In the years since World War II, the architect’s prestige, influence, and involvement in the construction industry has steadily declined as architects, fearful of legal risks and liabilities, have excluded important elements of their clients’ construction concerns from their scope of responsibility. During the same time, design-build has been the fastest growing method of project delivery in the United States, although most design-build teams are led or controlled by contractors, with the design professional’s role, influence, and control of the projects minimized. These dual trends are harmful to the architecture profession and represent significant lost opportunities for its members. A practical business plan, however, can allow and encourage architects to become the lead members of design-build teams.
    Learning objectives:

• Create and establish a feasible, profitable, and personally rewarding business structure, reverting to the architect’s traditional role of master builder
• Bifurcate your design-build practices into separate design and construction companies that reduce your overall liabilities to less than what you presently incur in traditional practice
• Structure and organize an effective design-build team with contractors to perform the construction for your projects using your newly developed design-build capacity to market and sell your services more effectively