Construction administration is the phase of architectural service that most clients understand least before they start a project, and appreciate most by the time it ends. It is also the phase most commonly dropped from a proposal to reduce fees, and the one whose absence is most consistently expensive. This post explains what construction administration actually involves, what the legal language around it means, and why it matters for the quality and cost of your finished building.
What construction administration is
Construction administration, often abbreviated CA, is the architect's role during the construction phase of a project. Once a building permit is issued and a contractor begins work, the design drawings become a construction contract. The architect's job during CA is to administer that contract on behalf of the client, verify that the work is being built in general conformance with the drawings, and make decisions when questions arise in the field.
In practice, CA involves regular site visits to observe the work in progress, reviewing and responding to Requests for Information from the contractor, reviewing shop drawings and product submittals, issuing site instructions when the work needs to be clarified or corrected, and certifying progress draws so the client knows when to release payment to the contractor. It also involves managing the inevitable gap between what the drawings show and what conditions on site reveal once construction is underway.
A project that runs from permit to occupancy without any field questions, substitution requests, or unforeseen site conditions does not exist. CA is the service that manages all of it.
What "reviewed, not inspected" means
When an architect visits a construction site during CA, the standard of service is observation and general review, not inspection. This distinction matters and is worth understanding clearly.
An architect doing CA visits the site periodically, typically every one to two weeks during active construction, and reviews the work visible at the time of the visit. The architect is not present continuously, is not responsible for supervising the contractor's means and methods, and is not certifying that every element of the work has been checked. The contractor is responsible for supervising the work and ensuring it meets the contract documents. The architect is responsible for reviewing the work at a general level and flagging non-conformance when it is observed.
This is not a limitation — it is an appropriate division of responsibility. The contractor has qualified tradespeople on site full time. The architect's role is design oversight, not construction supervision. What it means practically is that CA is most effective when combined with a capable and organised contractor, and least effective as a substitute for one.
What gets resolved during construction administration
The volume of decisions that arise during construction on a custom home is larger than most clients anticipate going into a project. Some of these are minor: a light fixture is discontinued and an equivalent needs to be selected. Some are significant: the structural engineer's drawings and the architectural drawings show a discrepancy at a beam pocket that needs to be resolved before framing can proceed.
Common CA issues on a custom home include:
- Requests for Information: The contractor has a question about how something is to be built that is not fully resolved in the drawings. The architect responds with a written answer or a supplemental detail.
- Shop drawing review: Fabricated items like windows, millwork, steel elements, and mechanical equipment are submitted as shop drawings before manufacture. The architect reviews these to confirm they match the design intent before production begins.
- Substitution requests: A specified product is unavailable or the contractor proposes an alternative. The architect reviews whether the substitute meets the design and performance requirements.
- Site instructions: A condition encountered during construction differs from what the drawings assumed. The architect issues a written instruction resolving how to proceed.
- Progress payment certification: The contractor submits a progress claim for work completed. The architect reviews the claim against the work observed on site and certifies the amount the client should pay.
What it costs to skip construction administration
The most common reason clients drop CA from an architectural contract is to reduce fees. This is understandable. CA typically adds 2 to 4 percent to an architectural fee, which on a $1.5 million construction budget is $30,000 to $60,000. That is a meaningful number.
What that number needs to be weighed against is the cost of the decisions that will be made without an architect present. On a custom home, those decisions will be made by the contractor. Some contractors will make them well and in the spirit of the design. Others will resolve ambiguity in the way that is fastest or cheapest to build, which is not always the same thing as the design intent.
The gap between a set of permitted drawings and a well-detailed, well-coordinated finished building is real on every project. CA is the service that closes it. Projects without CA regularly produce outcomes that require post-completion modifications, some of which are expensive and some of which are simply permanent compromises. The savings on the fee are often recovered in full by the first significant substitution that goes unreviewed.
The contractor builds what is easiest to build. The architect's job during construction is to make sure the easiest thing to build is also the right thing to build.
Construction administration and the architect's legal obligations
In Alberta, the Alberta Association of Architects (AAA) Practice Guidelines establish that architects providing full services are expected to perform construction review as a component of those services. In British Columbia, the AIBC similarly includes construction administration within the scope of full architectural services under the Tariff of Fees. Both registrations carry professional liability attached to the design, which means an architect who provides drawings but does not perform CA retains design responsibility while having limited ability to monitor whether the design was built correctly.
This creates a professional and practical tension. An architect who signs and seals a set of drawings has put their stamp on the design. Whether the building was built to those drawings is a separate question, and one the architect can only answer through CA.
How to structure construction administration with your architect
CA is most effective when its scope is agreed before construction begins. Key questions to clarify with your architect are: how frequently will site visits occur and at what construction milestones, who is responsible for responding to contractor RFIs and within what timeframe, what is the process for reviewing and approving substitutions, and how will progress payment certification work.
The right level of CA involvement scales with project complexity. A straightforward single-family home with a well-organised builder may be well served by biweekly site visits and a clear RFI process. A complex project with custom fabrication, multiple consultants, and a tight construction schedule benefits from more frequent architect presence and tighter coordination protocols. Establish this scope clearly in your contract, and treat it as a budget line that is as important as the design fee itself.