The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) has released what it claims to be the first and only full set of warranty bonds, proposal bonds, and payment and performance bonds that are specifically crafted for design-build projects.
A task force within the Washington-based DBIA, chaired by G. William Quatman, the general counsel for Burns and McDonnell, worked over the past year on forms that are tailored to this sector. The coauthors of the forms include designers and builders. The National Association of Surety Bond Producers and the Surety & Fidelity Association of America have endorsed the documents.
The new family of bond forms includes a Proposal Bond (610), a Warranty Bond (615), and three sets of Payment and Performance Bonds for Design-Builders (620 and 625), Contractors (640 and 645), and Subcontractors (630 and 635).
“Mirroring the design-build philosophy, DBIA’s family of contract documents is reflective of our diverse membership base representing the needs of both public and private owners, general and specialty contractors, architects, consultants, and engineers,” says Lisa Washington, the Institute’s Executive Director and CEO. “They are written to guide success for the entire project team – owners and practitioners alike.”
A spokesperson for the Institute, Geoff Corey, tells BD+C that his organization focuses primarily on nonresidential activities. “So these forms would be of real interest to [AEC] firms doing design-build commercial or government projects.”
He also points out that many AEC firms that don’t specialize in design-build enter these projects through joint ventures and LLCs, or are hired subcontractors. “They would probably be interested in using these model forms since they’ve been created for design-build projects,” says Corey.
DBIA states that the advantage of these documents is that they offer one solicitation, one award, and one contract to administer. The documents are also adaptable to a project team’s characteristics.
The bond forms, as well as other contract and consent forms are available on DBIA’s website.
Related Stories
| Nov 2, 2010
A Look Back at the Navy’s First LEED Gold
Building Design+Construction takes a retrospective tour of a pace-setting LEED project.
| Nov 2, 2010
Wind Power, Windy City-style
Building-integrated wind turbines lend a futuristic look to a parking structure in Chicago’s trendy River North neighborhood. Only time will tell how much power the wind devices will generate.
| Nov 2, 2010
Energy Analysis No Longer a Luxury
Back in the halcyon days of 2006, energy analysis of building design and performance was a luxury. Sure, many forward-thinking AEC firms ran their designs through services such as Autodesk’s Green Building Studio and IES’s Virtual Environment, and some facility managers used Honeywell’s Energy Manager and other monitoring software. Today, however, knowing exactly how much energy your building will produce and use is survival of the fittest as energy costs and green design requirements demand precision.
| Nov 2, 2010
Yudelson: ‘If It Doesn’t Perform, It Can’t Be Green’
Jerry Yudelson, prolific author and veteran green building expert, challenges Building Teams to think big when it comes to controlling energy use and reducing carbon emissions in buildings.
| Nov 1, 2010
John Pearce: First thing I tell designers: Do your homework!
John Pearce, FAIA, University Architect at Duke University, Durham, N.C., tells BD+C’s Robert Cassidy about the school’s construction plans and sustainability efforts, how to land work at Duke, and why he’s proceeding with caution when it comes to BIM.
| Nov 1, 2010
Vancouver’s former Olympic Village shoots for Gold
The first tenants of the Millennium Water development in Vancouver, B.C., were Olympic athletes competing in the 2010 Winter Games. Now the former Olympic Village, located on a 17-acre brownfield site, is being transformed into a residential neighborhood targeting LEED ND Gold. The buildings are expected to consume 30-70% less energy than comparable structures.
| Oct 27, 2010
Grid-neutral education complex to serve students, community
MVE Institutional designed the Downtown Educational Complex in Oakland, Calif., to serve as an educational facility, community center, and grid-neutral green building. The 123,000-sf complex, now under construction on a 5.5-acre site in the city’s Lake Merritt neighborhood, will be built in two phases, the first expected to be completed in spring 2012 and the second in fall 2014.
| Oct 18, 2010
World’s first zero-carbon city on track in Abu Dhabi
Masdar City, the world’s only zero-carbon city, is on track to be built in Abu Dhabi, with completion expected as early as 2020. Foster + Partners developed the $22 billion city’s master plan, with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Aedas, and Lava Architects designing buildings for the project’s first phase, which is on track to be ready for occupancy by 2015.
| Oct 13, 2010
Test run on the HP Z200 SFF Good Value in a Small Package
Contributing Editor Jeff Yoders tests a new small-form factor, workstation-class desktop in Hewlett-Packard’s line that combines performance of its minitower machine with a smaller chassis and a lower price.
