Benefits of Design Build:

In a traditional “Design-Bid-Build” approach, you commission an architect or engineer to prepare drawings and specifications, and separately select a construction contractor or construction manager either by negotiation or competitive bid. This approach has long been the norm, so much so that VIP was considered a pioneer in design-build when founded in 1975. That’s when we chose to put the best elements of architecture, construction, real estate development, and project management services to work to meet the facility needs of our clients.

Ironically, the so called “traditional” approach is quite “un-traditional” from an historical perspective. It is Design-Build that is truly a traditional approach. For centuries, the “master builder” served as chief architect, engineer and constructor. Classical Greek structures, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Pantheon, and even the Brooklyn Bridge and the Pentagon were designed and built under single-source responsibility. The “master builder” accepted full responsibility for their projects, integrating conceptual design with functional performance.

So, what was old is new again. Now, Design-Build has moved to the forefront of the construction industry. It has been referred to as a “turnkey” or “single-source responsibility” approach, but what it really is, is simply a system of building delivery under which one entity performs and is contractually responsible for providing design and construction services.

The customer benefits of Design-Build are:

• communication is simplified
• operating efficiencies are increased
• construction schedules are shortened
• time and costs are saved

The Construction Industry Institute, in conjunction with Pennsylvania State University, supports this statement with analysis and evaluation of several project delivery systems comparing total cost to schedule adherence to quality. The study provides quantitative evidence that the Design-Build system is by far the most economical efficient project delivery system. The published results indicate that unit cost is typically 6% less, construction speed 12% faster, delivery 33% faster, and Design-Build exceeded quality expectations at all levels.

Another study conducted by Seyfarth Shaw LLP, an international full-service law firm based in Chicago IL, reports that projects built under the design-build delivery method have resulted in a “lower incidence of insurance claims than projects built in the more traditional design-bid-build method” because architects tend to lack the knowledge and resources to manage the construction process.

To date, Design-Build has captured more than 70% of non-residential construction activity in Europe and Japan and is rapidly growing in the U.S. (up to 45% according to a recent study published by the Design-Build Institute of America). From the owner’s standpoint, cost and time factors, as well as reduced potential for litigation compared to the traditional method, have driven this growth.

VIP has experienced this growth and interest firsthand. We have successfully designed and built over 30 million square feet of commercial, industrial, municipal and institutional space; and welcome the challenge of accepting full responsibility for all aspects of any facility design and construction project.