What is Design|Build?

You have decided to build a home. Now what?

When looking for a partner in the home-building process, determining how you want to make your vision a reality is the first step. Do you need a home designed? Do you already have a home designed and need someone to build it? Or do you need someone to do both the design and the build? There is no right or wrong approach; it’s just a matter of figuring out which one will work best for your needs.

Falling into the third aforementioned category, Miller Marriott is a design|build firm. We are a collaborative team that carries out our clients’ visions through both the design and construction phases of a project.

Why choose a design|build company like Miller Marriott? Traditionally, clients would work with a designer or an architect before taking the plan to a builder to execute the vision. This method is called design, bid, and build, or DBB. In this approach, the designer or architect is hired separately from the general contractor. In the design|build method, those specialties exist under one roof. Design|build provides a homeowner with a general contractor and an architect and/or interior designer.

Some benefits of the design|build approach include:

• Design|build firms operate as a “one-stop shop” for home construction. The whole design|build team shares the homeowners’ vision throughout the entire process. If a change needs to be made, there is no need to discuss it with the designer or architect and then also communicate it to the builder.
• Due to the overlap between the design phase and the construction phase, the home building process is shorter overall. The overlap also eliminates a lull in momentum that tends to occur when the design phase ends and a general contractor then takes up the build phase.
• There is no risk of finger-pointing between the design and construction teams. Instead, there is one cohesive, responsible team that has experience positively collaborating.
• With a design|build firm, the architect and builder are both abreast of the project and working together. So, when there are changes in the project, the “back and forth” between an independent architect or designer and the general contractor can be eliminated, which helps keep the project on track.

 If you choose to move forward with the design|build option, it is important to ensure any design|build firm that you are considering can produce quality designs. Some companies call themselves design|build, but they don’t really possess the design portion; instead, it is subcontracted out.

When starting your project, the best approach is to interview as many people as it takes to find someone with whom you feel comfortable working. No matter which scenario fits your needs—a design|build firm, or handpicking a designer and a general contractor—the process of building a home should be just as enjoyable as the completed project. Contact us today if you have questions.