Design-Build: What is it & how is it different from a standard construction company? Spoiler: It's actually interesting!

Hello from Kellow Construction,

The term "Design Build" is one I started hearing when I worked at the Rebuilding Center in Portland, Oregon circa 2008. I am embarrassed to say that I actually had no idea what it really meant. I remember thinking it was a really fluffy way to say that a construction company does literally this: builds designs. Yes you read that correctly. I also thought maybe it was just a nouveau Portlandia way to say "Construction Company."

I had no idea it was actually an efficient and powerful model of company that approaches the construction process in a unique way.

The Design Build model is what Kellow Construction is, and, it is what we believe to be the future of the building industry.

My husband sent me this amazing article from Fine Homebuilding that has inspired this entire blog post. It is so incredibly well written and articulates the benefits of the Design Build (DB) model vs the shortcomings of the Design Bid Build (DBB) model perfectly.

This article is so perfect in fact, that I have been having writers block for weeks over this and am finally throwing up my hands, removing the pressure to paraphrase, and just sending the link to the article with the hopes that people actually click the link and read it. There is no way I can do better explaining this myself. It is not possible.

Please give this a read, like really do it. I am so tempted to copy and paste the whole article, because most people don't click links, but I can't. There is this thing, it's called copyright. Darn! So click the link and read it so you can understand why we are unique as a Design Build (DB) model as opposed to a Design Bid Build (DBB) model.

The best explanation of Design Build on the internet and possibly in the universe

Please remember that because we are a DB company we can do all of you plans, submit all of your permits, create your fixture lists, and handle all of your pre-construction needs. The sooner you engage us in the process, the better, so we can value engineer your design from the get go. Our turn-key, design-build services provide a single source of responsibility for clients leading to a smoother project execution.

We continually add value to our client’s projects by providing comprehensive preconstruction services throughout the design phase, including establishing budgets, project schedules, and performing constructability reviews. We manage our client’s goals, needs and budget against the design and advise on value management options to make the design more efficient and cost-effective, while maintaining the original design integrity.

So if you have anything on the horizon that you think we might be a good fit for, reach out and let us help you get the ball rolling. We can do it all from start to finish and we would love to.

Also, READ THE ARTICLE it's so crazy good. I am linking again here in case you skipped it before and want to change your mind and read it.

Also, I want to give credit to the article's author, Josh Salinger who owns a residential DB company called Birdsmouth Constrution, in of course, none other than the most innovative and creative city I've ever lived in, Portland, Oregon. To all my Portland peeps, check them out!