STRUCTURAL GLASS FACADES - USC School of Architecture

The budget can be developed along with the design, and accommodations and
adjustments made as appropriate, acting as a kind of value-engineering built in to the
process.
Provides single-source responsibility to the owner or general contractor, simplifying
management and mitigating risk.
Minimizes the design scope for the architect by allowing most of the design development
and final detailing and engineering to be passed on to a specialty subcontractor.
The potential for schedule compression can result in major savings over the
design/bid/build method.
3.2.2.2 Weaknesses of Design/Build
The architect can easily lose control over the design, resulting in compromises to the
design and the quality of the finished work.
Involving the façade contractor into the design process can present a conflict of interest,
rather like asking the fox to guard the hen house. An disreputable subcontractor can
sacrifice the quality of the design and completed work to their own gain, again placing
the burden and challenge of identifying a qualified and reputable entity very early in the
process on the owner or general contractor.
Budgets and costs can drift and the development of the budget must be carefully
managed to assure maximum value to the owner.
Success relies heavily on the owner or general contractor’s ability to qualify and select a
competent, appropriate and reputable subcontractor.
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