Photo by Chris Parker, courtesy of K + A Design Studio
The Nikiski Fire Station No. 2 is a recent project by K+A Design Studio.
says. “The goal is to identify as many project considerations as possible prior to this point, so that once the second step or ‘construction’ begins, most potential challenges have been brought to light, addressed and planned for. “Ultimately, this collaborative process reduces risks for the owner, design team, and the general contractor. On ‘paper’ all parties know what needs to be done, where the challenges will be, and what the cost and the schedule will be— all before actually beginning the work.” In 2007, Cornerstone made the strategic decision to focus on design assist or CM|GC project delivery, and their current workload is made up entirely of this project delivery method. Completed projects include AVTEC Culinary Arts Building (2006) with NVision Architects, UAA ConocoPhillips Integrated Science Building (2009) with ECI Hyer Inc. Architects, and UAA Health Sciences Building (2011) with Livingston Slone Architects.
kpb architects
The team at kpb architects has a slightly different experience. “Where everybody’s going is the design|assist or design|build—those are really favorable delivery methods right now not only with the state but with private industry,” says Jeff Koonce, founder and principal at kpb architects. “The one that we’re working on a couple of projects right now is called a GC|CM, general contractor construction management.” 68
According to Koonce, a good portion of kpb’s work is design|build—but unlike many other firms, kpb prefers to work collaboratively and has done so for more than 30 years. Jolley from Cornerstone provides a clear understanding of the difference between the two methods: “With design|build, the general contractor is typically the contract holder serving the owner, and they retain the architect or design team. It structures the project team in a way that puts the design team in service of the builder and can reduce the amount of control the owner has on the design.” Based on the sentiments of Koonce and Prozeralik, it seems that one of the core benefits of design|build sits squarely in the realm of recognizing time as money, and the value of knowing how much something is going to cost rather than the owner hoping for the lowest price and crossing their fingers that everything will turn out as planned. “It doesn’t necessarily make the budget lower,” Koonce says, “but it does help to compress time and reduce risk. And those are key factors that are very attractive to the market.” As for other benefits, Koonce says that using the design|build project delivery method “also helps the general contractor and the owner get their heads around the project earlier on and it also helps the architecture and engineering team focus more on a real solution—or understand alternate solutions—earlier
www.akbizmag.com • Alaska Business Monthly • March 2013