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4. Architects

• Avoid the temptation to go straight to a contractor for any library construction project, whether it's a new building or just a bunch of new windows. Design is almost always more complex than it appears, and if bidding is required under law, bid documents must be prepared professionally. A good architect is always a good investment, and, for any library project bigger than a woodshed, an essential investment. In fact, in many cases you won't be able to get a building permit without plans stamped by a licensed architect or engineer.
  
  
• You can locate possible firms in many ways. Among these are recommendations of other libraries, advertising, looking through building issues of library publications, and talking with your state library or other agencies. (Most firms are always seeking commissions, and once word gets out that you're thinking of hiring an architect, architects will find you.)
  
  
• Request information from at least half-a-dozen firms. Ask them for lists of prior projects, including references and specific information on what percentage of each project was their responsibility. Ask them the current status of each project. (Many firms will list projects that were studied but never built.) Ask them to list the key personnel of their firms. If not all services are provided in house, who will provide them? If the firm has done a number of libraries, ask specifically which staff member was the project architect for each library—it's frustrating to find out too late that the firm's library expert has moved on. (Many excellent firms hire outside structural engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, cost estimators, and so on. The decision of these firms not to provide these services in-house is not a failing, nor does it lead to poorer work.)
  
  
• Call prior clients. Are they satisfied now that the job is completed? Was the architect responsive to their needs? Did their building come in on time and under budget? Did the architect do a good job supervising construction? Was there an excessive number of change orders? Has the architect been back since the ten-month post-construction building checkup to see whether the building continues to function satisfactorily? Would you hire her again? (Ask your consultant to help you determine what's "excessive," and bear in mind that the blame for some change orders can be laid on fickle clients who change their minds midstream.)
  
  
• Visit sites of previous work. Talk to staff while you're there—preferably not just the director and board president who were there when the library was built, because they have a lot of ego involved in the project and often cannot (or will not) recognize errors.
  
  
• Interview a limited group of architects—up to three or four. Insist that the person who will be project architect be present at the interview. (Some large firms have sales architects and working architects. You want to interview the architect with whom you will work.) Spend two to three hours interviewing each of a very few firms rather than running many architects through a revolving door. If you try to interview more than five firms, you'll have a hard time getting all your board or building committee members to every interview, and you'll be unfair to the firms applying for your work, since it costs them a surprising amount to make presentations.
  
  
• Whether you like the architect personally is a valid consideration. Working with someone you dislike is never a good idea.
  
  
• After the interviews you will have follow-up questions. Feel free to call architects back for clarification, or call their previous clients one more time.
  
  
• Be sure you know any state laws affecting how you hire your architect. In general, professionals are not hired by low bid. (Illinois has a QBS—Qualifications-Based Selection—law that provides basic rules for hiring professionals.)
  
  
• When hiring an architect—as in the case of hiring any employee or professional—never get involved in discussions with disappointed applicants about why they were not hired. Some applicants for architectural services can be extremely aggressive when requesting explanations concerning hiring decisions, and you need to stand absolutely firm.
  
  
• Be sure you have the assistance of an experienced attorney before you sign a contract for architectural services.
  
  
• Almost everyone uses standard AIA (American Institute of Architects) contract forms, but many issues are negotiable. Among the most important are the basic percentage or flat fee, the portion of the total fee that will be billed at each stage of the project, and the acceptable additional charges. The add-on charges can be extremely expensive, and your lawyer will need to clarify what extra charges will be made (for example) for preparation of grant-application documents, construction administration, grant administration, attendance at local public meetings, and such "reimbursables" as travel and postage costs, bid copies of documents, renderings and models, and so on.
  
  
• It's possible to contract with a team consisting of a local architect and an out-of-town architectural firm specializing in libraries, but there are potential problems. The two firms may fail to work smoothly together, and you may have conflict between the out-of-town designer and the local people who prepare the bid documents and administer the project. It may also be more difficult to pin down responsibility for problems. (Teams consisting of architects and engineers, however, are standard.)
  
  
• In your contract, you can specify that the project architect will stay with your project until it is completed. This means that if that architect leaves the firm, it will have to hire her to complete your project. If your decision to hire a firm is based on the presence of a specific architect in that firm, this kind of agreement is particularly important.
  
  
• The program is your instructions to your architects, and they should treat it as such. Keep your consultant involved to be sure that this happens, and that the plans reflect good library practice.
  
  
• Remember that at all times that you are the owner. The building is yours, and the architect is your employee. You are paying all the costs, and you are the one that has to live in the finished library. Unless it's a matter of violating laws or legal regulations, you can always say "no" and stand your ground. (Bearing mind, of course, that you may possibly be wrong.)
  
  
• Treat your architects fairly. Do not, for example, expect them to do major extra work not called for in your contract without extra compensation.