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Acronymsaka: design-buildaka: D-B

DB (Design-Build)

In Plain English

A project delivery method where one company handles both the design and the construction.

Definition

Design-Build is a project delivery method in which a single entity—the design-build contractor—holds contracts for both the design and construction of a project, providing a single point of responsibility to the owner. This contrasts with the traditional design-bid-build method where design and construction are contracted separately. Design-Build can accelerate schedule by overlapping design and construction phases and is increasingly popular for transportation, federal, and large commercial projects.

Why It Matters in Bidding

DB (design-build) changes how owners procure and how firms bid, because the design-build entity prices both design and construction under one contract and often competes on qualifications and a proposal rather than a fully designed lump-sum bid. This shifts design risk to the contractor and lets estimators price incomplete documents, requiring stronger assumptions, allowances, and contingency than a traditional hard bid.

Example

The airport selects a design-build team to deliver a new terminal in 30 months, allowing construction of foundations to begin while interior design is still underway.

Related Terms

DBB (Design-Bid-Build)CMAR (Construction Manager at Risk)GMP (Guaranteed Maximum Price)

Frequently Asked Questions

In design-build, teams respond to performance criteria and conceptual documents rather than a complete set of drawings, so pricing relies more on allowances, assumptions, and design-level contingency. Selection often weighs qualifications and a technical proposal alongside price, instead of awarding strictly to the lowest hard-bid number on finished construction documents.
The design-build entity carries design risk because it holds responsibility for both design and construction under one contract. If the design must change to meet the owner's performance requirements, that cost generally stays with the design-builder. This single point of accountability is a primary reason owners choose design-build over separate design and construction contracts.
DB (design-build) places design and construction under one contract, overlapping the two phases to compress the schedule. DBB (design-bid-build) completes design first, then competitively bids construction to a separate general contractor. DBB gives the owner a fully detailed price up front, while DB trades some pricing certainty for speed and integrated accountability.

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