Oct 21, 2026 · 4 min · 5 segments
A signed construction contract is an agreement between its parties, so a design change needs the proper authorisation. We look at the architect's role in proposing and documenting adjustments without…
Here's the rule to really lock in.
You know, once the contract is signed, can the architect just change something on the drawings, or the specifications, or quietly adjust a point in the contract? No.
Not without being instructed to, and that holds in every scenario.
A good way to put it, you can't pull the chair out from under people who've just sat down at the table.
Everyone has committed based on what was signed, and you don't get to move it unilaterally.
So what's the proper way to make a change? You initiate a change order, kind of, one that adjusts the schedule and the price, and you do it in coordination with both the client and the contractor.
Here's the everyday version.
The contractor comes to you and says the tile you specified is out of stock.
Genuinely unavailable.
And the closest equivalent costs a dollar more per square foot, which wasn't in the budget when we signed.
So the contractor tells the architect, the architect tells the owner, and the owner says, fine, we'll pay the extra.
Honestly, the architect then initiates the change order.
The contract that was, say, $1,000 becomes $1,010.
That's a change order, and it's a real change to the contract.
And notice it's not only money.
Those replacement tiles might take longer to arrive.
So there's a change to the schedule too.
That coordinated path is the only way a contract gets changed.
There's a sharp line inside this.
The architect cannot change the contract between the client and the contractor.
That one isn't yours, it's not your contract, and it's not your business to alter.
You facilitate changes to the work through change orders, but the agreement between owner and builder is theirs.
And let's be blunt about the worst case, you know, because it's the most instructive.
say you discover you missed a stairwell and it's a code compliance problem you cannot secretly redraw the drawings slip the stair in and tell no one the only proper move is to go to the client and own it we missed the stair we need it let's draw it in and give it to the contractor to price And then, honestly, you hope you're not fired on the spot and sued later for the damages.
You can try to recover from a mistake, but you recover in the open, through the proper channel, kind of.
Here's the rule to really lock in.
You know, once the contract is signed, can the architect just change something on the drawings, or the specifications, or quietly adjust a point in the contract? No.
Not without being instructed to, and that holds in every scenario.
A good way to put it, you can't pull the chair out from under people who've just sat down at the table.
Everyone has committed based on what was signed, and you don't get to move it unilaterally.
So what's the proper way to make a change? You initiate a change order, kind of, one that adjusts the schedule and the price, and you do it in coordination with both the client and the contractor.
Here's the everyday version.
The contractor comes to you and says the tile you specified is out of stock.
Genuinely unavailable.
And the closest equivalent costs a dollar more per square foot, which wasn't in the budget when we signed.
So the contractor tells the architect, the architect tells the owner, and the owner says, fine, we'll pay the extra.
Honestly, the architect then initiates the change order.
The contract that was, say, $1,000 becomes $1,010.
That's a change order, and it's a real change to the contract.
And notice it's not only money.
Those replacement tiles might take longer to arrive.
So there's a change to the schedule too.
That coordinated path is the only way a contract gets changed.
There's a sharp line inside this.
The architect cannot change the contract between the client and the contractor.
That one isn't yours, it's not your contract, and it's not your business to alter.
You facilitate changes to the work through change orders, but the agreement between owner and builder is theirs.
And let's be blunt about the worst case, you know, because it's the most instructive.
say you discover you missed a stairwell and it's a code compliance problem you cannot secretly redraw the drawings slip the stair in and tell no one the only proper move is to go to the client and own it we missed the stair we need it let's draw it in and give it to the contractor to price And then, honestly, you hope you're not fired on the spot and sued later for the damages.
You can try to recover from a mistake, but you recover in the open, through the proper channel, kind of.
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