Which statement best describes the architect's responsibility for supervising the contractor's work?

• A. The architect is responsible for exhaustive inspections of the contractor's work.
• B. The architect is partially responsible for the contractor's duties.
• C. The architect has no responsibilities over the acts or omissions by the contractor or subcontractor.
• D. The architect must personally supervise every activity on site.

Answer: (C)

The key idea is that the architect does not supervise the contractor’s day-to-day work. Under the AIA A201 framework, the architect administers the contract and observes the work to verify conformance with the contract documents, review submittals, and reject nonconforming work that must be corrected. The contractor, not the architect, is responsible for the means, methods, techniques, sequences, and safety of construction. Because of that separation of duties, the best description is that the architect has no responsibilities over the acts or omissions of the contractor or subcontractor. The other options imply a level of daily control or exhaustive on-site supervision that the architect does not provide, which is not how the roles are defined.