Design Assist

You may prefer Design-Assist if you want to harness the efficiency that comes with early design and construction collaboration, but you wish to supervise the architects, engineers and other consultants. This delivery method is more hands-on than design-build, but like design-build, you end up with a well integrated project, which means no surprises.

With Design-Assist, the architect and engineers are under direct contract to the owner while key subcontractors—typically mechanical, electrical, plumbing and landscaping—are under contract for design and construction to the general contractor. These systems subcontractors represent a major portion of a project’s cost, so they can give the owner numerous pricing alternatives to help arrive at what represents the highest value for the owner. For example, an owner might want to invest in more efficient heating, cooling and lighting systems, which cost more money up front but save money over time with lower energy costs and less system maintenance. The experts who design, install and maintain those systems are best able to identify the best fit for an owner.