Design-Build Demystified

Dwell magazine explains and highlights the reasons why design-build firms have come to the forefront of new construction. Design-build is simply the process of the team that formulates the plan and project is also the team that constructs the project. Applying the saying "soup-to-nuts" to the construction process.

There are many advantages to having the same firm tackle the entire process and in an era of eco-friendly construction the designers often know the materials and suppliers more intimately than a contractor who just landed a bid on a plan that's unfamiliar to them. This can save a lot of time and frustration during the construction process and many of these firms also recognize that homeowners may feel costs are higher because subs are already locked in but Tom MacGregor or ABDNY insists that skeptical homeowners bid out the jobs to make certain they aren't getting ripped off.