CHURCH RESOURCES

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CSD

What to Know about Design/Build

Here’s what we hear from churches:

“Our architects designed something we can’t afford to build…”
“We came in way over budget due to change orders…”
“The architect says it’s the builder’s fault and the builder says it’s the architect’s fault…”

Design-Build meets these issues head on.

Definition

Design-Build is a method of project delivery in which one entity (design-builder) forges a single contract with the owner to provide architectural/engineering design service and construction services.

By contrast, with the “traditional” design-bid-build approach, the Owner engages an architect or engineer to prepare drawings and specifications under a design contract, and subsequently selects a construction contractor by competitive bidding (or negotiation) to build the facility under a construction contract.

Risk

In Design-Bid-Build or Construction Management contracts the owner, (you) warrants to the Contractor that design documents are free from error. In Design-Build, the opposite is true. The Design Builder warrants to the owner that design documents are complete and free from error. This eliminates finger pointing between the architect and the builder. In a guaranteed lump sum contract, the design-builder assumes all of the risk to deliver the project at the specified price. The only reason change orders may occur are for changes in project scope, which arise from the owner, not from errors in the design documents.

Pros and Cons

Traditional – Design-Bid-Build Pros

  • Process well understood by owners, architects, and contractors
  • Allows for competitve bidding among both subcontractors and general contractors
  • Provides the lowest price for a given set of documents

Traditional – Design-Bid-Build Cons

  • Allows no input from contractors during the design phase
  • May not provide the best "value" to the owner
  • Often bids come in over budget due to change orders
  • Takes more time for a thorough bidding phase
  • Difficult to identify long lead items which can lead to scheduling delays
  • Makes 'fast track' construction difficult if not impossible
  • Can lead to an adversarial relationship between the design team and the contractor

Design-Build Pros

  • Design-builder is single source of responsibility
  • Owner can influence the design and cost at an early stage
  • Design team working together with builder can provide most creative solution to any problem
  • Takes less time from inception of the project through completion since bidding phase is reduced and major design revisions are made early rather than later
  • Designer and builder are on same team eliminating adversarial relationships
  • "Fast Track" construction is facilitated
  • Allows for early and frequent input by contractor regarding budget
  • Can identify long lead items early to avoid scheduling delays

Design-Build Cons

  • Does not guarantee lowest cost based upon a given set of documents
  • Process not well understood by owner, architects and subcontractors
  • Perception by owner that there are no "checks and balances"

Summary

Design-Build offers significant advantages over Design-Bid-Build. The single biggest obstacle for an owner to overcome is the perception that he will be paying too much because his project is not competitively bid. To overcome this issue, an owner should spend significant time qualifying the design-builders he interviews. A successful design-build relationship requires a high level of trust and that trust must be justifiable.