At Structures, we offer design/build services. Design/build is a process in which an owner contracts with a single source to design the project, produce the plans, and provide construction for the building for a stipulated contract amount. The owner and contractor will agree on numerous aspects of the building and a conceptual price will be negotiated before design has even begun. The owner benefits by having very strong control over the budget at the inception of the project. Design/build also has the ability to be fast tracked if the time constraints for the project are critical.
The benefits to be gained in using a well-designed and managed Design-Build process include the following:
SINGULAR RESPONSIBILITY
With both design and construction in the hands of a single entity, there is a single point of responsibility for quality, cost and schedule adherence. The design-builder is motivated to deliver a successful project by fulfilling multiple parallel objectives, including aesthetic and functional quality, budget, and schedule for timely completion. With design-build, the owner is able to focus on scope/needs definition and timely decision-making, rather than on coordination between designer and builder.
QUALITY
The singularized responsibility inherent in design-build serves as a motivation for quality and proper project performance. Meeting the Owner's requirements and expectations is the design-builder’s responsibility. The Design-Builder must produce design documents that are complete. (By contrast, with "traditional" design-bid-build, the Owner warrants to the Contractor that the drawings and specifications are complete. Because it is the Owner's warranty for the design documents under design-bid-build, the traditional approach relies on restrictive contract language, audit and inspection and occasionally, the legal system, to ensure final project quality.)
COST SAVINGS
Design and construction personnel, working and communicating as a team, evaluate alternative materials and methods efficiently and accurately. Value engineering and constructability are utilized continuously and more effectively when the designers and contractors work as one team during the entire design process.
TIME SAVINGS
Because design and construction are overlapped, and because bidding periods and redesign are eliminated, total design and construction time can be significantly reduced. Design-build is ideal for the application of "Fast Track" construction techniques. With design-build, materials/equipment procurement and construction work can begin before the construction documents are fully completed. The resulting time savings translates into lower costs and earlier utilization of the completed facility.
EARLY KNOWLEDGE OF FIRM COSTS
Guaranteed construction costs are known far earlier than in other delivery systems. The entity responsible for design is simultaneously estimating construction costs and can accurately conceptualize the completed project. Staged contracting for design-build services affords the Owner one or more "go, no-go" decision points during design. The decision to proceed with the project is made before substantial design expenditure and with firm knowledge of the final cost.
IMPROVED RISK MANAGEMENT
Performance aspects of cost, schedule and quality are clearly defined and responsibilities/ risks are appropriately balanced (individual risks are managed by the party best positioned to manage that risk). Change orders due to "errors and omissions" are virtually eliminated, because the design-builder has responsibility for developing drawings and specifications as well as constructing a fully-functioning facility.
DESIGN / BUILD
The term Design / Build today has become very popular, but can be misleading. It is not a company without professional design resources advertising that they have become a Design / Build firm. This is a marketing usage of the term and an attempt to incorporate whatever phrase may be in vogue. The genuine article involves real professionals committed to producing complete contract documents including plans, specifications and the contract for construction
Design/Build is simply the fastest, most efficient, cost effective building process you can use with single source responsibility for your construction project.
Structures Design / Build, LLC offers three distinct building tracts, each is based on proven methods and systems that allow for the completion of the project within realistic and defined parameters. Select the link below to view more about each process.