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DBIA-UM in the News

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February 10, 2011: The Nuts and Bolts of a Design-Build Partnership

by Ken Peterson

A public-private partnership (P3) is a contractual agreement between a public agency (federal, state or local) and a private-sector entity. Through this agreement, the skills and assets of each sector (public and private) are shared in delivering a service or facility for the use of the general public. Each party shares in the risks and rewards potential in the delivery of the service or facility. More »

Archived Articles

• December 17, 2010: Three Keys to Attaining Quality with Design-Build Projects
  

  by Ben Dzioba, Design-Build Institute of America

  With any construction project, there are three major concerns for those involved: cost, schedule and quality. One way to address these concerns is by using the increasingly popular design-build construction method. More »

• November 16, 2010: Using Design-Build for Health Care Facilities
  

  by Rob Flickinger

  Efficiency, cleanliness, accessibility, security, sustainability, codes and standards are the vital building blocks of a quality health care facility design. It takes a team of experts to design a facility that follows the rules and fits the needs of health care provider and patient. More »

• October 21, 2010: Observations from Design-Build Conference
  

  by Bartlett J. Baker, Jr.

  The Design-Build Institute of America sponsors an annual convention for owners, designers and builders. Returning from the conference, I had a chance to reflect upon the experience and what I had learned. More »

• September 16, 2010: Effective Grassroots Campaign Helps Design-Build Strategy
  

  by Richard Thomas

  The expansion of design-build authority over the past year and a half has been remarkable. DBIA regions have really stepped up their legislative efforts and this has paid off. Thirty-nine states have expanded design-build authority and nearly half of those states expanded design-build at the local level, as well. More »

• 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 »

• 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 29, 2010: Design-Build Projects Increasingly Common
  

  by Sara Malin

  The trend toward using design-build as a project-delivery method continues to increase both regionally and nationally. In 2002, Minnesota approved design-build legislation, allowing public entities to pursue value through design-build contracts. Since then, the use of design-build contracts has steadily shifted upward as cities, counties and state government bodies continue to gain approval for increasing the percentage of projects that they can do using the method. 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 »