Recently, Conspectus participated in two conferences: Construction Owners Association of America (COAA) and Lean Construction Institute's Lean in Design Forum. Both groups are searching for a means to improve construction project delivery with some..

When starting a new design project, what is actually known? Very little. The relevant design decisions must be made as the project progresses. So how can projects be effectively documented before all decisions are made? UniFormat™!

Successful construction projects rely on complete, accurate, timely, and understandable communication; maximizing all of these reduces the likelihood for disputes to arise.  Unfortunately, many project teams fall short of proper communication, and that's..

First published at Young Architects Forum Connection 16.01.

Specifiers may be one of the best kept secrets on the design team. Specifiers, especially independent specifiers, typically interact with the architectural team, only. Even then, the interaction may be limited to project architects and project managers...

Have you made the connection yourself? Connecting data to make it available and useable for each team will improve efficiency and reduce risk for every construction project. The focus has been on inserting data into BIM to describe the objects the design..

It's a process, not just technical requirements. During design-assist, the architect of record, asks the contractor (usually a specialty subcontractor) to help develop system details and confirm system performance to meet project requirements. Typically..

Construction specifications are arranged by MasterFormat's 50 divisions and thousands of section numbers and titles - everyone knows that. There is a recent trend, at least with our architect clients, toward specifying complete systems and assigning..

It's a debate. The debate is evidenced in all the commercial guide specifications and even CSI's SectionFormat™. Related Requirements is an article heading near the beginning of specification sections. This article gives specifiers an opportunity to list..

When is the architect required to prepare an estimate of the Cost of Work according to AIA Document B101 Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Architect?