On Nov. 15, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) plans to release its new and updated Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) family of contract documents. Next February, the AIA will release its updated Construction Manager as Adviser (CMa) family of documents.
These documents get updated on a 10-year revision cycle.
The AIA divides its contract documents into nine families, organized by delivery method. These include families for design-bid-build (the most widely used contract model), design-build, and integrated project delivery, as well as contracts that specifically cover interiors, small projects, and digital practices. The design-bid-build document family was updated in 2017.
Under CMc, the Construction Manager comes on the project during the preconstruction phase to provide early collaboration. In the construction phase, the CM does the construction work, as if it were a General Contractor.
Under the CMa, the Construction Manager is also retained by the owner for early collaboration during the preconstruction phase. But the CMas don’t perform the construction work. The CMa documents are designed for complex projects with more than one prime contractor. During the construction phase, the CMa coordinates and manages the contractors, as well as providing cost estimating and other functions.
Susan Van Bell, Senior Director and Counsel – AIA Contract Documents Content, tells BD+C that the AIA solicited input from CM practitioners about revisions to the documents so that they’d better reflect current practices.
From those conversations, CMs suggested that one change they wanted was a way to tailor the document for the scope of preconstruction services without having the standard contract language be too restrictive.
Van Bell says the 2019 CMc revision addresses this issue by inserting “fill points” into the contract where more preconstruction details can be identified. The update also makes some edits to the standard preconstruction services scope.
A schematic of the family of documents for Construction Manager as Advisor.
The CMc documents now include insurance and bond exhibits, which had been added to the design-bid-build document family in its 2017 revision. Van Bell says there are also new exhibits for both the CMc and CMa documents that cover the role of the CM in sustainable projects.
The revised CMa documents clarify the CMa’s role in such areas as analyzing and coordinating the contractors’ schedules. The CMa is also the responsible party for managing a project’s digital information systems. “We clarified the communication process,” Van Bell says. The 2017 updates that required the establishment of protocols for digital data and BIM were carried into the CMc and CMa updates.
Related Stories
| Jan 25, 2011
AIA reports: Hotels, retail to lead U.S. construction recovery
U.S. nonresidential construction activity will decline this year but recover in 2012, led by hotel and retail sectors, according to a twice-yearly forecast by the American Institute of Architects. Overall nonresidential construction spending is expected to fall by 2% this year before rising by 5% in 2012, adjusted for inflation. The projected decline marks a deteriorating outlook compared to the prior survey in July 2010, when a 2011 recovery was expected.
| Jan 21, 2011
Combination credit union and USO center earns LEED Silver
After the Army announced plans to expand Fort Bliss, in Texas, by up to 30,000 troops, FirstLight Federal Credit Union contracted NewGround (as CM) to build a new 16,000-sf facility, allocating 6,000 sf for a USO center with an Internet café, gaming stations, and theater.
| Jan 21, 2011
Manufacturing plant transformed into LEED Platinum Clif Bar headquarters
Clif Bar & Co.’s new 115,000-sf headquarters in Emeryville, Calif., is one of the first buildings in the state to meet the 2008 California Building Energy Efficiency Standards. The structure has the largest smart solar array in North America, which will provide nearly all of its electrical energy needs.
| Jan 21, 2011
Primate research facility at Duke improves life for lemurs
Dozens of lemurs have new homes in two new facilities at the Duke Lemur Center in Raleigh, N.C. The Releasable Building connects to a 69-acre fenced forest for free-ranging lemurs, while the Semi-Releasable Building is for lemurs with limited-range privileges.
| Jan 21, 2011
Harlem facility combines social services with retail, office space
Harlem is one of the first neighborhoods in New York City to combine retail with assisted living. The six-story, 50,000-sf building provides assisted living for residents with disabilities and a nonprofit group offering services to minority groups, plus retail and office space.
| Jan 21, 2011
Nothing dinky about these residences for Golden Gophers
The Sydney Hall Student Apartments combines 125 student residences with 15,000 sf of retail space in the University of Minnesota’s historic Dinkytown neighborhood, in Minneapolis.
| Jan 21, 2011
Revamped hotel-turned-condominium building holds on to historic style
The historic 89,000-sf Hotel Stowell in Los Angeles was reincarnated as the El Dorado, a 65-unit loft condominium building with retail and restaurant space. Rockefeller Partners Architects, El Segundo, Calif., aimed to preserve the building’s Gothic-Art Nouveau combination style while updating it for modern living.
| Jan 21, 2011
Sustainable history center exhibits Fort Ticonderoga’s storied past
Fort Ticonderoga, in Ticonderoga, N.Y., along Lake Champlain, dates to 1755 and was the site of battles in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. The new $20.8 million, 15,000-sf Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center pays homage to the French magasin du Roi (the King’s warehouse) at the fort.
| Jan 21, 2011
Library planned for modern media enthusiasts
The England Run Library, a new 30,000-sf glass, brick, and stone building, will soon house more than 100,000 books and DVDs. The Lukmire Partnership, Arlington, Va., designed the Stafford County, Va., library, the firm’s fourth for the Central Rappahannock Library System, to combine modern library-browsing trends with traditional library services.
| Jan 21, 2011
Virginia community college completes LEED Silver science building
The new 60,000-sf science building at John Tyler Community College in Midlothian, Va., just earned LEED Silver, the first facility in the Commonwealth’s community college system to earn this recognition. The facility, designed by Burt Hill with Gilbane Building Co. as construction manager, houses an entire floor of laboratory classrooms, plus a new library, student lounge, and bookstore.