Owners understandably want three
things: control, speed, and cost certainty. The difficulty is that project
delivery methods distribute these qualities differently. A method that gives
the owner more direct control may also require more decisions, stronger
records, and greater tolerance for risk. A method that promises an early fixed
price may reduce flexibility or include a premium for uncertainty.
There is no best delivery method
in the abstract. There is only a better fit for a particular owner, project,
market, and team.
What does control actually mean?
Control might mean authority
over design decisions. It might mean visibility of actual costs, the ability to
select trade contractors, freedom to change details, or confidence that
information passes through one accountable party. These are not identical.
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| Design-Build Method VS Traditional Design-Bid-Build Method; Project Pacing |
Traditional design-bid-build
In a conventional arrangement,
the design is developed before contractors submit prices. This can support
clearer competition and a more complete basis for construction, provided the
documents are sufficiently coordinated. The tradeoff is time. Design and
construction are more sequential, and late owner changes can disturb the price
and programme.
Design-build and single-point responsibility
Design-build can overlap design
and construction and can give the owner one principal contractual point of
responsibility. It may be useful when speed and integration are priorities. Yet
the owner must examine how design quality is protected, who represents the
owner's interests, how changes are priced, and whether the proposed entity
holds all required professional and contractor licences.
A single contract does not
remove conflicts of interest or uncertainty. It changes where they are managed.
Construction management and owner-managed packages
Some owners engage professional
management and contract directly with several trade contractors or suppliers.
This can increase cost transparency and allow early work packages to begin
before every later detail is complete. It can also expose the owner to
coordination gaps, fragmented accountability, cash-flow demands, procurement
delays, and claims between packages.
Such an arrangement works best
when the owner can make timely decisions, the design information is released in
a disciplined sequence, package boundaries are explicit, and a competent
manager maintains programme, cost, quality, safety, and records.
Do not confuse professional service with contracting
Republic Act No. 4566 defines
the business of contracting broadly and exempts a licensed architect or
registered civil engineer only while acting solely in a professional capacity.
If an architect or architectural firm undertakes construction obligations, the
actual legal arrangement, licences, insurance, contracts, compensation, and
professional rules must be checked. A label cannot substitute for compliance.
A practical decision test
Ask five questions. How complete is the brief? How quickly must construction begin? How capable is the owner of making and recording decisions? How volatile are labour, materials, and contractor availability? Who carries the risk when design information, price, or site conditions change?
Fast-tracking can save calendar time, but it does so by making decisions earlier and often with less complete information. Better control is possible, but only when authority, information, money, and responsibility move together. If any one of those is missing, the project may feel fast at the beginning and painfully slow later.
Read other articles:
- The Project Planning Workshop
- Five most essential things to know before deciding to design and build
- How Much Does Hiring an Architect Cost
- Why contracts are essential when engaging in services
- The Architect's Basic Design Service
- 7 reasons why Architects are seen as expensive and an unnecessary cost in building projects
- How to create a Design Brief for your architect
- Philippine architecture practice and P.R.C.'s position with Civil Engineers' encroachment in the architecture profession
- Architects and Architecture: Myths vs Reality
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