4 min. read
Whether you’re constructing a brand-new education building or renovating your local municipal office, one of the most important decisions to make is choosing the right project delivery method. While traditional methods separate design and construction into two distinct phases utilizing two different firms, the design-build approach brings everything together under one roof.
What Is Design-Build?
Design-build is a project delivery model used in construction in which a single organization is contracted for both the design and build phases. As opposed to a traditional construction project, where the project owner works with different firms — and their associated subcontractors — for each phase, in a design-build project, the owner has a single point-of-contact with a design-build firm.
Benefits of Design-Build Project Delivery
Design-build has several advantages. Typically, design-build projects are completed faster, for less money, and with higher quality than traditional projects — in part, because the delivery model empowers the contractor to make decisions while reducing the risk of last-minute technical complications. Perhaps most importantly, design-build is often seen as more conducive to innovation, as it enables internal teams to collaborate and share resources freely. The top five benefits of design-build include:
1. Single Point of Contact
With design-build construction projects, the design-build partner acts as the single point-of-contact for both design and construction, allowing for a seamless transition between those phases. They also are the single-point-of contact in managing (suggesting because this sentence is a bit redundant to first) subcontractors who are responsible for sharing ongoing updates with the customer. This means, if problems arise, everyone knows who to call as they’re already familiar with all aspects of the project and fully understand your vision and goals.
2. Faster Project Delivery
Because design and construction phases can overlap, design-build projects tend to move faster. By working with a design-build firm, they’re able to collaborate with the architects and construction team to streamline workflows, helping to prevent any delays to the project schedule.
3. Cost Savings and Predictability
A design-build team works together with you from day one to align the design, construction materials, and labor with your budget. As they’re also construction experts, they can also provide real-time cost estimates during the design phase, allowing for fewer change orders and unexpected costs so you stay within your original budget.
4. Higher Quality Assurance
As a design-build team is aligned from start to finish, they’re able to focus on and ensure innovation, functionality, and long-term facility performance throughout every phase of the project. With a thorough understanding of your goals, they work to ensure quality is upheld from groundbreaking to project completion and turnover.
5. Reduced Risk for You
With a single entity responsible for design and construction, you – the owner – are less exposed to legal and financial risks that can arise from coordination issues if you choose to partner with separate design and construction firms. The design-build partner assumes much of that risk, offering you peace of mind.
6. Improved Energy Efficiency
Partnering with a design-build team allows architects, engineers, and contractors to collaborate from the start, helping ensure that energy efficiency is built into the project goals and solutions early on. The team can conduct energy assessments earlier to identify opportunities to maximize performance and incorporate energy-saving solutions into the design.
Your Trusted Design-Build Expert
SitelogIQ’s design-build services encompass preconstruction assessments, architectural design, construction, and post-construction services. By keeping many of these processes in-house — and outsourcing to reputable partners when necessary — we can realize your vision in a cost-effective, efficient, and timely manner.
Design-build requires considerable resources and wide-ranging expertise. The training and experience of our team is a large part of what makes SitelogIQ an ideal partner for any project. Our staff work in a truly collaborative environment, which helps us drive innovation and, ultimately, design smarter and more functional buildings.
Contact us today to learn more about our design-build services and begin planning your next facility improvement or energy efficiency project.