Design-Build Explained

Which shop work do you do yourselves and which is contracted out?

For the most part, we play the traditional role  of contractor, with most of the work on a project being subcontracted. We end up doing some miscellaneous work, dealing with more complex detail issues. We build cabinets, handrail details, and the like. We have certain elements, like this translucent poly “barn door” that we have used numerous times, that we just can’t farm out more cost effectively.

Describe the signing-off process required for nonlicensed architects in order to make the building legal.

I have an M.Arch and am in the process of getting licensed. In Texas, where we practice, you do not need a licensed architect to sign off on residential projects, or on commercial projects up to 20,000 square feet; however, we do need a structural engineer to sign and stamp structural drawings.

How does design-build benefit the client, and how does it benefit the designer?

Our work emphasizes making modern design more accessible, both economically and in the sociocultural sense. To this end we are actually a develop-design-build firm, meaning that our practice is entrepreneurial and vertically integrated, with much of our work being done on a speculative basis. As a young firm with little track record, this is a good way of getting work out into the world. It allows us to control the process creatively, economically, and logistically. This has also provided us with an invaluable feedback loop that accelerated our learning curve with respect to all aspects of practice: the design process, interaction with clients, construction expertise, and business acumen. Besides the fact that it is a one-source method for the client, the design-build process is imbued with a certain accountability often missing in the traditional architect-client relationship. Because we know that we are ultimately responsible for executing our proposals, we consider the ramifications from the first pen stroke. This is relative not only to budget, but to time, quality, and overall expectations. This doesn’t limit our creativity; rather, it has forced us to find ways to do more with less. Effectively managing a client’s expectations is the difference between a successful project and a nightmare.

Define design-build in terms of what it means to your practice.

Design-build is a process of making where our understanding of fabrication and practice of design inform each other constantly. This includes concern for quality, beauty, and function, but most importantly it strives toward something poetic and artistic.

Which shop work do you do yourselves and which is contracted out?

We use our shop for two purposes: for the production of millwork and custom fabrication, and as a laboratory. We test ideas and fabricate prototypes and are constantly making samples. Our shop is geared toward woodworking, but we also handle metals, plastics, cast plaster, even rubber work. We select some shop projects specifically because they will challenge our capabilities. In general, we subcontract about 75 percent of the work. We oversee all aspects of our construction projects and collaborate closely with anyone to whom we subcontract work, which includes all of the licensed trades and quite a few specialty trades, including stone, glass, and architectural metals.

Describe the signing-off process required for nonlicensed architects in order to make the building legal.

New York City requires all new buildings and any renovation project that is not a normal repair to be filed with the Department of Buildings by either a registered engineer or licensed architect. A designer can collaborate with a licensed architect to meet these requirements.

How does design-build benefit the client, and how does it benefit the architect?

We’ve found a lot of success with our more direct relationship where the designer and builder are one and the same. It has allowed our design team to develop an understanding of what is realistic in terms of construction. Our clients know that everyone involved in the project, from schematic design through the completion of the punch list, is genuinely interested in the highest level of quality, that the party responsible for executing the work onsite is invested in the design, and that this affects all decisions that take place during construction. Our process emphasizes understanding our clients’ needs and creating a project with them, which is formally and functionally tied to their desires. The result is a fresh, contemporary, and entirely human architecture.

Which shop work do you do yourselves and which is contracted out?

We have a number of Eldo-ready wood- casework subcontractors in Kansas City who provide us with custom wood components. We also utilize three large-scale steel shops to help us with very large steel elements (beams, etc.) and with sheet-metal breaking, punching, and perforating. We design, do shop drawings, develop budgets, take orders, take deliveries of raw materials, fabricate steel components, and install. We started out ten years ago as architects interested in understanding one material (steel). Our fabrication expertise and interest revolves around steel and its interaction with other materials.

Describe the signing-off process required for nonlicensed architects in order to make the building legal.

A substantial number of [our team] is licensed and ready to go. We stamp every architectural project that comes out of our office and feel that it’s very important to take responsibility for our work.

