Design-build contracts: structure and implementation

¶ … Build Method

Conflicting Issues in Design Build Methods: FAR 36.209 and 10 USC 2862

There are clear issues between design builds and how they are treated in regards to federal law and how the architectural industry uses them in recent industry trends. A number of conflicting elements makes the process of creating design builds difficult for architectural firms, forcing many to have to go through the process of getting special authorization to fulfill plans that are based on industry standards and trends. Design build projects are where a single firm has complete control over the design, the bid and the final construction. It is essentially when a single entity takes on the responsibility for the project from start to finish to help minimize risks and speed up project delivery. In recent years, this has been an increasing trend within the architectural industry, but statutes in U.S. Federal law do tend to cause snags for many firms trying to work in such contexts.

PURPOSE:

This current paper aims to explore two specific issues, the issue of bidding on internally designed architectural plans and design builds for military construction projects. In both cases, there are clear hindrances, where federal law places road blocks that stop firms from fulfilling their initial plans based on industry trends and favors. By examining these road blocks in the context of this paper, firms can better understand what issues they will face in their respective practices and work towards hopefully reforming federal law so that is better aligned with industry trends and standards.

DISCUSSION:

Industry standards do not always synchronize with U.S. legal statutes in regards to design build projects and procedures. Essentially, there are a number of statutes that often have conflicting elements wit primary industry trends, making it difficult to enact such projects without having to navigate through a sea of red tape to ensure that all proper permissions and authorizations are received in order to follow the industry trends. The conflicting elements between the industry and law are problematic for a number of reasons. Two issues in particular provide a number of issues that hinder the industry's ability to effectively work with design and build projects.

First, there is the issue of who can bid on construction of design projects. According to Federal law, there are limitations in regards to who can actually place bids on the designs created by architectural firms. Architects cannot bid on their own designs, according to FAR 36.209. Here, the law states that "no contract for the construction of a project shall be awarded to the firm that designed the project or its subsidiaries or affiliates, except with the approval of the head of the agency or authorized representative" (American Institute of Architects, 2007). However, recent trends have begun to favor design build set ups, where a single firm takes control over both the design and the construction. This is essentially a way to speed up the entire process and reduce potential risks in having to use two separate entities on a single project.