PJM UPDATED Exam Questions and
CORRECT Answers
Net-to-gross
Rentable-to-useable
Grossing factor - CORRECT ANSWER -Each of these metrics is a measure of efficiency
(profitability for the owner); especially important in commercial office space construction.
= Net/Gross (less-than 1): Net assignable area=all the spaces needed by the client (offices).
Gross area is the whole building, including structure, mechanical, and circulation spaces not
included in net assignable area.
= Rentable/Useable (greater-than 1): Rentable includes common areas used by all building
tenants like lobbies, stairwells, janitorial closets, mechanical rooms, and elevator shafts.
Landlords charge tenants rent for a pro-rated portion of those spaces. . . so if your company rents
11% of a building floor, you will also pay for 11% of the mechanical room and common lobby
area. Usable=just the area the tenant will occupy to do business, including columns, private
restrooms, private corridors within the office suite, and private storage, but not the lobbies,
janitorial, etc. shared by other tenants. Companies that will lease the floor from the owner
obviously want low rentable/usable values.
= Grossing Factor (greater-than 1): a grossing factor, established during programming, of 1.30
means that you will need to plan on 30sf of mechanical, circulation, etc. space for every 100sf of
office space.
*There are all kinds of varied conventions for how to calculate these. . . Atrium square footage is
usually only counted once but multi-floor mechanical shafts may either be counted once or not
counted at all. Covered walkways and exterior stairs may be counted as 50%, or may not be
counted at all. Sometimes spaces with ceilings lower than 7.5ft aren't counted, and sometimes
only spaces with ceiling heights under 6ft aren't counted. How do you count an extra-wide
corridor in a head trauma rehab facility designed to double as a runway for patients to practice
walking duri
,Zones of occupancy - CORRECT ANSWER -Determines occupant density, usually for
HVAC and ventilation reasons. . . how close, on average, is the nearest person?:
Public (25' radius) for each person
Social (12' radius)
Personal (4' radius)
Intimate (1.5' radius)
A college-town bar will require more ventilation than a bank
If the owner-architect contract stipulates that the architect's fee will be 7% of construction costs,
will the architect be paid for that 7% portion of the contractor's overhead costs? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Yes, a percentage of the contractor's overhead is included in the architect's fee.
The Owner's budget of the Cost of the Work includes general construction costs, and profit, and
overhead.
Business entity concept - CORRECT ANSWER -The business is a separate entity and
financial transactions of the business, therefore, should be kept separate from personal financial
record keeping. Don't pay for your dry cleaning with your firm's credit card, even if you own
100% of the firm and the suit needs to be cleaned for a client meeting.
Accessory space - CORRECT ANSWER -A small space that might otherwise require
classification as a different occupancy group, but doesn't because it is less than ten percent of a
story's floor area. For instance a small office in the corner of a factory floor doesn't need to be
classified as B (which might trigger a fire-rated wall requirement), but can instead be classified
the same as the rest of the factory (F-1).
If the Owner suspends the project, the Architect can... - CORRECT ANSWER -Suspend
work
Require payment for work-to-date
Require payment of delay-caused expenses
Submit a new schedule
,AIA B101 SP - CORRECT ANSWER -Similar to typical B101 contract, with a focus on
Sustainability. The Owner must provide drawings, manuals, and building operational costs,
appeal for certifications, ensure design fits sustainable guidelines, and comply with authorities on
ownership and operations.
Architect's responsibilities to prepare for bidding - CORRECT ANSWER -Finish CDs
Administrate bidding
Update cost estimates
Task dependency - CORRECT ANSWER -The relationship of stop and start times for
tasks
Start-start: align the start times of the steel folks who cut the rebar and the welders
Start-finish (also called a natural dependency): align the finish time of the rebar welders with the
start time of the concrete trucks
Finish-finish: align the finish times of the folks who remove the formwork from the concrete
foundation and the rented pumps that keep the foundation excavation pit dry during construction.
See here for a graphic representation.
