Business of Architecture: Design Build recap

Design-build has evolved from an alternative delivery model into one of the most widely used approaches in the industry. During this AIA Colorado Business of Architecture discussion, architects, contractors, landscape architects, consultants, and integrated design-build practitioners explored why the model continues to grow, and what makes it successful.

The discussion featured insights from Greg Gidez, FAIA, a former national board chair of the Design-Build Institute of America, John Kudrycki, AIA, Principal at Fentress Studios, and Mark Wilcox of DHM Design. Participants represented a broad range of experience, from architects beginning their first design-build projects to professionals who have worked within the model for decades.

Why Design Build?

Research has shown that design-build can reduce project costs and accelerate delivery compared with traditional design-bid-build and construction-manager-at-risk models. However, the speakers emphasized that its benefits extend beyond speed and cost.

At its best, design-build replaces the traditional separation between designers and builders with a collaborative process in which design, budget, constructability, procurement, and scheduling are considered together. Designers gain earlier access to real-time cost and construction knowledge, while builders gain a better understanding of the project’s design intent.

This collaboration also shifts the team’s mindset. Rather than developing a design and pricing it afterward, the team designs within an established budget from the beginning.

Key Takeaways:

• Design-build can improve project speed, cost control, and overall value.
• The model allows design, budget, schedule, and constructability to be evaluated together.
• Successful teams design to the budget rather than budgeting after the design is complete.
• The greatest benefit may be a more collaborative and less adversarial working environment.

“During design, builders and trade partners support the design process. During construction, designers support the building process. It’s one team working together.”
— Greg Gidez, FAIA

Relationships Come First

The clearest message of the discussion was that successful design-build projects depend on the people involved. The delivery model cannot compensate for partners who do not communicate, respect one another’s expertise, or share responsibility for the project’s outcome.

Strong design-build relationships are often developed over multiple projects. Repeated collaboration helps architects, builders, consultants, and trade partners understand how one another works and creates the trust needed to make decisions quickly.

A capable design-build partner should also have a strong preconstruction process. Estimators, superintendents, and key trade partners need to participate early enough to influence decisions, not simply price a completed set of drawings.

Key Takeaways

• Choose partners whose cultures, working styles, and expectations are compatible.
• Treat designers and consultants as professional partners, not simply as subcontractors.
• Look for builders with robust preconstruction capabilities.
• Approach design-build partnerships as long-term relationships rather than one-time transactions.
• Establish mutual respect for both the design and construction processes.

“The real critical issue is your partner and your relationship with that partner. Design-build is not a one-time thing; it’s a long-term relationship.”
— John Kudrycki, AIA

“When you pick your builder, make sure they respect and understand the design process. That professional respect will take the team a long way.”
— Greg Gidez, FAIA

Early Collaboration Creates Value

The group discussed how early input from builders and specialty trades can improve constructability, reduce waste, address long-lead items, and uncover savings that can be reinvested in the visible or experiential parts of a project.

Examples ranged from selecting readily available building systems to repositioning a building so it could be constructed with one tower crane rather than two. In another example, changing a foundation system shortened the schedule by approximately 10 months, allowing the resulting savings to fund improvements elsewhere in the project.

Co-location can further strengthen collaboration. Greg described projects in which owners, architects, engineers, builders, and stakeholders worked together in the same space. Beyond accelerating decisions, the experience gave younger staff direct exposure to conversations about design, cost, sequencing, and owner priorities, accelerating their professional development.

Key Takeaways

• Engage specialty trades early enough to influence design, procurement, and constructability.
• Include estimators and superintendents in design conversations.
• Look for savings in construction systems, logistics, sequencing, and hidden building components.
• Reinvest those savings in improvements that support the owner’s goals and the project’s design quality.
• Consider co-location for complex projects that require frequent, rapid decisions.
• Use collaborative projects as learning opportunities for emerging professionals.

“The hidden parts of the building are where you can often save money—and then spend that money on the visible parts of the building.”
— John Kudrycki, AIA

A Different Design Process

Design-build does not necessarily require less design work, but it distributes that work differently. Architects may spend more time during early design aligning the project with its budget, schedule, systems, and construction approach. They may also spend more time responding to field questions as work progresses.

