What is Design-Build?

Design-build is an integrated delivery process that has been embraced by the world's great civilizations. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Code of Hammurabi (1800 BC) fixed absolute accountability upon master builders for both design and construction. In the succeeding millennia, projects ranging from cathedrals to cable-stayed bridges, from cloisters to corporate headquarters, have been conceived and constructed using the paradigm of design-build.

Return to the time-honored approach of the Master Builder, where a single source has absolute accountability for both design and construction. When the citizens of classical Greece envisioned their great temples, public buildings and civil works, master builders were engaged to both design and construct these monumental structures. Master builders accepted full responsibility for integrating conceptual design with functional performance. To assume anything less than complete accountability for delivering a project was unthinkable. Throughout each massive logistical undertaking, they commanded skilled craftsmen, procured time-tested materials, and controlled every aspect of the project. A master builder with the chief architect, engineer and builder molded into one. Enduring structures such as the Parthenon and the Theatre of Dionysus are testimony to an age and a process that are greatly admired, though the process was thought to be virtually abandoned by modern designers and constructors.

Today, however, there is a resurgence of the master builder's approach in the new world. Informed owners have begun asking practitioners to take more than just an artistic (and more than simply a means and methods) interest in their facilities. Steeped in the work ethic exemplified by the ancient master builders, today's design-build process offers reassurance that the design and construction industry can deliver comprehensive services. This valued assurance can only be provided by a singular source.

Design-builders want full accountability for architecture, engineering and construction. In fact, like the ancient Greek master builder, they insist on it. By knowledgeably pursuing design quality, and by effectively controlling costs and schedule, a design-builder makes certain that concept-to-completion is more than idle discourse. It is a reality carved in stone.

Benefits of Design-Build

It is important to note that the design-build method, while not focused on saving the owner construction costs, nonetheless often saves the owner money on the overall project. The combined effects of carrying a construction loan (which typically carries a higher interest rate than permanent financing) and an earlier useful on-line date usually yields considerable overall profitability to the project and may make seemingly unfeasible projects into genuine opportunities.

The compression is an important aspect of the implementation of this system. Other attributes include:

• enhanced communication between the service provider and the client
• increased accountability by the service provider
• single source project delivery, and
• a value based project feedback system

Enhanced communication
Because the design parameters of a project are being developed along with the budgetary goals construction methodologies and budget conditions being weighed simultaneously, a project is more likely to be realized than with pure design approach. The owner has greater access to the "team" working on project development as the project is being developed. This efficiency is not a negative "short cut" as a rule, but rather the keystone to the success of the Design & Build model.

Accountability
Rather than a parcelized level of responsibility of the classic design-bid-build, design-build provides an integrated solution for the owner or client. This moves projects away from the "finger-pointing" that is often commonplace in contemporary construction projects, and allows the owner to look to one entity with any questions or concerns.

Single Source
Instead of having several contractors and consultants, an owner has just one entity to deal with. Design revisions, project feedback, budgeting, permitting, construction issues, change orders, and billing can all be routed through the design-build firm. This single point of contact allows a certain degree of flexibility for the owner. Most design-builders will leverage that flexibility for the owner's benefit by continually refining the construction program to maximize the owner's value at the completion of the project.

Value-based project feedback
Typically, in order for a contractor to bid on a project, very specific details relating to the methods and materials must be given to avoid any ambiguity and to make an "apples to apples" comparison of bids. In a design-build context, the owner, the owner's other consultants, and the design-builder can work together to determine what methods and materials will maximize the owner's value. In instances where marginally more expensive materials, designs, or construction methods might yield a higher return on investment for the owner than those of lower cost, the owner is Complimentary to adjust the project's program without having to re-bid the entire project.

Almost 70% of traditional contracts end up over budget, compared to D&B which is only around 25-30% over budget. The overage of a D&B project is generally owner driven whereas the overage in the more traditional method tends to be a result.