Design/Build: Explained (Building & Surveying Series)

This text looks at the practice of design-build contracting. The author argues that the traditional form of contract for building work allows the possible mistakes of planning, which could wipe out any calculated profit, to be corrected by a possible "smoke screen". The author uses an example from his own experience to demonstrate this point when he quotes an instance where, as project manager, he had not allowed for the cost of several key ground crew which, on a tight budget, eliminated the calculated profit. The remedy for this involved using the contract to finish the project nine months late, without incurring damages for delay, which succeeded in restoring the tendered profit and enhancing it considerably. The book looks at examples of the design-build contract in operation to demonstrate the usage and format of this type of construction document. The BBC Headquarters at White City in London is one such example. The author looks at how the contract prevented cost escalation, delay and extension of time, and loss and expense by the contractor without any loss of architectural freedom of design. "Design-Build, Explained" should prove to be of interest to those involved in the fields of construction, design and architecture as well as to students of these and related subjects.