Festbau Construction
Team reviewing architectural drawings on a construction site

Design-Build Services

Design-Build Delivery, Under One Contract.

Align scope, schedule, and budget early—one team, one contract, one timeline.

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Delivery Method Fit

Is Design-Build Right for You?

Design-build consolidates design and construction under a single contract. It works best when you need speed, cost certainty, and a single point of accountability from day one.

schedule

Tight Timeline

Your project has a hard occupancy date or funding deadline. Design-build overlaps design and construction phases to compress the overall schedule.

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Single-Point Accountability

You want one team responsible for design and construction—eliminating finger-pointing between separate architects and contractors.

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Budget Certainty

You need locked-in pricing early. Design-build enables Guaranteed Maximum Price commitments before construction documents are fully complete.

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Complex Coordination

Your project involves multiple trades, long-lead equipment, or phased occupancy. An integrated team resolves conflicts faster than fragmented contracts.

Our Process

5-Step Design-Build Roadmap

From initial programming through construction closeout, every phase is planned, priced, and coordinated by one integrated team.

1
draw

Programming & Schematic Design

Define project goals, space requirements, site constraints, and establish the conceptual design direction with stakeholder alignment.

2
architecture

Design Development

Refine materials, systems, and layouts. Integrate structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering with constructability input.

3
description

Construction Documentation

Produce permit-ready drawings and specifications. Finalize details for trade procurement and regulatory submissions.

4
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Preconstruction & Buyout

Finalize the GMP, execute trade contracts, order long-lead materials, and lock the construction schedule.

5
construction

Construction & Closeout

Execute the work with rigorous schedule tracking, quality control, and stakeholder reporting through to final turnover.

Schedule Tracking Quality Control Final Turnover

Cost & Scope Control

How We Prevent Change Orders

Pricing checkpoints at 30/60/90% design ensure scope alignment, budget validation, and schedule certainty before construction begins.

30%
Scope Intent
60%
Lock Assemblies
90%
Procurement Ready
30%

Scope Intent

  • check_circle Confirm scope intent and system assumptions
  • check_circle Establish budget guardrails
  • check_circle Identify critical design decisions
60%

Lock Major Assemblies

  • check_circle Lock major assemblies and systems
  • check_circle Reduce unknowns in trade scopes
  • check_circle Refine trade scopes for accuracy
90%

Procurement Ready

  • check_circle Finalize selections and coordination
  • check_circle Confirm procurement readiness
  • check_circle Lock schedule and trade commitments
receipt_long

Allowances

Defined placeholders with a clear basis and decision date. These are temporary budget allocations that will be replaced with fixed selections as design progresses.

  • arrow_right Clear basis of estimate
  • arrow_right Decision deadline documented
  • arrow_right Reconciled before GMP execution
lock

Fixed Selections

Locked items that reduce variability and protect total exposure. These selections are finalized, priced, and committed, eliminating scope creep and change order risk.

  • arrow_right Firm pricing secured
  • arrow_right Trade commitments in place
  • arrow_right Schedule impact confirmed
engineering

Value Engineering (Without Degrading Performance)

We document options that protect lifecycle outcomes—simplifying constructability, reducing schedule risk, and aligning specs to durability and operations. Value engineering is about smarter delivery, not cutting corners.

Timeline Advantage

Design-Build vs. Traditional Delivery

Design-build compresses project timelines by overlapping design and construction phases. Here is how the two methods compare on a typical 18-month project.

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Traditional Design-Bid-Build

~24 Months

Design

8 months

Bid

3 months

Construction

13 months

Sequential phases. Construction cannot begin until design is 100% complete and bidding is finished.

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Festbau Design-Build

~16 Months

Design

6 months

Overlap

Early work

Construction

10 months

Saved

Overlapping phases. Early construction packages begin while design details are finalized.

33%

Faster Delivery

1

Single Contract

0

Bid Phase Delays

Case Study

Featured Design-Build Project

Burks Falls Mid-Rise Renovation project by Festbau
Design-Build Completed

Burks Falls Mid-Rise Renovation

Burk's Falls, Ontario

$5.0M

Major mid-rise renovation delivered under a single design-build contract. Festbau managed the full scope from schematic design through closeout, coordinating multiple trades on a compressed schedule with disciplined cost controls.

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Common Questions

Design-Build FAQ

Ready to Explore Design-Build for Your Next Project?

Share your project scope, timeline, and constraints. Our team will outline a clear plan of action.

Schedule a Call