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How To Use a Design-Build Team for Your Next Facilities Project
Design-build is an integrated process that fuses architecture/engineering and construction services under a single contract.
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Business New Haven
11/22/1999
By: Fiona Phelan
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Business is booming. Your company is bursting at the seams. There isn't room for even one more filing cabinet. What to do - expand and renovate your existing building or start from scratch and build a new state-of-the-art facility?
Those questions can be answered by engineering and architectural experts at a firm that specializes in design-build project delivery - a concept that has become a significant force in the design and construction field over the past half-decade.
Design-build is an integrated process that fuses architecture/engineering and construction services under a single contract. This model combines the vital roles of designer and contractor. With employees ranging from engineers to project managers, design-build companies can coordinate a building project - large or small, commercial or industrial - from start to finish.
Utilizing a design-build firm is one-stop shopping for constructing a new building - it can save money and time. Instead of hiring an architect from one firm to draw up design plans, hiring engineering consultants to do on-site tests, and contracting with a construction company to build the facility, a team from a design-build business will handle all those functions.
Working with a design-build group can alleviate the necessity of coordinating meeting times with a host of different building and design specialists. That coordination can translate into time and money savings.
Design-build specialists can also help determine the relative advantages and disadvantages of renovating and expanding an existing structure versus building a new facility. The project team will evaluate current and future space needs and how to best meet those requirements. Through on-site meetings with key employees, the design-build group evaluates the logistics of moving a company from one site to another versus expansion at the existing location.
Often there is not enough additional land to expand the existing site; the property may not be able to sustain additional building; or local or state regulations do not permit expansion. Also, an employer might take into consideration whether employees will transfer to a different location - will new employees have to be hired? Also, the employer must evaluate how easily the trappings of the business will move. If a new biotech lab is being built, how easily will lab equipment move from one site to another - will ongoing research projects be jeopardized, etc.?
If the design-build firm recommends building a new facility, the group will scout out available, suitable property for construction. Whatever the recommendation - build or expand - the design-build team also prepares a detailed budget outlining various options and associated costs.
Because the design-build team coordinates each part of a project - from building design to choosing building materials - there is less likelihood for substantial changes to the overall building plan. The fewer changes required, the faster the project will come to fruition.
How do you find a reputable design-build firm for your project? Word-of-mouth recommendations are the best bet, along with reviewing advertisements in area publications and the telephone directory. Another method is to gather information about buildings that appeal to you and find out the name of the designer and builder.
Be sure to verify staff qualifications and performance on previous jobs. The design-builder should also provide references for both completed and ongoing projects similar to yours. Be sure to visit the site of an on-going project.
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