Award

FEBRUA RY 2018 | 5 PERSPECTIVE F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 | V O L U M E 3 2 | N U M B E R 1 PUBLISHER Dan Chapman dchapman @ canadawide.com EDITOR Natalie Bruckner-Menchelli nbmenchelli @ canadawide.com ART DIRECTOR Scott Laurie slaurie @ canadawide.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Robin Brunet Laurie Jones Stacey McLachlan Susan Pederson Zuzanna Wodzynska PRODUCTION MANAGERS Kristina Borys Kirsty Senior PRODUCTION SUPPORT TECHNICIAN Ina Bowerbank ACCOUNT MANAGER Alexander Sugden asugden @ canadawide.com ADVERTISING COORDINATOR + DESIGN Allie Davison adavison @ canadawide.com AWARD MAGAZINE HEAD OFFICE 604.473.0316 CHAIRMAN, CEO Peter Legge, obc, lld. (hon) PRESIDENT Samantha Legge, mba SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF INTEGRATION Brad Liski VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES Rebecca Legge (on leave) VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT MARKETING Ryan McKenzie VICE PRESIDENT OF DIGITAL Kevin Hinton VICE PRESIDENT OF HR & ADMIN Joy Ginete-Cockle VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE Sonia Roxburgh EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR Rick Thibert DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL AND CUSTOM PUBLISHING Michael McCullough DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION Kim McLane DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION Tracy McRitchie SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR Brian Fakhraie APPLICATION SUPPORT ANALYST Eileen Gajowski ACCOUNTING Terri Mason CIRCULATION MANAGER Ashley Ringham (on leave) CIRCULATION Jacquie Aitken Rhiannon Jones Kelly Kalirai Lori North EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Pina Naccarato Award magazine is published six times a year by Canada Wide Media Limited. Head office: 230, 4321 Still Creek Drive, Burnaby BC V5C 6S7. Phone 604.299.7311, Fax 604.299.9188. Send covers of undeliverable copies to address above. Publications Mail Agreement No. 40065475. © 2012. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission of the publisher. Award is distributed to architects, interior designers, landscape architects, consulting engineers, specification writers, development companies and major construction companies throughout Western Canada and Ontario. For subscription information call 604.299.1023 or email: subscriptions@canadawide.com National Library No. ISSN 1202-5925. Printed in Canada by Transcontinental LGM Graphics. Award magazine welcomes your letters, corporate announcements or company information. The statements, opinions and points of view expressed in articles published in this magazine are those of the authors and publication shall not be deemed to mean that they are necessarily those of the publisher, editor or Canada Wide Media Limited. The acceptance and publication of advertisement of products and services does not indicate endorsement of such products or services. The publishers cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs. by MICHAEL COX, maa FRAIC president | Royal Architectural Institute of Canada I n a recent presentation to the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources, the RAIC urged the federal government to review procurement practices that take a lowest-fee approach and transfer uninsurable risks to professionals. We believe that such practices stifle the creativity and innovation needed for the building sector to continue to deliver high-performance buildings and meet increasingly aggressive sus- tainability targets. Architects, among other groups, were invited by the Senate committee to contribute to its study on the effects of transitioning to a low-carbon economy to meet the federal government's targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions. There's no doubt the built environment plays a major role in the shift to a low-carbon economy. In Canada's urban centres, build- ings are said to be responsible for about half of all emissions. But, it's not solely a technical fix. How projects are defined, how consul- tants are selected, and the resulting relationships with clients all radically shape the potential outcome. For example, the transfer of uninsurable risks to professionals is a serious impediment to innovation because it creates a risk- averse and adversarial environment. The RAIC presentation noted that successful projects require a holistic and integrated approach to the design and construction process, and collaborative delivery models. It also pointed to a pro- curement model that values quality, skill, and innovation. Qualifications Based-Selection (QBS) has support from virtually every national professional services association in Canada. It has been legislated for architectural and engineering projects in the U.S. at both the national and state levels for almost 50 years. Several months ago, the RAIC, the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies (ACEC), and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) participated in a workshop, organized by a RAIC member, on the value of QBS. The outcome of that work- shop was to begin discussing a pilot project to explore the benefits of QBS on several PSPC projects. As Canada's single largest owner of buildings and a major lessor, the federal government has a central role in setting the highest stan- dards of excellence and environmental sustainability. This includes fair contracts, which among other things, share risk equitably. Senator Howard Wetston wished to know more about uninsur- able risk. The RAIC, with help from legal and risk management experts provided by Pro-Demnity Insurance Company and the Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis, followed up with a response. I'd like to share some of the key points. In recent years, some institutions, municipalities, government entities, and corporations have amended standard contracts for design and construction projects to include provisions that contain uninsurable conditions, impose unreasonable liability, transfer risk, and expose architects to possible charges of professional miscon- duct by regulators. They are, in effect, transferring client or owner's risk onto the architect. For instance: • Express warranties, guarantees, indemnities or penalty clauses. These conditions do not reflect reasonable professional obliga- tions under common law and as a result, can leave architects excluded from coverage. • Agreeing to contractual obligations that inflate the duty of care to parties other than the client, such as agents, shareholders, and contractors may lead to gaps in coverage. • Promises to indemnify the owner for legal costs incurred in cer- tain situations can easily mount into six figures. In recent years, there has been a move to withhold fees in case of a dispute before the case is settled and the architect has a chance to prove his or her innocence. This compromises the abil- ity of an architect to pay his staff or to pay downstream fees to other consultants. Agreeing to arbitration in case of a dispute may put an architect in conflict with their insurer and may void coverage by the insurer. Some RFPs require an architect to act as a procurement ser- vice to retain a broad array of specialists. Many of these have little or nothing to do with the architect's services on the project. The architect assumes contractual liability for these consultants but has no input into the work. In 2018, the RAIC will continue advocating for fair contracts, fees, and procurement processes. Support these efforts by renew- ing your membership or becoming a member. It's fast and easy at raic.org or 1-844-856-RAIC (7242) A Risk Assessment The transfer of uninsurable risks to professionals is a serious impediment to innovation … " "

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