In recent years, the use of design-build has grown significantly across market sectors. A method of project delivery where the design and construction phases are combined into a single contract—and the designer and contractor work together from the beginning—design-build helps streamline projects by eliminating the need for multiple contractors and promotes collaboration from conception to completion.

Design-build differs from the traditional design-bid-build approach, where project owners outsource the design work to an architectural/engineering firm on a negotiated-price basis and then contract out construction services on a low-bid basis. These and other project delivery systems may not only introduce inefficiencies during the contracting process, but also miss some of the opportunities to reduce design times and construction cycles, according to FMI, a leading management consulting and investment banking firm dedicated to engineering and construction, infrastructure, and the built environment.