Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
It is by no means rare for an architect to be asked to carry out a full service for a client
but for the client to decide to proceed without the architect for the construction stage of the
project. Sometimes a client will engage an architect only for the production of construction
drawings and the obtaining of all necessary statutory permissions. One assumes that the cli-
entismotivatedbyadesiretosavethecostsofprofessionalfeesforcontractadministration.
Clients may sometimes try to get the architect to agree to be available to visit site or simply
answer questions over the telephone as and when required by the client or by the contractor.
Architectsarenaturallyconcernedabouttheirliabilities, forexampleifthereareanydefects
in the drawings which no one notices until the project is complete. Is it not the case that the
clienthaspaidforasetofdrawingswhichshouldbeperfectandthatanyerrorsondrawings
leading to defective construction are entirely the architect's responsibility?
Liketheanswerstomostgeneral questions,theanswertothisoneisthatitalldependson
the particular circumstances. A good rule of thumb for architects is that they should either
accept commissions for a full service or for a partial service, but never under any circum-
stances for a mixture of the two. Where an architect carries out a full service in connection
with a traditional contract, it is clear that the architect is liable for any failure in the design
or any negligent advice given during the progress of the Works.
Where the architect is acting as contract administrator and regularly inspecting the work
as it progresses, it is likely that any discrepancies or errors in the drawings will be picked
up and corrected as the work progresses. If not discovered until after construction has taken
place, the architect may be liable for the consequences, after taking account of whether the
contractor had a duty to warn of the error in the particular circumstances. Some discrepan-
cies are virtually inevitable in any set of drawings of any complexity. Although the architect
hasadutytoprovidecorrectinformationtothecontractor,minorerrorsaresomethingwhich
are generally recognised and dealt with in practice as the work proceeds.
If the architect is employed only up to tender stage and at the client's request ceases work
at that point and takes no further part in the project, neither visiting the site nor answering
questions over the telephone, it is likely that the architect will have no liability for the con-
sequences of errors on the drawings which lead to defects in construction. That is because
theclienthasceasedtorelyonthearchitect aftertenderstage,relyingfromthenonwardson
failure to discover and deal with defects on the drawings will depend on the extent to which
the contractor is aware and accepts that it is relied upon by the client. The danger for the ar-
