What Are the Benefits of the Design+Build Approach?

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Shared Accountability

The traditional design/bid/build approach requires you to work with two different companies on your project. If they don’t see eye to eye, you could end up stuck in the middle. Conflicting interests could delay progress and increase costs.

Things look much different with a design+build approach. Since architects and construction personnel represent the same company, they’re on the same team. The shared accountability between your designer and builder sets the stage for a successful project. The cooperation begins during the initial planning phase and lasts until the final walkthrough is complete.

Early Cost Estimation

If you finalize a design before ever talking to a builder, you may have unrealistic cost expectations. However, if the designer and builder work together, you can quickly rule out some options as too expensive early in the planning process, saving time and resulting in an accurate cost estimate to ensure the project can be completed on a realistic budget. In fact, the Construction Industry Institute estimates that design+build projects cost 5 percent less than design/bid/builds.

Value Engineering

Your renovation or custom home may present some unique challenges. When the designers and construction crew work together, they can evaluate alternative solutions to problems that otherwise might be left unsolved. This is possible because each team lends their expertise to all aspects of the project. This approach not only solves problems, but it also reduces costs and shortens timetables.

Ease of Communication

If you opt for the traditional design/bid/build method, you may find that the designers tell you one thing while the builders say another. Neither one is trying to deceive you; miscommunications are simply muddling the information. Of course, this makes the project stressful, confusing, and less efficient.

The open, honest communication characteristic of the design+build process is far superior to the potential confusion of design/bid/builds. Everyone knows what’s going on at all times, and they provide updates accurately and frequently.

Streamlined Project Delivery

With the design+build approach, the engineering and construction phases can overlap, bidding periods and redesign times are eliminated, and long lead time purchases can be made early to prevent delaying the project. Because of these factors, the Construction Industry Institute estimates that design+build projects have a 33 percent faster completion rate than design/bid/builds.

Quality Control

Collaborative designers and builders inherently deliver higher-quality finished products than those who work in conflict with one another. Gone are the days of angrily pointing fingers and pushing blame on someone else. Your design+build team is wholly responsible for the entire project, so both sides work as hard as possible to deliver the best value to the client.