4 Pros & Cons of Working with a True Design-Build Architecture Firm
The term “design-build” has two definitions—what it’s accepted to be versus what it’s supposed to be.
What’s accepted is that you, the client, go to a builder, where they farm you out to a designer. The designer then draws up your home, and then the builder takes over and does the rest. The designer in this scenario is a subcontractor to the builder. Don’t be fooled—this is not the way it’s supposed to be.
For almost 15 years, Springhouse has designed homes and made every selection in your house with you. Since becoming a design-build firm, we now we build the house, too. This is what we like to call a “true” design-build, where the entire team is the same from conceptual design through construction documents, selecting all of the materials and building the entire house.
Since transitioning to a design-build architecture firm, I’m constantly surprised by the number of things that have changed our team’s perspective and outlook, as well as the way our business operates as a whole. Here are four ways our company has been affected both positively and negatively since becoming design-build.
1. Pro: There’s only one contact.
Becoming a design-build firm has significantly simplified what we used to do, which was just the design portion of the process (that being said, we're still doing some great work for other builders!). When we do a full design-build process, you’re only getting one contact for everything done to your home—from designing the house to selecting materials, reaching out if there’s an emergency, and so much more. Simply put, there’s no confusion for who to contact. It’s all the same team!
2. Pro: The clients are happier.
Since becoming design-build, we’ve learned this is exactly what our clients want. I can't tell you how many times I've sat across our conference table and seen the relief wash over our clients’ faces when they’ve discovered we’re the ones working with them from start to finish. No surprise here—they’re developing trust with us! They’re telling us exactly what they want in their custom home and don’t want to translate that once again to the builder. When they work with a true design-build firm, they don’t have to. It just makes sense this way.
3. Con: There’s less checks and balances.
Full transparency: Our team misses the checks and balances of the separate architect-builder-client relationship. Throughout my 25 years of residential architecture, this trifecta works wonders. As mentioned before, we’re architects first and still do full-service projects where we serve as the architect, not the builder. In this scenario, we help you find a builder that you hire separately, and then the builder takes on that side of the project. Throughout this process, we work as your advocate throughout the construction of your home, even though we’re not the ones building it. This is something I miss doing! It just goes to show, being design-build isn’t all perfect.
4. Pro: It saves you time and money.
When it comes to creating your custom home, we can’t design every single thing on paper, nor do we want to. If you're designing a hospital, for example, you need to. Not only does this cost millions of dollars, it takes a lot of time putting everything on paper and knowing exactly where every little thing is going to be located. It all needs to be decided early on. That’s not how it works when designing a house—we get to design on the fly. It might be hard to choose the perfect light fixture until you’re in the space. Some things can happen during construction, too. It makes for a great process, so that we end up with the very best product at the end.
A design-build firm creates a more streamlined process, which saves the client time and money. Because there’s only one contact, we don’t need to call a million people to get the okay to make a change—we can make the decision immediately. Streamlining this process is important for mental health, saving time, and saving money.
Have any questions?
Although we covered a lot in this post, you may still have some other questions about the pros and cons of using a design-build architecture firm. Whether you’re involved in the custom home process now, or even just considering it, join our free Facebook group—we’ll help you answer any questions you might have! Also, feel free to invite anyone that you think would benefit from this collaborative. You’ll not only get advice from me, but from other people who have been through this, too.
Start the process.
When it comes to designing and building a custom home, nothing beats having a trusted, experienced team of architects on your side. Let’s set up a call to meet, discuss your goals, answer your questions, and settle your fears. We can’t wait to meet you!