• Design/Bid/Build. The most prevalent method, this is when an architect is selected by the client, completes a design/construction document set, has this set bid by several experienced general contractors and selects the appropriate bidder. This gives the client the most competition and therefore typically the lowest price. However, you are putting your trust solely into the architects’ hands as it negates contractor input on how to better construct the facility for less money, without sacrificing its quality. On the plus side, during the construction process the architect acts as your quality assurance agent, guarantying that the contractor remains on the up-and-up.
• Design/Build. This is when a contractor and architect form a team at the inception of the project and are selected by the client as such. Because the team is set from the beginning and work can commence even as the construction documents are being finalized, technically two to three months can be shaved off the typical construction timeline. Unfortunately, because of fixed lead times with various building materials, we generally do not see this full time-savings materialize. Since the contractor is on board from the beginning, its input can be included in the construction documents as well, giving the client a value-engineered facility. However, as the contractor employs the architect your quality assurance agent is lost, therefore you must be completely comfortable with the team’s ethical level before you chose this method.
• Design/Bid/Design/Bid/Build. This option, which fuses the pros of both of the above methods, is when an architect is selected by the client, completes a preliminary design/construction document set, has this set bid by several experienced general contractors and preliminarily selects the appropriate bidder. The contractor’s input is gathered, value engineered, then applied to the final construction document set and re-bid to them alone. If the contractor meets the original bid, minus the pre-determined value engineered savings, it is issued the final contract. If it busts the bid, the client reserves the right to re-bid the other original general constructors in order to reduce the construction price. This method gives the client maximum competition and cost control, contractor input and quality assurance during the construction process by their architect.
Mr. Marasco (john@mahca.com) is a principal of Marasco & Associates, Healthcare Architects & Consultants in Denver.