How does design-build benefit the client, and how does it benefit the designer?

Design-build (the Eldo way) benefits the client because as architects who know how to build, we understand costs well. We are genetically predisposed to think about how something gets built and that there are associated costs. This keeps our projects on budget. `We can prototype details in our shop in addition to traditional drawing and 3-D modeling. This is huge. The more a client can understand what they’re getting, the better. The client also benefits when we show up to the job site with a mockup or prototype and the contractor can see exactly what we’re talking about. We have developed a shared language of detailing that would require an inordinate amount of drawing if we were to have it bid out. We don’t reinvent the wheel every time: We adapt our existing language of details to new projects. There is a single source of accountability for the client, better timing, and better prediction of cost. Our clients like the experiential, hands-on nature of our process. Design-build benefits the architect by offering us more control over a situation— economically, design-wise, and craft-wise— and allows us to be more flexible. Our best design stems from a pragmatic under- standing of required function, economic constraints, and potential experience. Our fabrication abilities allow us to react during a project as our understanding develops. It keeps our thinking and our detailing focused and buildable. Our drawings are simple and clear. In fact, sometimes our drawings are boring, but it’s important to recognize that drawings are subservient to built work and experience. We find it improves our relationship with contractors when we take pride in quality fabrication ourselves.

Define design-build in terms of what it means to your practice.

Design-build has a very literal meaning for us in that we design and build the projects we do. We develop the projects ourselves, meaning we purchase the land, research its potential, design the project, build it, and sell it. The fact that we generally do not work for any specific client means that we are our own client as much as the surrounding community is. This being the case, we try to create a project that is architecturally interesting, works within our philosophy of being sustainable and bettering the urban fabric, as well as being a viable project.

Which shop work do you do yourselves and which is contracted out?

We do design, general contracting, site supervision, project follow-up, and all administration related to the design and construction of the project. We subcontract out all architectural working drawings, mechanical drawings, and construction.

Describe the signing-off process required for nonlicensed architects in order to make the building legal.

BUILD essentially does the design component and we oversee the design throughout the working-drawing stage with a licensed party.

How does design-build benefit the client, and how does it benefit the designer?

It provides the client with a more consistent, conscientious, and predictable outcome. It also offers a lot of flexibility during the construction process in terms of design, detail, or finishing, and allows the client to be more involved with the building process, which is usually off-limits. There are no surprises at the end, unlike the typical general contracting process in which surprises are a result of insufficient detailing and/or specifications in the drawings. It benefits the designers, allowing the architect to be more involved in the building process, dealing with onsite issues in a more direct and sensitive manner, and enabling us to make incremental changes at critical points in the process.

Define design-build in terms of what it means to your practice.

Being a design-build firm is at the core of what we do. We are architects first and foremost, and we see construction as the work that supports our designs. When Ron and I started the firm, we wanted to bring the rigor that we used in designing a project and apply it to the construction process. We saw models throughout history where the idea of the master builder allowed for this type of holistic approach to creating places. In our practice, we view creating a project as one architectural process that accepts the burden, responsibilities, and challenges of actually constructing the ideas that we imagine in our designs.

Which shop work do you do yourselves and which is contracted out?

While we wish that we could perform all of the trades involved in construction ourselves, so far we have taken on between one-quarter and one-third of the work in the projects we build. We do this so that we can focus on the aspects of building that have the most rigorous detailing demands. That means we frequently work on custom casework, finished carpentry, metal doors and windows, specialized metal details, structural steel, and sheet-metal flashing. Our metal and cabinet shops create all types of customized pieces, ranging from outdoor teak tables to steel sash windows.

How does design-build benefit the client, and how does it benefit the designer?

Our belief in the benefits of design-build has only strengthened with each project. We are able to design buildings that are very suitable for construction, and at the same time, we understand how construction demands can strengthen our designs. By keeping both aspects under one roof, design-build gives us greater control of all aspects of a project. We are able to work in highly controlled and customized environments that make most builders run the other way. When we do it all in-house, the buck ultimately stops here, and the end result is always better for the rigor that it demands.