Prime contract - CORRECT ANSWER -Prime contracts: Main contract with the owner for
the work with the expectation that some of the work will be completed with the use of
subcontracts. The contractor has a prime contract with the owner, and he hires a plumbing
subcontractor, a concrete subcontractor, a roofing subcontractor etc. using subcontracts.
Multiple prime contracts- The project is fast-tracked, staged, phased, has multiple funding
sources, or there's a CM-as-agent managing a project on behalf of the owner, and the owner
signs multiple prime contracts with a contractor, who in turn, will sign multiple subcontracts: one
for the curtain wall while she waits for the rest of the drawings to be completed (fast track). . one
for the abortion clinic that will be paid for with private funds and one for the attached medical
clinic that will paid for with government funds (multiple funding sources) . . .one for the
construction of the storage facility and one for ongoing maintenance at that same facility to be
provided by the builder after the facility is occupied (multiple stages). . . or one prime contract
for the HVAC contractor and another prime contract for the framing contractor (multiple
phases).
, Articles of B101, Owner-Architect Agreement
See if you can tell yourself (aloud) what each of these contract sections requires
1. Initial Information
2. Architect's Responsibilities
3. Scope of Architect's Basic Services
4. Additional Services
5. Owner's Responsibilities
6. Cost of the Work
7. Copyright and Licenses
8. Claims and Disputes
9. Termination/Suspension
10. Miscellaneous Provisions
11. Compensation
12. Special Terms and Conditions
13. Scope of Agreement - CORRECT ANSWER -1. Initial Information; i.e. identifies
project, budget, schedule
2. Architect's Responsibilities; architect obtains insurance and provides services consistent with
the professional skill and care ordinarily provided by architects practicing in the same or similar
locality under the same or similar circumstances (Standard of Care)
3. Scope of Architect's Basic Services; architect submits a schedule, architect must meet code,
architect facilitates bidding, architect certifies payment to the contractor, architect reviews
contractor's submittals (shop drawings, product samples), "Architect shall consider sustainable
design alternatives" (if you think that "shall consider" sounds like it is a contractual obligation
without teeth to enforce it. . . I agree!)
CORRECT Answers
Net-to-gross
Rentable-to-useable
Grossing factor - CORRECT ANSWER -Each of these metrics is a measure of efficiency
(profitability for the owner); especially important in commercial office space construction.
= Net/Gross (less-than 1): Net assignable area=all the spaces needed by the client (offices).
Gross area is the whole building, including structure, mechanical, and circulation spaces not
included in net assignable area.
= Rentable/Useable (greater-than 1): Rentable includes common areas used by all building
tenants like lobbies, stairwells, janitorial closets, mechanical rooms, and elevator shafts.
Landlords charge tenants rent for a pro-rated portion of those spaces. . . so if your company rents
11% of a building floor, you will also pay for 11% of the mechanical room and common lobby
area. Usable=just the area the tenant will occupy to do business, including columns, private
restrooms, private corridors within the office suite, and private storage, but not the lobbies,
janitorial, etc. shared by other tenants. Companies that will lease the floor from the owner
obviously want low rentable/usable values.
= Grossing Factor (greater-than 1): a grossing factor, established during programming, of 1.30
means that you will need to plan on 30sf of mechanical, circulation, etc. space for every 100sf of
office space.
*There are all kinds of varied conventions for how to calculate these. . . Atrium square footage is
usually only counted once but multi-floor mechanical shafts may either be counted once or not
counted at all. Covered walkways and exterior stairs may be counted as 50%, or may not be
counted at all. Sometimes spaces with ceilings lower than 7.5ft aren't counted, and sometimes
only spaces with ceiling heights under 6ft aren't counted. How do you count an extra-wide
corridor in a head trauma rehab facility designed to double as a runway for patients to practice
walking duri
,Zones of occupancy - CORRECT ANSWER -Determines occupant density, usually for
HVAC and ventilation reasons. . . how close, on average, is the nearest person?:
Public (25' radius) for each person
Social (12' radius)
Personal (4' radius)
Intimate (1.5' radius)
A college-town bar will require more ventilation than a bank
If the owner-architect contract stipulates that the architect's fee will be 7% of construction costs,
will the architect be paid for that 7% portion of the contractor's overhead costs? - CORRECT
ANSWER -Yes, a percentage of the contractor's overhead is included in the architect's fee.
