How Small-Firm Architects Can Lead Clients to Better Project Delivery
When Design-Bid-Build Isn’t the Answer: How Small-Firm Architects Can Lead Clients to Better Project Delivery
One of my first projects after starting my firm was a family friend who was starting a new business and wanted to build a custom facility to house it. His experience with construction was two homes he had built. In his mind this was the same thing, just more expensive. He had equipment ordered and needed the building in ten months. Oh, and he was going to need us to work out the floor plan and how some special systems would work.
As a small-firm architect, you’re often the most knowledgeable project delivery expert in the room. Your client is counting on you—not just to design a building, but to guide them to the delivery method that best aligns with their goals. The real value you bring isn’t just in drawings; it’s in your ability to help clients avoid pitfalls and achieve results they didn’t know were possible.
My solution was to subdivide the project into three parts - the site work, the building shell, and the general work. We ended up with three different contractors. The site work was design-bid-build, the shell was a material purchase, and the general work was cost plus and included coordinating all three parts. It worked so well that we started on a 150% addition a year later.
Why Design-Bid-Build Isn’t Always the Right Tool
Design-bid-build is familiar, but it’s not always the best solution. It works well when the project is straightforward, the schedule is flexible, and the client is comfortable with the risks of bidding and change orders. But what happens when:
The client needs to fast-track the schedule?
Cost certainty is essential before design is complete?
The project is out of town or in a market with unfamiliar contractors?
The client wants a single point of responsibility?
In these scenarios, design-bid-build can actually create more problems than it solves. The separation between design and construction can lead to adversarial relationships, late-in-the-game surprises on cost, and a lack of flexibility when the unexpected occurs.
Your Role: Becoming the Project Delivery Guide
This is where you, as a small-firm architect, become indispensable. Your expertise in project delivery options allows you to steer the client away from mismatched processes and toward methods that better serve their interests. Instead of defaulting to the familiar, you can help your client:
Clarify their priorities (speed, cost, quality, risk)
Understand the strengths and weaknesses of each delivery method
Select a process that aligns with their unique goals
Beyond the Default: Project Delivery Methods Every Architect Should Have in Their Toolkit
Let’s look at the main alternatives you can recommend when design-bid-build isn’t a good fit:
1. Design-Build
Here, the owner contracts with a single entity for both design and construction. This can speed up the process and provide a single point of responsibility, but it often comes at the expense of quality and scope changes can become expensive. The architect may work for the design-builder, which can shift loyalties and reduce your ability to advocate for the owner. (Public entities are often unable to use this method.) Design-Build works best when the client sees the building as a commodity.
2. Construction Management (CM) at Risk or as Advisor
The owner brings in a construction manager early, either as an at-risk builder or as an advisor. This can improve cost control and scheduling, but can also complicate the architect’s role—sometimes making you a consultant to the CM rather than the owner. If the project absolutely needs to be built as fast as possible, the CM method offers several ways forward. Although the architect’s role gets more complicated, it should also generate more revenue.
3. Bridging
This hybrid method allows you, the architect, to remain the owner’s advocate throughout the project. You develop a well-defined preliminary design and performance criteria, then help the owner solicit bids from design-build teams. The winning team completes the construction documents and builds the project, while you continue to review for compliance and quality.
Key benefits of Bridging:
You help the client get a firm price for a well-defined scope
You remain involved as the owner’s expert throughout design and construction
The client benefits from both competitive pricing and continuity of advocacy
Particularly effective for out-of-town projects or when the client needs cost certainty early
4. Multiple Primes and Work by Owner
For some projects, the owner may want to contract directly with multiple specialty contractors or perform some work themselves. This requires careful coordination and is best suited for experienced owners, but as the architect, your guidance is crucial in managing the complexity.
The Architect as Advocate: How to Lead the Conversation
When you sense that design-bid-build isn’t right for your client, here’s how you can take charge:
Start with the client’s goals. Ask about their priorities: Is it Schedule? Budget? Critical requirements?
Educate on options. Use clear, jargon-free language to explain the pros and cons of each method.
Recommend, don’t dictate. Present your professional opinion, but always tie it back to what matters most to the client.
Stay involved. Whenever possible, choose a method—like Bridging—that keeps you engaged as the owner’s advocate throughout the process.
A Story: Turning the Tide with Bridging
One client, an industrial firm expanding to a new region, faced a tight budget and a need for oversight from afar. Design-bid-build would have left them exposed to cost overruns and change orders, with little recourse once construction started. By recommending Bridging, I was able to:
Develop a clear set of requirements and preliminary designs with them locally
Help the owner solicit competitive bids from design-build teams familiar with the site’s wetlands issues
Remain involved during construction, reviewing documents and quality
Deliver the project on time and within budget, with the owner feeling supported every step of the way
Your Expertise is the Client’s Best Asset
In today’s complex building environment, the small-firm architect’s role is more critical than ever. When design-bid-build isn’t a match for the client’s needs, your knowledge of alternative delivery methods becomes the key to a successful project. By stepping into the role of project delivery guide, you transform from a service provider to a trusted advisor.
Don’t let your client settle for a process that doesn’t fit. Lead the conversation, advocate for their goals, and use your expertise to find the right path forward. That’s how you become truly instrumental—not just in designing buildings, but in delivering successful outcomes.