivity
Planning for transit oriented development
Predicting transport greenhouse gases
Remote area building and sustainable development
Sustainable metropolitan transport
Urban freeway vegetation design and management
Process
Beyond carbon neutrality
Building environmental performance assessment
Domestic building energy assessment
Marketing ecologically sustainable design skills
NCC 2019 Section J and commercial building facade design
Optimising environmental performance
Rating systems
Non-residential building environmental rating tools
Predicted vs actual performance of green buildings
Residential sustainability rating tools
Urban assessment tools for Australia
Regenerative design approaches
A case study of Seacombe West through LENSES
Design for eco-services – Part B building services
Design for environmental services
Positive development
Residential retrofitting
Sustainability and building information modelling (BIM)
Sustainability framework for practice
Sustainable design – a client briefing
Systems thinking
Beyond codified comfort
Design for adaptability
Green Building
Persuasive design and building user engagement
Toward sustainability: Bellagio principles
The role of emotion and logic in sustainable design
Understanding buildings in operation
Understanding quantification
Water
Embodied water of construction
On-site domestic wastewater treatment and reuse
Practice of water sensitive urban design
Raingardens and bioretention tree pits
Sustainable water use
Water conservation and harvesting in Adelaide
Water sensitive urban design
Water sensitive urban design thus far
Wetlands, storage and reuse system
Notepacks
Building procurement notepack
Construction documentation notepack
COVID-19 notepack
Disaster response notepack
Embodied energy notepack
Office manual notepack
Branding notepack
Business planning notepack
Company profile notepack
Contracts notepack
Digital data processes notepack
Environment notepack
Fee notepack
Financial administration notepack
Human resources (HR) notepack
Information technology (IT) notepack
Insurances and liability notepack
Letters notepack
Marketing material notepack
New work notepack
Premises and practice organisation notepack
Project documentation notepack
Projects notepack
Quality management notepack
Risk notepack
Specialist consultant notepack
Work health and safety (WHS) notepack
Social media notepack
Starting a practice notepack
Student SONA notepack
First job

Help and Information

  • About
  • A-Z Index
  • Introductory videos
  • Other services
  • Superseded notes
  • User Licence Agreement

Contact and Credits

  • Enquiries and feedback
  • Acknowledgements
© 2018 The Australian Institute of Architects
  • Privacy
  • Disclaimer
  • Site info
© 2018 The Australian Institute of Architects
Reference Info:

Topic Index 2018, February 09. Retrieved from https://acumen.architecture.com.au/sitemap/