The goal is not simply to produce fewer drawings. It is to produce the information the team needs, when it is needed, while avoiding redundant or unnecessary documentation. A clear Building Information Modeling execution plan, defined deliverables, and a written teaming agreement can help establish expectations before the project begins.

The group also stressed that architects should not present ideas to an owner until the design-build team has evaluated their effects on quality, cost, and schedule. Presenting an unvetted concept can create expectations the team cannot afford to fulfill.

Key Takeaways

• Define responsibilities, deliverables, software, decision-making procedures, and schedules at the outset.
• Use transparent contracts and written teaming agreements.
• Develop a clear BIM execution plan.
• Align documentation with what the construction team needs and when it needs it.
• Avoid unnecessary documentation, but do not confuse fewer drawings with less professional effort.
• Vet concepts for quality, cost, and schedule before presenting them to the owner.

“Never present anything to the owner that has not been vetted for design, quality, cost, and schedule.”
— Greg Gidez, FAIA

“You’re saving drawings, but you’re getting the right things discussed and the right things drawn. It’s more effective.”
— David Kurt

Selecting Projects and Owners

Just as firms should choose their partners carefully, they should also evaluate prospective owners. Successful design-build owners understand the collaborative nature of the process, make timely decisions, and recognize that design may advance alongside procurement and construction.

The discussion distinguished between two-stage best-value selection and progressive design-build. Two-stage selection can require competing teams to develop substantial design proposals before a project is awarded, placing significant financial risk on architects. Participants recommended looking for serious owners who limit shortlists and provide stipends, even when those stipends do not cover the full cost of pursuing the work.

Progressive design-build, by contrast, selects the team primarily on qualifications and brings the owner into the development of the program, design, budget, and scope.

Regardless of the model, the team should reconcile the owner’s original request with its proposed solution before proceeding. This establishes an agreed-upon basis of design and makes later scope changes easier to identify and manage.

Key Takeaways

• Select owners who understand design-build and are prepared to participate collaboratively.
• Prioritize qualifications over price when selecting key team members.
• Review an owner’s request for proposals carefully and confirm that the team can meet its requirements.
• Favor serious procurements with limited shortlists and appropriate stipends.
• Reconcile the owner’s request with the team’s proposed solution before beginning design.
• Establish a clear basis of design against which later changes can be evaluated.
• Understand how contingencies are structured and what they are intended to cover.
• Maintain agreed-upon communication protocols when working directly with owners and stakeholders.

“Choose your owners wisely. You want an owner with the right mindset to work in a collaborative, inclusive environment.”
— Greg Gidez, FAIA

Protecting Design Quality and Profitability

Several participants addressed architects’ concerns that design-build can diminish design quality or reduce fees. The group agreed that this is primarily a matter of selecting the right partner and establishing appropriate expectations.

A good builder respects the design process and helps the architect identify where resources will have the greatest effect. Savings in foundations, logistics, sequencing, or hidden building systems can create room in the budget for architectural enhancements.

Design-build fees should reflect the architect’s full contribution. Producing fewer conventional details does not mean doing less work; time may instead be spent in early coordination, model development, trade-partner collaboration, and construction-phase services. Contractors who use the delivery method to justify disproportionately reducing design fees may not be suitable long-term partners.

Integrated design-build firms also discussed the potential financial rewards and risks of assuming responsibility for both design and construction. Although construction can offer greater profit potential, it also carries greater liability.

Key Takeaways

• Protect design quality by identifying where each project dollar will have the greatest effect.
• Use savings in logistics, sequencing, and building systems to preserve important design elements.
• Structure fees around the architect’s full contribution, not simply the number of drawings produced.
• Account for the additional time required for early coordination and construction-phase support.
• Do not accept reduced fees solely because the project may be built from a less extensive drawing set.
• Recognize that greater control and financial reward also bring greater responsibility and risk.

“The risk is that you’re responsible for everything. When the project is done, there’s no one else to point the finger at.”
— David Kurt

“The business of design-build architecture is: How do I make a profit? How do I minimize my risk? And how do I build relationships for future work?”
— Greg Gidez, FAIA

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