One Source Design + Build
We have been asked many times, over the years, “what is design-build?”. I have spent countless hours trying to develop the perfect answer to this question, but for various reasons I have never been satisfied with each individual response. For starters, I think the notion of design-build has changed from its initial concept. If you asked me 15 years ago, “what is design-build?”, I would have told you that it is a means to deliver a project where the designer and the contractor are one entity. To me, this was the key. The design-build company would provide you with all of your design work and seamlessly pass you off to the production department, where your project would be built. As an initial concept it is great; however, over the years, contractors have learned that they could hire a third party designer or architect, on a per job basis, and call themselves design-build. As more and more contractors have adopted this “design-build” business model, we have seen the original concept watered down and stripped of it’s true benefits.
This is what I have discovered. The term design-build has little importance, if any at all. What is important is: “What does design-build means to me?”. To me, design-build means planning, designing, budgeting, and building the project using one source. At “Koala”, as we begin the design phase, we are simultaneously creating a project schedule and budget. As the design process evolves, both the schedule and the project budget evolves along with it. We believe the most important aspect of this process, and where we differentiate from many contractors, is in our very comprehensive design process. Our design process covers all details, big and small, that would be found in your project. If we are designing a kitchen, we are specifying the exact cabinets, countertops, backsplash, and hardware to be used. If we are designing a bathroom, you will be selecting a toilet paper holder before the project starts! Through our comprehensive design process, we are able to price the job that you want. We are eliminating material allocations that lead to cost overruns and we are adjusting our schedules based on specific lead times from owner selected materials. We call our process One Source Design + Build, and if you are looking for your project to be on time, on budget, professionally designed, and managed this is the only way to go.