Under what condition may the owner and architect rely on the adequacy of the professional design services?

• A. They may rely on adequacy only if all performance and design criteria have been specified in advance.
• B. They may rely in all cases regardless of criteria.
• C. They may rely only if the contractor approves.
• D. They may rely only if the design professional signs a waiver.

Answer: (A)

Relying on the adequacy of professional design services is based on having complete, agreed-upon criteria established before design work begins. When all performance and design criteria are specified in advance, the owner and architect have a clear benchmark, so the design can be checked against those criteria and both parties can trust that the services meet the defined requirements. If criteria aren’t fully defined upfront, the basis for determining adequacy becomes unclear, and risk remains with the owner rather than a shared, defined standard. The other options don’t fit because contractor approval or a waiver isn’t the mechanism that creates that reliable baseline, and there isn’t universal reliance regardless of how well criteria are specified.