A couple of months ago I had a conversation with a very large institution on the subject of design-build (D-B) and also the D-B bridging process. Based on our conversation we came to the following conclusions:
The question has to be asked, “How can a group of professionals provide D-B services when they don’t share the vision and/or experience of D-B?” One of the benefits of doing D-B is to bring together the optimum team to produce the optimum solution. Approaching D-B through the “bridging” performance criteria and drawing upon past “plan-and-spec” and CM experience is not the same as D-B. To see architects, engineers, and/or contractors embrace this single-source process is encouraging. At the same time, they need to clearly understand the various options associated with D-B and commit to a business plan to successfully make the transition.