All the Variations on Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build

Based on the last two MtM emails, you might think Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build are your only two choices.

And if you’re new to these ideas, that’s a fine place to start. But real exhibition projects are often messier.

So, for this last piece in this series, come with me down the rabbit hole for a moment (or three).

First up, let’s cover a few Design-Bid-Build variations:

Traditional Design-Bid-Build is straightforward. Designers design the exhibition, then you bid the completed design. The winning bidder builds it. But you can modify that model.

A Design-Assist strategy brings a fabricator in earlier than that, to advise on things like cost and constructability.

A Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) approach can establish a negotiated maximum price before design is done and every detail is decided.

Early-Release Packages can get long-lead items into production while design continues elsewhere.

All those variations essentially let Design-Bid-Build projects borrow advantages from other delivery models.

Design-Build has variations, too:

An Integrated Design-Build firm has designers and fabricators under one roof.

But Teamed Design-Build combines independent design and fabrication firms for a particular project, usually with one holding the prime contract.

And here’s one last idea, waaay down the rabbit hole:

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) brings owner, designer, and builder into a collaborative project structure, often with shared financial risk and reward and a multi-party contract. You might see this in construction now, but not (yet) in exhibitions.

Here’s the thing:

Design-Bid-Build and Design-Build are two big frameworks for how projects get delivered. But both have variations.

For any large, critical project, you need to choose not only one of the big two frameworks, but the variations you need as well.

Warmly,
Jonathan

P.S. New subjects next week. Promise!

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MtM Words of the Day (a record bumper crop):

Design-Assist. A variation on Design-Bid-Build where a fabricator becomes involved early, before the design is complete, advising the design team on fabrication methods, materials, costs, scheduling, and constructability.

Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). A pricing arrangement in which a fabricator agrees early on that the project will not exceed a specified maximum price, subject to defined assumptions and exclusions, allowing fabrication pricing to be established before the design is finished.

Early-Release Package. A portion of an exhibition approved for fabrication or procurement before the entire design is complete, usually to get long-lead items into production early and protect the project schedule while design work continues elsewhere.

Integrated Design-Build. A project delivery method in which a single company provides both exhibition design and fabrication services under one contract, allowing designers and builders within the same organization to work together.

Teamed Design-Build. A Design-Build arrangement where independent design and fabrication firms join together for a particular project, offering their services under a single contract, with either the fabricator or designer serving as the prime contractor.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). A project delivery method that formally binds the owner, designer, and builder together to share financial risk and reward. Typically uses a multi-party agreement. More for construction and capital projects, not exhibitions (so far).