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August 25, 2010: Design-Build Enhances Contractor-Owned Trust

by Joy Jayaram

When I made the transition from the design profession to the construction business, I witnessed numerous looks of confusion and bewilderment from my family, friends and former colleagues. They could not comprehend why I left my respectable job at an architecture and engineering firm to work for a "contractor." I soon realized a lot of others also had a less than positive perception of contractors. More »

Archived Articles

• July 27, 2010: Getting It Right -- The First Step Is Training
  

  by Tom Hannasch

  A number of the articles we have written have addressed the progress made in establishing design-build as a viable alternative to design-bid-build for public sector work.More »

• June 2, 2010: Design-Build, Done Right
  

  by Barbara Jackson

  As popular as design-build has become, we have to remember that it is more than simply a contracting method that allows the owner to transfer risk to the design-build team. It is a method that, when done right, optimizes every aspect of project delivery. More »

• May 7, 2010: Design-Build Process Helps Manage Risk
  

  by Ben Dzioba

  One of the major reasons for selecting design-build projects is the ability for owners, designers and contractors to manage project-related risk. As a project moves through the five phases of the project management process (initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing), there are different opportunities to indentify, mitigate, document and transfer risk. It is important to remember that many risks are not realized as part of the project and that risks that do occur can have both negative and positive impacts to the project. More »

• April 7, 2010: Design-Build Impact On Cities and Counties
  

  by Michael Headrick

  Pilot Programs Could Point to Future
  In 2009 the state of Minnesota approved design-build provisions for city and county transportation projects on a provisional basis. This approval was not made lightly and cleared a considerable hurdle in the use of a design-build project delivery model for selected public transportation projects. It was incumbent upon the proposers to clearly and quantitatively demonstrate that design-build would be in the public's best interest. More »

• March 12, 2010: Design-Build Shows Off Its Best
  

  by Sara Malin

  A Look at Four Award-Winning Projects
  The Design-Build Institute of America - Upper Midwest Region is set to honor four design-build projects that were recently completed by four local companies; Horty Elving, Mortenson Construction, McGough Construction Co., Inc., and Opus Northwest Construction LLC. More »

• February 12, 2010: Service, Quality and Price - Select Only Two
  

  by Bill Frazier

  The design-build method encourages input. In almost every business environment today, consumers can choose from three value factors: service, quality and price. The dilemma is that the construction consumer can only select two. More »

• January 15, 2010: Design-Build - Continuing the Industry Trend
  

  by Nate Pearson LEED AP

  As we march into a new decade, it's the optimal time to take a look at where the construction industry's design-build project delivery method has been -- and where it's going. More »

• December 19, 2009: Design-Build Advantage
  

  by David Molda, LEED AP

  Design-build is the delivery method of choice for owners, whether public or private, that have an urgency or short time frame in which to design and construct their projects. In addition to the time frame issue, design-build projects are lower in overall costs and provide a single source of responsibility for design, constructability and warranty issues. The design-build delivery has been the lead-in or introductory method for Public Private Partnerships (3P) which adds the third, fourth and fifth dimensions of finance and ownership maintenance, as well as Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), where the owner takes an active role in sharing the risk for design, construction and delivery of the project. More »

• November 21, 2009: Design-Build Training for the Future
  

  by Bake Baker, A.I.A., LEED AP

  Interest and experience in design-build project delivery is expanding rapidly in the public and institutional sectors. This is good news for public entities overseeing projects as well as the taxpayer, but it is putting pressure to adapt quickly on the builder, design community, and the folks responsible for procuring those services. With much of the current construction funding coming from the public sector, particularly federal stimulus money, the need to develop new skills has never been more urgent. More »

• October 24, 2009: Building Things That Work
  

  by Tom Hannasch, PE, LEED AP

  There's a cartoon I keep posted in my office. The scene is an office meeting at which a person standing has written on the board "We Build Things That Work," and he advises the group seated at the table, "All we're doing here is taking the pressure off Engineering and putting it on Sales." It struck me as funny and insightful. More »

• September 26, 2009: An Introduction to Design-Build
  

  by Rob Flickinger

  Guaranteed pricing, a single resource for design and construction, minimized claims and damages, and extended project warranties. Sound like the ideal construction project? Too good to be true, maybe? Take a closer look at those ancient Greek temples. More »