5.  What have former clients described as your firm’s strengths?

· Our 30 years of experience as the Architect of Record on over 400 building projects

· Out experience with historic buildings

· Our graphic and communication skills

· Our diversified experience and knowledge

· Our commitment to making the project successful

· Our leadership ability in the design and construction process

· Our listening skills

· Our computerization of services

6. Who does your on-site project supervision? Discuss your method of supervision. 

The architect of record and the project architect regularly inspect the project.  We find that 80% of the problems are prevented during design and shop drawing review phases. On-site project supervision prevents and

resolves the other 20% of the problems.  We work with the contractor to lead the process, provide continuity and experience to make a successful project.

7. How do you handle change orders?

Our firm handles change orders through procedures defined in General Conditions of Construction,

AIA Form A201. Basically, the procedure is the following:

a. The Architect prepares a Request for Proposal

b. The Contractor submits a price for the Proposal Request

c. The Architect evaluates the proposed price and makes a recommendation to the Owner

d. Upon Owner’s approval, the architect prepares the change order for signatures

e. The Owner, contractor and architect sign the written change order

f. The Contractor begins the work

8. How long does it take between preliminary drawings and final drawings and specifications?

For a $2,000,000 project, we anticipate the following schedule:

Schematic Design Phase (20% of the work): 60 days, or 45 days with a design charrette at the beginning

Design Development Phase (15% of the work): 60 days

Construction Documents Phase (40% of the work): 90-120 days

Bidding Phase (5% of the work): 30 days

Construction Phase (20% of the work): 240-360 days

For a $500,000 project, we anticipate about half the time required by a $2,000,000 project.

9. How do you prepare your cost estimates?

We prepare our cost estimates during the schematic design phase by utilizing our firm’s computerized database, based on actual schedule of values and quantity take-off of our previous projects. This is cross-referenced with national data bases. 

We continually advise the owner as to how alternative design issues and market conditions will affect the project cost.

We propose alternatives when needed to reduce the scope of work to match the project budget.

We prepare cash flow projections for the owner during the design phase and update them after the contractor is selected.

10. What are the firm’s best renovation, new construction and addition projects?

Crawfordsville District Public Library, a new construction project

Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County, renovation project

Girardot Strauch & Company, a renovation project

Tippecanoe County Public Library Branch, a new construction project

Flora-Monroe Township Public Library, as an addition to an existing building

11. What are your fee structure and rates?

We offer fee structures for Basic Services as defined in AIA Form B141.

The following are five alternative architectural and engineering fee formats which we use:

Percentage basis

Fixed fee basis

Per gross square foot of building

Hourly basis: See enclosed rate schedule

Hourly, with a fixed maximum 

If we have a fixed fee or fixed maximum, we will develop a detailed scope of work with our contract. If the scope of work changes substantially after the contract is signed, or interior design finishes and furniture are added, we will prepare an addendum to our contract for the owner’s signature.

We prefer a percentage type of agreement so that our compensation automatically adjusts to the scope of work, so that we do not have to re-negotiate our fee when the scope of work changes.

12. Why should H.L. Mohler & Associates, P.C. be selected for design services?

We are a creative firm and want to grow with our clients. We will design a building identity and image using tried and true methods. We will work with the client to develop individual identity. The client’s project is very important to the success of our business plan.

We will listen to the owner’s and user’s needs. This makes every project different and prevents our work from becoming repetitive, type cast and predictable.