Hey Everyone,
A good question came up during last Sunday’s Project Management Workshop. The question was whether there would ever be an instance where multiple A201 documents might be used.
A single A201 document is meant to be used on design-bid-build project. It is adopted as a part of the contract documents in the agreements between owner/architect, owner/contractor, and contractor/subcontractor. You might use the same A201 (meaning an identical document) for multiple projects. However, legally this is an individual document unique to each contract between the owner/contractor, even if it is visually the same as another.
The A201 document is per project. However, it depends on what you define a single ‘project’ as. For example, if a secondary expansion is planned for a project 5 years in the future it is likely a separate project from the original with it’s own A201. If the shell of a building is done by one contractor and the interior fit out is done by another each will have their own A201.
If the owner is entering into multiple contracts directly with contractors for a single project they should be using A232™ – 2019, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction, Construction Manager as Adviser Edition. See the chart below. So, if the owner is directly hiring one contractor to do the foundations and another to do the steel then they do not utilize multiple A201 documents. Instead, they utilize one single A232 which is then adopted by reference in owner/architect, owner/contractor, and owner/construction manager agreements.
It’s always good to review the AIA’s explanation of the contracts:
And there was another conversation on the Community related to this question that is a good read through:
Hope this helps!
-Darion