The American Institute of Architects publishes the industry-recognized standard documents for use in building projects. These are the authoritative and time-tested consensus agreements and other general information and reference documents that have been in existence for 75 years. The AIA periodically reviews these documents with members, owners, contractors and other industry organizations for equity, reasonableness and workability. A national committee of architects, attorneys and other construction professionals updates the documents according to a regular schedule. A major revision of the A201, B141 and related documents was carried out in 1997. A complete listing of AIA Contract Documents appears in the “Document Synopses” which is available from AIA Chicago or the AIA Chicago website (www.aiachicago.org). Because the documents are inter-referenced, only the latest edition of teach should be used.

The use of the standard AIA documents provides the architect, the owner and the contractors with a comprehensive and cohesive set of project documents. If disputes arise on a project, the AIA documents provide a known framework to help reach a resolution.

Copyright laws forbid excerpts from, and photocopied or printed reproductions of the AIA documents; therefore, in general, they must be purchased as original copies if they are intended to be distributed bound into construction documents. As an example, if the General Conditions, A201, tends to be bound into a project manual, a sufficient number of copies must be purchased to provide one for each of the manuals produced.

AIA documents are available in preprinted form and in Electronic Format:

Preprinted Documents
Originals of all AIA documents may be obtained through AIA Chicago, a full service documents distributor. All sales are to be prepaid by cash, check, or credit card. Ordering information may be faxed, mailed, emailed, or delivered to the office. The fax number is 312-670-2422; orders may be placed seven days a week, 24 hours a day. See the Publications section for a list of current documents, a price list and order form, or order online at www.aiachicago.org.

AIA Contract Documents; Electronic Format
This is a computer software system that allows users to print AIA documents in their offices, including provisions for adding information and making modifications. Each change is clearly identified: deletions of original text appear with a line through the words; additions are indicated by an underline or shaded background. The format, type, and other appearance characteristics are controlled automatically. A comprehensive on-line help system provides instructions for using the electronic format document and helpful hints on making documents production cost-effective and efficient. Please contact AIA Chicago at 312-670-7770 to receive your free CD Demo Disk of the program.