‘Landmark study’ offers key recommendations for design-build delivery

The ACEC Research Institute and the University of Colorado Boulder released what the White House called a “landmark study” on the design-build delivery method.

Design Build State of Practice: Recommendations for Agencies and Industry on Effective Project Delivery provides recommendations to firms and project owners, including federal agencies and industry, on successful delivery as well as new information to enhance the benefits of cost and schedule savings associated with design-build.

“The key to success in design-build delivery is clear communication early in the partnership process,” said Keith Molenaar, University of Colorado Boulder, in a news release. “While our research shows that size, risk transfer, and long-term relationship building are vital elements of successful contracts, clarity about risk allocation above all else has to be reached so the project work can progress with confidence across all project participants.”

“Over the past several years, implementation of design-build contracts has grown without showing signs of slowing,” said John Carrato, ACEC Research Institute Chair. “While certain projects do well with design build, the study highlighted significant challenges with larger infrastructure projects, which should get the attention of our DOT clients and others working to deliver projects under the bipartisan infrastructure law.”

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.