(pronounced dih-ZYNE bild)

The most common way of getting a building built is to hire three parties: an A&D firm to form the project’s aesthetic and oversee creation of the construction documents, an engineering firm to ensure that the design will actually stand up, and a general contractor to build what’s called out in all those blueprints. In a design-build situation, however, the design, engineering, and construction are all performed by the same company under one contract. This type of construction project delivery system is primarily used when time is limited because the design and construction phases of the project can be more easily overlapped. Why? The amount of finger-pointing and blame for design changes and value engineering is reduced due to the fact that only one company holds the responsibility for the project’s accurate completion.

See also: value engineer