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Who We Are

The mission of the AIA Small Firm Exchange (SFx) is to advance the mutual interests of architects practicing in small firms. The objectives of the AIA SFx are three-fold:

1. Advocate the value of small firms, the national SFx, and local SFx groups, both within the AIA and to the public.

2. Curate and disseminate the most pertinent resources and information, from the AIA & elsewhere, that benefit small firms.

3. Inform the AIA of current issues facing small firms and areas in which current resources/information are lacking.

Approximately 75% of all firms within the AIA are small firms (less than 10 employees), which equates to 14,459 small firms within the organization.

~26.8% = sole practitioners = 5,173

~33.5% = 1-5 employees = 6,459

~14.7% = 5-10 employees = 2,827

For context, small firms share of staff is 16.0% and share of billings is 12.0%

We need to find ways to leverage that size for collaboration and influence, just like the individual large firms do.

   

  

  • 1.  Fee structure for house plans that will be used for a 300 home development.

    Posted 04-04-2019 06:15 PM
    How do you establish a fee structure for the design of 5 single family homes that will be built 70 to 80 times each for a large development?
    License fee, use fee???

    ------------------------------
    J. Mark Barry AIA, NCARB
    Architect/Owner
    Barry Bull Ballas Design, Inc.
    Dallas TX
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  • 2.  RE: Fee structure for house plans that will be used for a 300 home development.

    Posted 04-08-2019 10:37 AM
    I'm curious to know this as well, but for a commercial project.  How would you structure the price for a building prototype vs a custom building?

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    Rebecca Calbert
    Owner/Principal Architect
    Calbert Design Group, LLC
    Kennesaw GA
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  • 3.  RE: Fee structure for house plans that will be used for a 300 home development.

    Posted 04-08-2019 11:02 AM
    I wonder if you could make that fee conversation about value.

    What design work would be needed to make that development as good as it can be?

    Sustainability master plan, siting plans, xeriscaping, pedestrian paths...can it be more compact by way of your added design effort, with set-aside open space? Can you get added fees to focus on the big picture?

    Can you get fees to look at sustainable materials, knowing that all that research will be paid off through duplication?

    Anjali

    Anjali Grant Design LLC
    www.agrantdesign.com
    206-512-4209
    anjali@agrantdesign.com




  • 4.  RE: Fee structure for house plans that will be used for a 300 home development.

    Posted 04-09-2019 05:53 PM
    How many plans and how many elevations? Most residential architects have a fee structure on that basis.

    Don't forget that you will have to carry insurance for 10 years, often past completion of the last home, depending on how many phases and how long each takes.

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    Betsy Nickless, FSDA
    SDA - Orange County Chapter
    Newport Beach CA
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  • 5.  RE: Fee structure for house plans that will be used for a 300 home development.

    Posted 04-09-2019 06:27 PM
    I know back when I was doing retail we would get paid to do a prototype design. Part of the agreement was an additional fee to allow the Owner full rights to the design which they could then hire other architects to build all over the country or world. The idea was that we would also get some of that "roll-out" work. The nice thing about doing it as a prototype design is that you do not have any liability for the ones being site adapted and built by other architects.

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    Stephen Black
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Fee structure for house plans that will be used for a 300 home development.

    Posted 04-12-2019 07:28 PM
    Well hopefully you are using the AIA B101 which covers this issue in Ownership of Design Documents.
    " With the ever‐increasing evolution and expansion of electronic design "documents" and their corresponding ease of transfer and replication, true control over design documents has become increasingly elusive. At the same time, owners increasingly start with the contractual premise that they own all of the design documents prepared for their project. This runs contrary to both default legal principles and historical and present contract models which would have the design professional retain and control the copyright in its design.
    The traditional approach continues to make sense.
    The AIA B101 is a good model for these purposes. Under that approach, the design professional retains all ownership of its design and the client received a license to use the design for construction of the subject project. The latter is further contingent on the client's payment of all fees and costs due under the agreement.
    A consolidated version of the key AIA clauses would provide:
    { Consultant shall be deemed the owner of its Instruments of Service, including the Plans, Drawings and Specifications, and shall retain all common law, statutory and other reserved rights, including copyrights. Consultant grants to the Client a nonexclusive license to use the Instruments of Service solely and exclusively for purposes of constructing, using, maintaining, altering and adding to the Project,
    provided that the Client substantially performs its obligations under this Agreement, including prompt payment of all sums due hereunder. [Based on §7.2 & 7.3]  }

    Where there must be transfer of ownership of the final design documents due to client demands or other requirements, it should still be subject to much of the foregoing and a little more.
    Specifically:
    1. Any acquired rights should be limited to use for the specific project;
    2. It should be expressly contingent on payment of all fees and expenses;
    3. It should release, indemnify, and hold harmless the design professional for any unauthorized use; and it should retain the design professional's right to continued use of the component elements (i.e. details, specifications, etc.) as a part of its ongoing practice.

    The last element is the most unique and most seldom included element of these four objectives. Such a clause might provide:
    Notwithstanding any other provision, Consultant shall retain all rights of ownership and use of its skills, knowledge and experience that have a general applicability, including such skills, knowledge or experience gained by Consultant in connection with performing services for the Project. Such knowledge and experience includes, but is not limited to standard arrangements and configurations, individual standard features, details, and design elements, specifications, general notes, and design templates.
    Such a preservation of intellectual capital is critical to the ongoing evolution and progress of any design practice."

    Sounds like a fun project. Make them interesting.



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    Paul Richards
    Seattle WA
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  • 7.  RE: Fee structure for house plans that will be used for a 300 home development.

    Posted 04-15-2019 05:27 PM
    B107-2010, edit for your local regulations regarding professional practice.

    --
    best regards,
    Joel Niemi
    - Architect
    425.422.4276
    jniemiarchitect@gmail.com
    http://www.linkedin.com/in/jniemiarchitect