Design build makes smart business and investment
sense.
It has become the building method of choice for good
reasons. Some of the most important are:
- It is the most efficient method of construction.
Design build ensures that you won't complete your
design only to find that the bids exceed your
budget. With design build, materials procurement and
construction work can often begin before design
documents are fully completed.
- There is a single point of responsibility. This
enables you to focus on scope/needs definition and
timely decision making rather than worrying about
coordinating the architect, contractor, and so
on.
- The design build contractor warrants to the owner
that the design documents are complete and free from
error. This is the opposite of traditional
construction where the owner shoulders the risk of a
faulty or incomplete design.
- Finally, there is a cost savings involved in
design build. All members of the design build team
must work together and communicate in order to
succeed. This promotes efficiency and cooperation.
A Single Contract Makes Sense.
Design build is a method of project delivery in which
the design builder creates a single contract with the
owner to provide for architectural, engineering, design,
and construction services. The traditional, less
efficient method requires the owner to commission an
architect or engineer to prepare drawings and
specifications under a design contract. Then the owner
would select a construction company by competitive
bidding and/or negotiation to build the building under a
construction contract.
If you are interested in building your own building,
we would be happy to give you a free design build
consultation. The steps of the process that you will be
going through are as follows:
- Sit down with our design build professionals to
identify the prospective project. We'll ask you
questions that will help you to narrow the
scope:
- What does the building need to accommodate for
the business that it will house?
- What kind of space will be needed for the
business to operate most efficiently?
- What kind of technology will be needed? You
will be identifying as many of your needs and
desires for the building, both inside and out,
as you can.
- At that time, we'll also talk about location
and zoning issues if you haven't already
purchased land on which to build.
- The second step of this initial phase is to talk
with your banker and accountant about financing the
land and building so you know what you can afford.
If you don't have a banker, we can connect you with
one of our banking partners.
- If you don't have the land already, we can connect
you with one of our commercial real estate partners
so that appropriately zoned land can be
procured.
- Next, we'll begin the design process by coming up
with a set of basic drawings of the building's
prospective footprint, and front and side
elevations. We'll be working with both an architect
and designer in this step. You'll get a good idea of
what you can build with the dollars you're able to
spend.
- The architect will then finalize the plans and
send them to the State for the required
permits.
- Building schedule is developed and approved. Draw
schedule is developed and approved. County permits
are applied for.
- Actual building begins. Soil is tested. Land is
cleared. Footers are poured…and the building goes
up from there.
- Next, you will focus on making selections about
everything from plumbing and electrical fixtures to
cabinets, flooring, and paint colors. You may choose
to utilize our interior design partner to help with
ease, confidence, and speed of the selection
process.
About Healthy High Performance Building
Making the case for Healthy High Performance
Buildings
Costs: Green buildings can cost the same or
even less than the alternatives to build. Choosing
energy efficient resources can allow downsizing of
mechanical, electrical, and structural systems. Even
when projects are filled with high-value features, if
there are higher first costs, they are most often
recovered within the first three to five years through
lower operating costs. The key to achieving this is
integrated design.
Design for Cost-Effectiveness: A high
performance green building is an efficient building.
Savings in energy costs of as much as 50% are common
through integrated planning, site orientation,
energy-saving technologies, on-site renewable
energy-producing technologies, light-reflective
materials, natural daylight and ventilation, and
down-sized HVAC and other equipment.
Boost Employee Productivity: High performance
green buildings provide higher-quality work
environments. Annualized costs for personnel amount to
$200 per square foot—compared to $20 for bricks and
mortar costs and $2 for energy costs. At Lockheed
Martin’s 600,000 sq. ft. high performance building, a
15% drop in employee absenteeism occurred, saving enough
to pay for the incremental costs of the new facility in
the very first year.
Enhance Health and Well-Being: High
performance green buildings offer healthier and more
satisfying work environments for tenants. Improvements
to indoor environments, like choosing paints and other
finishes that have low VOC emissions, can reduce health
care cost and work losses from communicable respiratory
diseases by 9 to 20%; from reduced allergies and asthma
by 18 to 25%; and from other health effects by 20 to
50%.
Reduce Liability: EPA studies indicate that
indoor levels of pollutants may be two to five times
higher—and occasionally more than 100 times higher—than
outdoor levels. These levels of pollution are
particularly notable since people tend to spend about
90% of their lives indoors. Business Week’s June 5,
2000, cover story reported that “sick building” cases,
often filed against building owner/operators, are
becoming more and more common.
Create Value for Tenants: High performance
features translate into high value for tenants. For
example, the annual rate of employee relocation within a
building averages 25% for most commercial spaces, of
which the average cost is $2500. Flexible design
features common to integrated green buildings can cut
this cost by 90%. According to the EPA, a tenant can
save approximately $.50 per square foot per year through
operations strategies that cut energy use by 30 percent.
Increase Property Value: A high performance
green building can either capture lease premiums or
present a more competitive property in an otherwise
tough market. Reduced operating costs also generate
increased cash flow, which helps free capital for other
investments.
Take Advantage of Incentive Programs: The
State of Indiana offers many financial incentives for
choosing to build green. You can learn about these
alternative power and energy grant programs and tax
abatement incentives by visiting the website
www.dsireusa.org
Benefit your Community: Many companies want to
demonstrate their commitment to initiatives that
simultaneously benefit the environment, community, and
bottom line. A high performance green building is one of
the most tangible expressions of that commitment and an
extremely effective tool for educating tenants,
employees and shareholders about corporate values and
sustainability.
Achieve More Predictable Results: Green
building design and construction emphasizes “best of
class” practices that reduce project uncertainty and
risk, and enhance the final product for the customer.
Use of green building design and construction techniques
improves the certainty of project teams, minimizing
surprises that can lead to costly errors and ensuring
delivery of buildings that perform as promised.
Call Synergid Commercial, Inc.
with any questions you may have about the process of
green building. We would love to help you dream your
high performance building into being!
Green Building Links
Green Building Grants
Grant funds available for Indiana projects, whether
commercial, residential, or not-for-profit:
State of Indiana
www.in.gov
Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy
www.dsireusa.org
Professional Organizations and Area Links
|