The Owner's budget of the Cost of the Work includes general construction costs, and profit, and
overhead.
Business entity concept - CORRECT ANSWER -The business is a separate entity and
financial transactions of the business, therefore, should be kept separate from personal financial
record keeping. Don't pay for your dry cleaning with your firm's credit card, even if you own
100% of the firm and the suit needs to be cleaned for a client meeting.
Accessory space - CORRECT ANSWER -A small space that might otherwise require
classification as a different occupancy group, but doesn't because it is less than ten percent of a
story's floor area. For instance a small office in the corner of a factory floor doesn't need to be
classified as B (which might trigger a fire-rated wall requirement), but can instead be classified
the same as the rest of the factory (F-1).
If the Owner suspends the project, the Architect can... - CORRECT ANSWER -Suspend
work
Require payment for work-to-date
Require payment of delay-caused expenses
Submit a new schedule
,AIA B101 SP - CORRECT ANSWER -Similar to typical B101 contract, with a focus on
Sustainability. The Owner must provide drawings, manuals, and building operational costs,
appeal for certifications, ensure design fits sustainable guidelines, and comply with authorities on
ownership and operations.
Architect's responsibilities to prepare for bidding - CORRECT ANSWER -Finish CDs
Administrate bidding
Update cost estimates
Task dependency - CORRECT ANSWER -The relationship of stop and start times for
tasks
Start-start: align the start times of the steel folks who cut the rebar and the welders
Start-finish (also called a natural dependency): align the finish time of the rebar welders with the
start time of the concrete trucks
Finish-finish: align the finish times of the folks who remove the formwork from the concrete
foundation and the rented pumps that keep the foundation excavation pit dry during construction.
See here for a graphic representation.
Prime contract - CORRECT ANSWER -Prime contracts: Main contract with the owner for
the work with the expectation that some of the work will be completed with the use of
subcontracts. The contractor has a prime contract with the owner, and he hires a plumbing
subcontractor, a concrete subcontractor, a roofing subcontractor etc. using subcontracts.
Multiple prime contracts- The project is fast-tracked, staged, phased, has multiple funding
sources, or there's a CM-as-agent managing a project on behalf of the owner, and the owner
signs multiple prime contracts with a contractor, who in turn, will sign multiple subcontracts: one
for the curtain wall while she waits for the rest of the drawings to be completed (fast track). . one
for the abortion clinic that will be paid for with private funds and one for the attached medical
clinic that will paid for with government funds (multiple funding sources) . . .one for the
construction of the storage facility and one for ongoing maintenance at that same facility to be
provided by the builder after the facility is occupied (multiple stages). . . or one prime contract
for the HVAC contractor and another prime contract for the framing contractor (multiple
phases).
, Articles of B101, Owner-Architect Agreement
See if you can tell yourself (aloud) what each of these contract sections requires
1. Initial Information
2. Architect's Responsibilities
3. Scope of Architect's Basic Services
4. Additional Services
5. Owner's Responsibilities
6. Cost of the Work
7. Copyright and Licenses
8. Claims and Disputes
9. Termination/Suspension
10. Miscellaneous Provisions
11. Compensation
12. Special Terms and Conditions
13. Scope of Agreement - CORRECT ANSWER -1. Initial Information; i.e. identifies
project, budget, schedule
2. Architect's Responsibilities; architect obtains insurance and provides services consistent with
the professional skill and care ordinarily provided by architects practicing in the same or similar
locality under the same or similar circumstances (Standard of Care)
3. Scope of Architect's Basic Services; architect submits a schedule, architect must meet code,
architect facilitates bidding, architect certifies payment to the contractor, architect reviews
contractor's submittals (shop drawings, product samples), "Architect shall consider sustainable
design alternatives" (if you think that "shall consider" sounds like it is a contractual obligation
without teeth to enforce it. . . I agree!)
