Section 804IAC1.1-7-25. Building cost analysis

   (a) An important responsibility of the architect is to evaluate the probable project construction cost. Accurate estimates are crucial to the client. They influence decisions involving basic design, selection of building products and systems, and construction scheduling. Long term maintenance, as well as tax impact of material and system selection (value engineering), are additional factors which bear on development of the project. For their own preliminary analysis, most architects use computations based on area and/or volume. Such methods require a limited amount of experience to adjust the unit cost to special conditions of the project. Estimates of cost provided later in the design process are frequently made on the basis of labor and material requirements (quantity surveys), a method which requires a more specialized knowledge of construction costs.

  (b) Possible intern activities include the following:

(1) Calculating the area and volume of a project in accordance with AIA Document D101 "Architectural Area and Volume of Buildings".

(2) Making a simplified quantity takeoff of selected materials and preparing comparative cost analyses.

(3) Assisting in the preparation of cost estimates of each stage of a project.

(4) Reviewing various references and text utilized in cost estimating.

(5) Assisting in the preparation of cost analyses for current projects, using a variety of indices (cost/square foot, cost/cubic foot, unit use, etc.).

(6) Conducting a survey of current cost per square foot of various types of projects, using local Dodge Reports, Builder's Exchange reports, etc.

(Board of Registration for Architects and Landscape Architects; 804 IAC 1.1-7-25; filed Jan 22, 1990, 5:00 p.m.: 13 IR 1058; filed Nov 29, 1995, 8:00 a.m.: 19 IR 668; readopted filed May 10, 2001, 2:40 p.m.: 24 IR 3235; readopted filed Oct 4, 2007, 3:37 p.m.: 20071031-IR-804070042RFA; readopted filed Nov 25, 2013, 9:19 a.m.: 20131225-IR-804130276RFA)