Ask the Architect

Dedicated to those persons who seek information about Architectural and Construction related issues for commercial and residential type projects from a Design Professional. Please feel free to E-mail us with your questions and comments. Our goal is to build a reference of "Most Often Asked Questions" for posting at this web site, "The Knoxville Directory". The amount of requests will determine our response time, but we will respond in some form or fashion.


Q & A - Garage Sizes

Q & A - Straw Bail Construction Projects

Q & A - Plan Modifications

Q & A Design Build

Q & A Choosing Windows

Q & A Straw Bail Project Humidity Issues

Q & A Building New Home

Q & A significance to this Design Structure

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"Bridging" The Design-Build Gap"

Design-build is growing by leaps and bounds as an Owner-favored method of project control and delivery. It provides the Owner a single source of project responsibility and a single point of communication. Design-build projects are generally completed faster and have increased efficiencies. Design-build is primarily used for commercial type projects; however, the ideas expressed herein could also be used for single family residential projects where an Owner wants customization or the input of a design professional during the construction process.

However, as many Owners are finding, Design-build is not a cure for all project delivery ills. Because the Contractor typically fills the Design-builder role, the Owner may suffer a loss of control over design through "Value Engineering" and forfeits direct communication with the Designer. What's more, design firm selection is likely based on price rather than qualifications. In the typical scenario, the Designer is working for the Contractor, not the Owner. If the project is not to be negotiated with one Contractor, another major disadvantage is that the design-build delivery system actually limits competition during the bidding process. With Design-build, an Owner puts the project out to bid and Design-builders come up with proposals. The result is similar to comparing applies to oranges to bananas because each Design-builder had no concept plan upon which to base their work from. The Owner is often left to choose from three or more completely different proposals, none of which may be completely satisfactory.

Fortunately, a new wrinkle to the Design-build process that resolves many of these disadvantages is gaining attention. It's called "Bridging," a two-phased approach to Design-build that puts the Owner in greater control of design. In many instances the Owner's total project costs may even be less when using a "Bridging Consultant" due to improved competition and due to the fact that the Design-builder does not
have to pay their Designer for the Concept Plans. These two items alone could pay for the cost of the "Bridging Consultant."

Phase One - Schematic Design

With Bridging, the project Owner retains a "Bridging Consultant" - a design professional who is responsible for developing a schematic design that satisfies the Owner's basic project needs. The "Bridging Consultant" sits down with the Owner and goes through a programming and planning exercise. A conceptual design document is then prepared. There are no construction details, just design concepts.
The Owner is then able to get apples to apples competitive Design-build quotes on the same design package.

Phase Two - Design-build

The selected Design-builder now completes the working drawings and constructs the project. During this phase, the "Bridging Consultant" acts as the Owner's representative, serving in a pure agent capacity. The "Bridging Consultant" could also be retained for providing the actual Construction Documents by the successful Design-build Contractor.

Some of the biggest problems with non-negotiated Design-build projects is the failure to do the proper up-front programming and planning to ensure the project meets the Owner's needs. Another, is the loss of design concepts through "Value Engineering". Still another problem, is the loss of an independent agent for the Owner. "Bridging" spans these gaps and helps ensure that Owner's using the Design-build process are satisfied with the project at it's completion.