The Ultimate Guide to Better Building Projects is written for clients, contractors, and designers who are looking for approaches to the design and construction of buildings that are better than the current way we do things. Too many building projects are exhausting, too expensive, and wrought with fighting and animosity. If you ended up with a perfect building after all of that, it might be worth going through. In reality, what we usually get from traditional procurement processes is poor in quality, slow to realise, and over-priced. You’re just glad when it’s over. What we outline here is a new way of building that addresses the flawed system we are working within and aims to produce much higher value architecture, faster and cheaper.
The building contracts we use today lead to numerous conflicts. Some examples include the tendering (bidding out) of underdeveloped design, getting “guestimate” prices from contractors who have only a fraction of the overall project information, expecting those contractors to coordinate interfacing parts in little or no time; potentially changing design requirements mid-flow; expecting everything to come together in the rain and mud; and expecting everything to function when the building is switched on. Clearly this approach is not an effective way to build something. It is madness made into a contract when you consider it, and that “contract” is the only thing that might protect those involved from the nightmare of confused legal liabilities that result.
What we propose is a unified approach and agreement (contract) which focuses on the relationships necessary for the successful completion of the project. What we refer to here as a Unified Building Agreement is a method of designing and constructing buildings that is set up specifically to avoid common pitfalls and ensure success for your project.
