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THE CONCEPT
This text is the result of a discussion between Samyn and Partners (Philippe Samyn and Ghislain André)
andThomas & Piron Bâtiment (Joël Polus, Renaud Naiken, Bruno Janssen, Jérôme Morelle).
Design & Build involves a joint design effort between architects, In such an approach, the architect swaps sides, forming a Design &
engineers .... and builders. Build team together with the builders: the so-called “Bouwteam”.
Under conventional methods, the architect is the technical and The contracting authority has a single contract with this team.
artistic advisor of the contracting authority, who selects the former On the basis of its given schedule and budget, the tendering
either on the basis of his reputation or affinity (in the case of authority buys a building in a future state of completion from the
private sector project) or on the basis of a tender procedure or a “Bouwteam” whose draft has been selected.
request for proposals via an architectural design competition (in
the case of a public sector project). The classical triangle, though undoubtedly simpler, often seems to
belong to the past, as the duties of the contracting authority, the
The architect is thus appointed to design the building and super- architect and the developer have evolved greatly lately, as seen by
vise its construction, via a contract concluded with the contracting recent court rulings.
authority.
“Design & Build means that the two sides, designers and builders,
In these two cases, the builders are appointed in a second phase, are in permanent contact with each other!”
once the (price) submissions of the bidding companies based on Philippe Samyn
the project’s architectural and technical specifications have been
examined. The “Bouwteam” comes together in each phase in its permanent
quest for optimal solutions (with the building team adding its
The contractor thus constructs a building on behalf of the contract- know-how to that of the design team), while at the same time
ing authority, who is assisted throughout the construction process always keeping an eye on financial feasibility.
until provisional and final acceptance by the architect.The building
contractor similarly concludes a contract with the contracting au- Each side puts forward its arguments for a certain solution and
thority.The architect is totally independent of the building contrac- decisions are taken jointly on this basis, without any detriment
tor, having no contractual links to him. to originality or quality.
In this “classical triangle”, the contracting authority and the architect “To arrive at the most beautiful building at a reasonable price,
have full control of the building’s design which they then have to the chemistry’s got to be right!”
have implemented by the builders, unknown at the time of design. Thomas & Piron and Philippe Samyn
This can have a direct influence of the quality of construction, as A “hatchet committee” sometimes has to put its foot down when
the technical specifications do not necessarily match the skills of there’s a threat of the budget being exceeded, but always with a
the builders and skilled craftsmen. view to achieving a compromise acceptable to both parties and
upholding the spirit of the project.
Moreover, the latter only become involved in the tendering process
once the technical specifications have been completed, thereby for Through the freedom it allows in technical choices, Design & Build
instance also postponing any talks with potential subcontractors. can be a very efficient way of executing a project compared to
It is quite clear that a fruitful collaboration between the architect the traditional tendering method based on a list of predetermined
and the builders in the design phase can only help improve the technical specifications, as the latter immediately runs into finan-
building’s design, insofar as cost is not the only criterion. cial difficulties when deviating from what was specified by the
design team.
In contrast to the process discussed above and involving first an
architectural design competition, then the subsequent develop- For the “Bouwteam” to function properly in a Design & Build pro-
ment of the specifications by the winning team, the tendering ject, the design team(s) must obviously have very good technical
process and finally execution by the companies winning the competences.
tender, a Design & Build approach foresees joint design work by
the designers and future builders right from the start, working to a “Everything is thought through and put to paper before being
fixed schedule and budget. executed.”
Thomas & Piron and Philippe Samyn
