Design consultancy services for the refurbishment of the building Italy House, new premises of the Consulate General of Italy and Italian Cultural Institute

Deadline clarification

Currency clarification

Having looked at the tender documentation, there seems to be a discrepancy about the services you require between what stated in the title and in the tender document. Could you please clarify if Employer Agent (Project Management and Cost Management) services are required? Also could you please confirm that you intend to appoint an Architect as a single point of reference for all of the required services, including Employer Agent if required

Could you please provide us with a copy of the outline design proposals (drawings) that the published cost plan has been based on?

Which is the correct amount of the tender? The tender documentation, specifically the “Cost Plan”, indicates the amount of 150.840,00 pounds while on the website the same amount is stated in Euros.

Will the execution of the works referred to in this tender project be awarded through a Design and Built tender?

Will the executive project, which form the basis of the works tender, must be approved, and validated according to the provisions of the Italian law by the MAECI technical offices?

 

Based on what is indicated in point 4 of the call for tenders, we would like to have a clarification about the possibility for our company to participate in the tender. In fact, being our company based in Italy, the same is registered with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Professional Order and not with those indicated by the invitation to tender (England, Wales and Scotland). However, we would like to point out that the technical director of our company is registered in the English Register/Order of Architects ARB (Architects Registration Board). We also point out that our company was registered in 2020, and so from less than 5 years, nevertheless in accordance with the Italian law ex D.Lgs 50/2016, it is known that for the first 5 years from the establishment of the company, the qualifications of the professional partners and technical directors may be valid for the company itself, a condition which for our company fulfills the requirement expose by the tender. In reason of that we think that the application of an exclusion criterion linked to the existence of the company for more than 5 years would be considered a violation of the current Italian regulations relating to the assignment of professional rules and jobs by an Italian public institution. In addition to this we would like to know if all the figures indicated in point 4.2 of the call for tenders must be included in the working group or if, with reference to Italian legislation, it is fair that the technical director of our company is qualified to carry out each individual professional service required.

In the Invitation to Tender, paragraph 2.1 reads “Develop the Preliminary Design to allow for: Measured survey drawings” but in the Preliminary Document the paragraph 3.9 reads “a full measured survey has been commissioned by the Consulate General of Italy and carried out by Brennan Associates”. Please could you clarify whether the appointed team will need to also provide a measured survey of the building? And if that is the case, please could you clarify why the survey carried out by Brennan Associates cannot be adopted? Which additional requirements the survey will need?


 

In the Preliminary Document, the paragraph 1.7 reads “…a single consultant is to be appointed to provide all the required architectural, interior designing, landscaping, …” but in the cost plan there was no allowance for landscaping. Could you clarify if landscaping design is a service required by this tender?


 

Please could you clarify the consultant role during construction? The Invitation to Tender is not clear in defining the responsibilities for contract administration. Is the client agent going to do the contract administration? In a Design and Build contract the Design team will be usually novated to the Contractor and will not be able to act as client agent.

 

The Invitation to Tender has not included any time or service allowance for the preparation submission and approval of a Building Warrant. The document refers to a Building Inspector involvement which is not part of the legal procedure for statutory approvals in Scotland (it only applies to the English system). The Building Warrant stage was omitted because of a mistake or the Consulate holds a Crown dispensation for the nature of the building? 

Please clarify whether the anticipated building contract will be Design and Build or other (Ref ECI Preliminary Document item 7.1 – “advise on appropriate form of building contract” whilst in 1.8 “the main contractor is to be procured on a Design and Build basis….”).

Do minimum turnover and insurance covers apply to the lead designer or to each consulting body within the consortium?

Are relevant past project examples important prerequisites for compliance?

 

Can relevant past project examples out with the five years’ timescale be included for information or will this disqualify us?

 

Can photos and brief descriptions of past project examples be included/embedded in the Tender Information document, Evaluation Criteria form?

 

Is there a maximum word count for our answers in the Tender Information document, Evaluation Criteria form?

 

Can we include an appendix with individual projects schedules of the projects?

 

Please note: the Scottish Building Control application and approval processes does differ from the English system. There are no approved inspectors within Scotland, all approvals must be sought from the local council authority and building control applications (referred to as Building Warrant Applications in Scotland). It is advisable that the Client factors the associated timescale for the approval process since no work is legally permitted to commence without a warrant/approval being in place.

Can an extension of time for the submission be considered including an extension to the question period due to the Christmas and New Year holiday period? Collating the necessary information in time is proving difficult.

 

We understand that the existing building construction is steel and concrete. Are structural drawings of the existing building available and/OR are you able to confirm whether the slabs are solid or holorib?

 

Amendment Notice