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.
Advantages of the Design/Build Process
Price
Certainty. With the "stipulated price" method of
implementing design-build, the customer has the best
certainty of the cost of the building at the outset
of the project. This is because the agency specifies
what it is willing to pay for a building before it
solicits proposals from design-build contractors for
the configuration, features, and materials they are
willing to provide for the specified price.
Agency
May Avoid Conflicts and Disputes. Because we have
in-house an Architect and Engineers we are all part
of the same design-build entity, and the owner is
not the guarantor of the completeness and accuracy
of the work of the architect/engineer, the owner
will avoid any conflicts and disputes that can arise
between the architect/engineer and construction
contractor. The One Source Responsibility of the
delivery is an ideal situation for the owner as they
are able to concentrate on the project and not on
mediation.
Builder Involved in Design Process. We are involved
in the design process from the beginning and can
provide helpful insights on construction materials
and methods that can make the design more efficient
and less costly to construct.
Faster
Project Delivery. By overlapping design and
construction to some extent, and by reducing
conflicts between designer and builder, design-build
can usually deliver a project faster than the
design-bid-build approach. With large projects,
however, this may be less of an advantage because of
the extra time needed for competitors to prepare
their statements of qualifications and technical
proposals.
Agency
Needs Less Technical Staff. Under design-build, the
owner does not have to review the accuracy and
completeness of the architect/engineer's work. Thus,
the owner will have less need for in-house technical
staff to manage projects.
