In recent years, you may have heard a lot about design-build this and design-build that. But just because there’s a lot of discussion surrounding this construction methodology doesn’t mean it’s automatically a good fit for your unique project.
Design-build is a way of streamlining the construction process by having the owner (ie. the person initiating and funding a project) enter into a single contract with a company that is responsible for both the design and construction. This is in direct opposition to the more traditional design-bid-build method, which involves separately contracted and operating design and construction teams. Design-build can be used in both the private and public sectors across a wide variety of projects and is considered to be a highly collaborative form of project delivery that capitalizes on mutual trust and teamwork.
At face value, all of these things sound advantageous! But let’s dive more into the specific benefits of design-build and see if it’s the right fit for your construction project.
Design-Build Benefits: Is It Right for Your Construction Project?
Large Project Scope
When deciding whether or not design-build is right for you, one of the first things you should consider is the size and scope of your project. Are you planning a large, more intensive project, such as a commercial facility, multi-family living space, or educational campus? Then, design-build may be the better choice as opposed to the traditional design-bid-build method.
This is because design-build encourages high levels of coordination and collaboration between the design and construction teams, making it easy to execute bigger and more complicated projects. This becomes especially apparent when there are unique design requirements, as having both teams under one contract allows for the speedy resolution of roadblocks or issues.
If you’re planning a smaller, more straightforward project, such as a simple renovation or addition, then design-build may not necessarily be required, as there are fewer opportunities for errors and confusion along the chain of command.
Less Client Involvement
All construction projects require the client or project owner to be involved at some level, whether it be attending meetings, providing oversight, or reviewing progress. It takes time and effort—something not all clients may have the ability or want to do.
If you find that there’s a desire for your project to have limited client involvement, then design-build is probably the better option. The process of design-build requires less day-to-day management from the client due to the design and construction teams being held responsible under one entity. This increases accountability and makes it easier to find and solve problems before they develop and require further intervention.
Design-build also streamlines communication by having only one point of contact: the design-builder. In the traditional design-bid-build, there are typically several partners involved, resulting in a constant bombardment of questions and requests from all sides. It ends up forcing the client to navigate communication between all parties, and can often result in them playing messenger.
Meanwhile, design-build minimizes the need for tedious back-and-forths with the client and the project partner. However, that doesn’t mean the client’s control and ownership are lost—it just means some of the burden is lifted, freeing them to focus on key decisions and issues.
Time Constraints
If your project needs to be fast-tracked, then you can count on design-build to accelerate the overall delivery time. Design-build is inherently faster than design-bid-build for several reasons, with the most obvious being that the traditional bid period is removed. The process of bidding on a project can be extremely time-consuming and may need to be started over several times if you’re getting unsatisfactory bids ( so cutting that out already has you at an advantage).
Outside of the bidding process, the overlap of design and construction teams allows work to begin before the design is finalized, fast-tracking the deadline even further. When unforeseen circumstances arise (and they always will), it’s easier to navigate through them in the design-build process due to increased levels of communication, which promotes efficient problem resolution. Overall, it cuts out large chunks of idle time, saving you countless hours that might otherwise be wasted in design-bid-build.
Smaller Budget
Budget, budget, budget! At the end of the day, a construction project revolves almost entirely around the constraints of its budget. And oftentimes, when you’re working within a limited one, you need to be able to anticipate and prepare for any costs coming your way. So, although design-build may be more expensive upfront than design-bid-build, its budgets are more reliable.
Due to the extended length of time that design-bid-build projects typically take and the unexpected problems that arise, design-bid-build projects typically end up costing more over time. This is because additional expenses end up getting tacked on for things such as extra days of contractor pay.
The early team involvement in design-build allows for problems to be identified and resolved sooner, preventing future costly fixes. All of this allows design-build to save you an average of around 6% to 10% when compared to design-bid-build!
Supply Chain Concerns
Although supply chain concerns have always been a running issue with construction projects, as of 2025, they’ve only become more prevalent and uncertain. If you’re looking to avoid problems relating to the supply chain as much as possible, then you’ll likely want to choose design-build.
Because the nature of design-build encourages a close relationship between the contractors and designers, it’s easier to anticipate supply chain issues. For example, a designer might unknowingly choose a material that has been known to have a long lead time or quality issues. The contractor, who is more knowledgeable about the material, can recognize early on that choosing that material may result in disruptions down the line. They can then work together to find an alternative material that better fits their timeline and still works within their budget.
In design-bid-build, this issue may not be caught soon enough, resulting in issues with certain materials arriving on time (or at all) and causing expensive project delays.
Design-Build vs Design-Bid-Build
The popularity of design-build has only continued to grow over the last few years, with nearly 50% of non-residential projects (valued at more than $10 million) using design-build. However, if you’re still unsure whether or not you want to implement it on your project, consider the following breakdown:
| Metric | Design-Bid-Build | Design-Build |
| Unit Cost | Base | 6.1% Lower |
| Construction Speed | Base | 12% Faster |
| Delivery Speed | Base | 33.5% Faster |
| Cost Growth | Base | 5.2% Less |
| Schedule Growth | Base | 11.4% Less |
Choose a Trustworthy Design-Build Company
At Jos. Schmitt Construction, we pride ourselves on providing premium design-build services for those interested in saving time, money, and stress on their next project. If you have any questions regarding the details of our personalized design-build methods or are unsure whether design-build or design-bid-build is right for you, feel free to contact us today. We’re here to help make your unique vision a reality.
