Building Relationships: New trends in commercial construction.

• Author: King, Heather L.
• Position: Business Trends

while much remains the same in commercial construction as far as skills and materials are concerned, the most valuable trend the industry is experiencing involves the partnering of previously separate and frequently antagonistic rivals - architects and builders. As mutually beneficial teams are being created, architectural and construction companies are able to focus on delivering the highest quality work using the most advanced techniques available.

Through groundbreaking partnerships, new technology, and a potential increase in new site development, these trends will pave the way for the streamlined development of the Wasatch Front and surrounding areas.

Developer/Architect/Builder Relationships

Although commercial construction has always depended on the skills of architects and builders, it is only recently that these two professions have formed teams.

With the widespread popularity of such philosophies as "design/build," "designer-lead" and "construction management" in commercial construction, relationships between builder, architect, developer, contractor and client are focusing more on teamwork than ever before. Although varied slightly by definition, these philosophies all focus on the following advantages over traditional bid processes: having one central point of contact, expediting completion of the project from start to finish, developing cost-effective strategies and dealing with far less competition between all entities.

Bob Guyt, director of communications and public design at Architectural Design West in Salt Lake City, has been fine-tuning the designer-lead process for more than five years. "Clients are more sophisticated now but they are looking to simplify the (bidding) process," he explains. One simple solution is designer-lead construction, where the builder and architect act as a team to reduce fees, save labor, eliminate conflict and develop state-of-the-art designs through group input.

Guyt explains that the designer-lead type of design/build project allows for the highest quality design to be completed during construction. The architect serves as the central contact, enabling the designer to make changes quickly and allowing the architect more time to offer quality solutions. Even though only 35 percent of Architectural Design West's projects have used the designer-lead process, Guyt sees it as an up-and-coming solution to increasingly complicated bid practices.

Big-D Construction, based in Salt Lake City, agrees...