DOTA's first design-build venture began in 2000, when the architecture firm approached Hensel Phelps Construction to collaborate on a Request for Proposal disseminated by the City of Denver for a municipal building near the central business district. The RFP specified a single-point contract for architectural, engineering, and construction services. Their team was awarded the job. Hensel Phelps held the contract with the city. DOTA, a consultant to the contractor, served as the lead design architect and architect of record. The Denver office of RNL Design was brought on board as associate architect.

Coxhead admits the architects were initially fearful that the large contracting company would bully the smaller architecture firm through the process. Instead, he says, "We were pleased to learn that they were willing to work with us to understand our design philosophy and intent." It was very much a team approach: "We worked very closely with Hensel Phelps to stick to the budget, while they were very design-sensitive," he notes.

Coxhead highlights two strategies that helped the disparate disciplines work well together. It's critical, he says, "to establish the relationship before anyone starts worrying about the final design or the construction sequence, and then to nurture it through the process." After their team was selected, the various players participated in team-building retreats to create an atmosphere of communication and cooperation. And to maintain this spirit of teamwork, architect, engineer, and contractor worked together in the same office adjacent to the site. Says Coxhead, "It made it easy to walk down the hallway to talk about the constructability and costs of a design idea."

Given the short amount of time they had to work within, Coxhead can't imagine accomplishing this particular project any other way: "We were awarded the project in January 2000; had a guaranteed-maximum-price set by May 2000; and started construction in July 2000." The Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building was finished in August 2002, one month ahead of schedule and $1 million under budget.

Well-known firms

These days, many nationally recognized architecture firms have some design-build projects in their portfolio. HOK, for example, currently has a contract with The Opus Group-a Minneapolis-based real estate development company with in-house expertise in architecture, engineering, and construction management-to provide design services for the Social Security Administration Southeast Payment Processing Center in Birmingham, Alabama. The 587,000-square-foot, eight-story office building is expected to be completed at the end of 2007.

The most successful design-build projects that William Hellmuth, AIA, president of HOK, has been associated with are those that are selected through a competition in which the submissions are judged on value, not just the lowest price. "Design-build can work very well where there is a documented desire for design quality, and the judging of the buildings is based on design quality within a given financial framework," reports Hellmuth. "The ability to bounce things back and forth within the cost framework-to have real-time feedback-is enormously helpful. The contractor may respond, for example, by saying, ‘It will be all right if you do this, but if you just change this one thing, you can still get what you want and it will be easier to construct, so there will be extra money left over for a great lobby.' "

Like Coxhead, Hellmuth believes that it is the nature of the relationship between team members and the value placed on design that is most critical in affecting the quality of the final outcome in a design-build competition, no matter who is ultimately in charge. "If architecture is valued, the architect leads the effort, although the contractor may have the fiduciary responsibility," he says.