Many years ago my practice was asked to design a library building for which neither the budget nor the time allocated were adequate. We accepted the commission on the understanding that we could explore an alternative procurement method.

Having previously been involved in many exhibition and interior design projects, where we dealt directly with trade and specialist contractors without a general contractor. we decided to apply this process to achieve the necessary time and cost savings. It proved so successful that the library was completed within the given time and budget constraints and was still of high quality. Our client was delighted and entrusted us with more projects using the same formula. We subsequently carried out a wide range of projects for other clients using this method — our design and construction training make us ideal construction managers. Working closely with trade and specialist contractors from inception and throughout the design and construction stages bring opportunities for innovation and unexpected economies.

In addition, the close collaboration between designer and trade/specialist contractor provided CPD opportunities and increased job satisfaction. Contractors gave competitive tenders and were happy not to be constantly beaten down by a general contractor.

The German government does not allow the procurement of public buildings through general contract tender and it also claims this route is 25% more expensive.

When we compared our construction management projects with those procured using general contractor tendering, we found that our process did indeed deliver buildings at least 25% cheaper than the traditional method in less time and to a higher quality.

In ignoring this form of procurement a significant opportunity is being missed to deliver innovative. high quality buildings as well as saving public funds.

Hans Haenlein www.haenlein.com