expand_more How do we charge?

The fees charged by PR-TY for design and documentation vary by project type and location, and can be based on a fixed price, percentage of construction or hourly basis. For work where the scope of the services is unknown it is preferable to work on an hourly basis until the actual extent of the work is known, whereupon we will give a fixed fee. By investing in our services you can be ensured that we will carry out a through exploration of various options for the design of your building or design problem. Through good design, PR-TY will enhance the value of your building and may produce significant savings, especially when it comes to operating, staffing and/or tenanting the building. We are open to discussing alternative fee arrangements that provide the best value to our client.

expand_more What is the typical form of contractual arrangement?

In an ideal world we prefer to be retained hourly for all projects. We realize that this is oftentimes not possible due to competitive bidding processes. Our second choice is to have the pre-design and schematic phases as well as any time required for municipal approvals such as site plan approval or other planning approvals performed on an hourly basis and then when the exact extent of the work is known provide a fixed or percentage fee for the construction documents. We also prefer that the tender and construction phase be carried out on an hourly basis since issues that come up during construction may be the result of situations that were unforeseen and out of our control.

expand_moreHow are specialist consultants involved with a project?

Specialist Consultants can be contracted by us or by the client. In particular we are unable to contract directly geotechnical consultants, surveyors or other specialist environmental consultants. We prefer to assist the client in selecting the necessary specialist consultants and prefer that they contract them directly as this will often result in a lower fee from us. We would still be responsible for co-ordinating them on your behalf and would review and approve their invoices for payment . We realize that this may not be possible or the clients preferences in all cases.

expand_moreIs a contract always required for projects?

We are required by our Professional Association to have a form of written contract for any and all services that we may be providing in order to minimize misunderstandings and be covered by our professional liability insurance. For very small projects this can take the form of a short one page letter or email confirmed by the client from which a P.O. can be issued or for larger projects a traditional Client - Architect agreement on standard forms that can be modified to suit the particulars of the project and the services being provided.

expand_moreHow do we handle bidding and negotiation?

The PR-TY team will provide a complete set of drawings and specification in order to obtain accurate and competitive bid proposals from the contractors. We will work with the client to review all bids and assist in awarding and preparing contracts for construction.