AIABaltimore Bookstore/Purchase Documents page

AIABaltimore Bookstore New Arrivals

The books listed below are new to the Architects Bookstore. As usual, members enjoy a 10% discount throughout the year on all books, cards, and AIA contract documents. Our public hours are 9 – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Thursday. Call ahead please if you need to visit earlier or later.

20 FELLOWS: Paths Taken Lessons Learned, edited by Jamie Cannon, FAIA, is a unique anthology of essays written by the AIA St. Louis members of the College of Fellows, giving their best advice to the young men and women who follow them into the architectural profession. The firms with which they are associated are worldwide in scope. Geography aside – good advice is good advice. AIA St. Louis, 2007, hard cover, $20.

BLUE GUIDE: VENICE, by Alta Macadam, includes guided walking tours, photographs, valuable maps and floorplans of the historic and artistic sites to help you enjoy this beautiful city. It also includes transit, accommodations, and other tourist information. Blue Guides are also available in stock for Southern Italy and England. W.W. Norton, 2007, soft cover, $29.95.

SWISS MADE: New Architecture from Switzerland, by Steven Spier with Martin Tschanz, presents the work of the celebrated studios and architects at the forefront of Swiss design, much of which has never before been published in the United States. These new voices emanate progressive thinking, craftsmanship, simple beauty, and environmental sensitivity. Princeton Architectural Press, 2003, hard cover, $45.

KENT ISLAND: The Land that Once was Eden is a warm and personal account of a place and a time written by Janet Freedman. The story begins with the Native Americans and continues until modernity transformed the land. It includes some fascinating historic photographs and documents. Maryland Historical Society, 2002, hard cover, $22.95.

TEXTILES: A Handbook for Designers, by Marypaul Yates, informs artists with a strong background in basic design and color principles of a market for their creative work – the textile industry. It is also an indispensable reference work for professionals in related fields, and includes terminology, methods, studio and materials, printing and weaving processes, color choices, rendering techniques, and environmental concerns. W.W. Norton, 1996, soft cover, $29.95.

AIABaltimore sells a wide variety of hard copy legal documents useful in the architecture and building process. If you are an AIA architect member and make frequent use of these forms, AIA National has electronic format documents available for lease at 1.800.365.ARCH. For all hard copy documents, please call the AIABaltimore office at 410.625.2585 to place your order. Prices subject to change.

Feel free to make use of the following description list in selecting the documents necessary for your project.

The following document series are all included in our pricelist. Please download the file as a PDF.

A Series (Owner-Contractor) Documents
B Series (Owner-Architect) Documents
C Series (Architect-Other Professionals, e.g. engineers, consultants, etc.)
D Series (Architect-Industry) Series Documents
G Series (Construction Administration) Documents
Miscellaneous Documents Materials or Information

Order the completely redesigned AIA Contract Documents software today! Based on Microsoft® Word, the new software is easy to use. Join the over 18,000 architects, owners, contractors and others who are using it today. Visit http://www.aia.org/documents/demo to see an online demonstration or go to www.aia.org to download the new AIA Contract Documents software.

In November, 2007, the AIA officially released the 2007 Update to AIA Contract Documents. The AIA prepared the 2007 Update, which consists primarily of agreements in the popular A201 family of documents, with input from owners, contractors, attorneys, architects and engineers. The 2007 Update includes nearly 40 contract documents, including new owner/architect agreements.

The AIA, working with the AIA’s Documents Committee, revises the A201 family every ten years to reflect changes in industry trends and practices. Work began on the 2007 Update in 2004, when the AIA solicited industry feedback on the 1997 A201 family of documents from more than a dozen industry organizations representing contractors, subcontractors, engineers, owners, and the attorneys who represent them. Many AIA members participated from committees such as The Committee on the Environment, Technology and Practice, Practice Management, the Small Project Practitioners, and the Risk Management Committee. The drafting process included sending two sets of agreement drafts to these groups for their comments and suggestions, and meeting in person with representatives from many organizations to address their concerns. This process resulted in the publication of updated agreements that take into account the interests of all contracting parties and reflect current industry practices.

In the past, the AIA has sought and received the Associated General Contractors’ endorsement of A201, General Conditions of the Contract for Construction. This year, however, the AGC board of directors voted not to endorse A201–2007. Although the AGC did not provide any reason for not endorsing, the AGC launched its own new documents, called ConsensusDocs, on September 28, 2007; which have intentionally positioned to compete directly with AIA Contract Documents. This quote (ENR March 07) by the AGC’s spokesperson, J. William Ernstrom, Esq., “The AIA 201 documents are going to come very soon as a second choice to the consensus documents,” says a very great deal about the AGC’s motives.

The AGC touts their ConsensusDocs as a product of designers, owners, and contractors but, in fact, no organization representing design professionals took part in the development of the ConsensusDocs. The AIA and the engineering societies, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Professional Engineers, did not participate in the AGC’s new program. Without the involvement of designers, these agreements can hardly be said to reflect “consensus.”

While it is unfortunate news that the AGC has allowed current business interests to prevent it from voting to endorse A201–2007, AIA Contract Documents remain the industry standard. Only the AIA provides the winning combination of fair and balanced content with a state-of-the-art delivery system, AIA Contract Documents software, which generates documents in Microsoft® Word to allow easy editing and collaboration with colleagues and clients. AIA members can be reassured that every possible effort is being made to ensure that AIA Contract Documents remain the most respected and most widely used in the industry.