SLIA Part II flashcards
SLIA Part II · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- SLIA Part II
- The second stage of Sierra Leone Institute of Architects professional qualification, normally taken after Part I academic award and a recorded period of practical experience, leading to Part III.
- Architect's seal
- The registered architect's stamp on drawings certifying professional responsibility. Only architects registered with SLIA may seal drawings for statutory approval.
- Planning permission
- Statutory consent from the local planning authority to develop land. It must be obtained before building-plan approval and before construction begins.
- Building plan approval
- Technical vetting of submitted drawings for compliance with building regulations, including structure, fire, sanitation and means of escape, prior to construction.
- Gross internal floor area
- Total floor area measured to the internal face of external walls, including internal partitions and circulation, used for cost planning and planning metrics.
- Plot ratio
- Gross floor area divided by site area. It controls development density and is capped by zoning regulations, so check local limits before design freeze.
- Site coverage
- Building footprint area divided by total site area, expressed as a percentage. It limits how much of the plot may be built on.
- Set-back
- The minimum distance required between a building and the plot boundary or street. It governs daylight, privacy and fire separation and is set by planning rules.
- Plan of work stages
- The staged sequence from briefing through concept, developed and technical design, tender, construction and handover, used to define scope and fee at each appointment.
- Fee percentage method
- Architect's fee expressed as a percentage of construction cost, varying inversely with project size and complexity; small bespoke projects attract higher percentages.
- Lump-sum contract
- A contract where the contractor agrees a fixed price for defined work. Variations and provisional sums adjust the price; risk of quantity error sits largely with the contractor.
- Remeasurement contract
- A contract where work is paid for on measured quantities actually executed, so the contractor is reimbursed for actual quantities rather than a fixed sum.
- Contract administrator
- The architect's role issuing instructions, certifying payment and completion, valuing variations and determining extensions of time fairly between employer and contractor.
- Interim certificate
- A periodic certificate issued by the contract administrator stating the amount due to the contractor at that stage, based on inspected and measured work.
- Practical completion
- The stage at which the works are complete enough for the employer to take beneficial occupation, triggering the defects liability period and release of retention.
- Retention
- A percentage withheld from each payment and released after practical completion and the defects period, securing the employer against uncorrected defects.
- Variation instruction
- A written instruction changing the works, valued by the contract administrator using contract rates or fair valuation, and confirmed in writing to avoid dispute.
- Extension of time
- An award of additional time for completion due to excusable delay, determined by the contract administrator, protecting the contractor from liquidated damages.
- Liquidated damages
- A pre-agreed sum per period of delay deducted from the contractor for late completion, enforceable only if a genuine pre-estimate of loss.
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Insurance covering the architect against claims of professional negligence, usually required by appointment terms and maintained for the limitation period.
- Limitation of liability
- A clause in the appointment capping the architect's financial exposure to a stated sum or multiple of fees, agreed in writing before work starts.
- Copyright in drawings
- Ownership of the design and drawings remains with the architect unless assigned in writing; the client normally receives a licence to use them for the project.
- Appointment agreement
- The written contract between client and architect setting out scope, fee, programme, responsibilities and liability limits; oral appointments create evidential risk.
- Named subcontractor
- A subcontractor selected by the employer or architect and named in the main contract, for whom the main contractor's responsibility is limited by the contract terms.
- Nominated subcontractor
- A subcontractor chosen by the employer and instructed into the main contract, historically creating divided responsibility for delay and defects.
- Design responsibility
- Allocation of who is answerable for design errors. In design-and-build contracts the contractor assumes design liability, altering the architect's role and risk.
- Means of escape
- Protected routes from any point in a building to a place of safety, with limits on travel distance and door widths set by fire regulations.
- Travel distance
- The maximum permitted distance from a point in a building to the nearest exit, set by fire regulations and reduced for higher-risk or single-stair buildings.
- Site inspection duty
- The architect must make regular inspections sufficient to certify work; certifying without inspection is a recognised ground for professional negligence claims.
- Record drawings
- As-built drawings updated to reflect constructed work, issued at handover and retained with project records for the limitation period.
- Defects liability period
- A stated period after practical completion during which the contractor must return and rectify notified defects at no cost to the employer.
- Provisional sum
- An allowance in the contract for work not yet defined, later adjusted to actual cost; its use signals incomplete design at tender.
- Building information modelling
- Digital model-based production of coordinated design and construction information, improving clash detection and quantity extraction across the plan-of-work stages.