Section 1 - Project and Construction Administration
Section 1 tests the paperwork and legal mechanics that follow design: bidding, contract execution, submittals and RFIs, payment certification, change management, and closeout. Questions reward knowing who signs what, who bears which risk, and how money and time shift when scope changes.
Roles and Standard of Care
Under standard owner–landscape architect agreements you administer the contract: review submittals and payment applications, answer RFIs, prepare change documents, and visit the site at intervals appropriate to the stage of work to observe conformance with the contract documents. You do not supervise or control the contractor's means, methods, sequence, or safety program, and site visits do not make you a guarantor of the work. The benchmark is the care and skill ordinarily exercised by professionals on similar projects - not perfection.
The Change and Payment Cycle
- RFI: a clarification; if the answer alters cost or time it must be converted into a modification.
- Change order: signed by owner, contractor, and design professional; adjusts scope, price, time, or all three.
- Construction change directive: owner-directed work issued when price and time are not yet agreed, later folded into a change order.
- Submittal review confirms design intent only; the contractor stays responsible for quantities, dimensions, and field fit.
- Substantial completion: work is complete enough for the owner's intended use; it starts warranties, stops liquidated damages, and typically reduces retainage.
Worked Example
Application No. 3 reports $450,000 of completed work plus $30,000 of stored materials; previous certificates total $300,000; retainage is 10% of completed work only. Earned = $450,000 + $30,000 = $480,000. Retainage = 10% × $450,000 = $45,000. Net due this period = $480,000 − $45,000 − $300,000 = $135,000. Stored materials sit outside the retainage base here because the general conditions allow them only with proof of insurance and owner approval - read the contract rather than applying a default.
Traps That Cost Marks
Treating observation as continuous inspection; reading a "reviewed" submittal stamp as a guarantee; issuing a change order without the owner's signature; applying retainage to stored materials out of habit; confusing substantial with final completion; signing an unconditional final lien waiver before funds clear.