In _____, the A/E is acting in the owner's interests.

In _____, the A/E is acting in the owner's interests.

• A. Design-Bid-Build
• B. Design-Build
• C. Integrated Project Delivery
• D. Construction Manager at Risk

Answer: (A)

In a traditional Design-Bid-Build arrangement, the architect is engaged directly by the owner and has a fiduciary duty to protect the owner’s interests throughout the design process. The project is delivered in two separate contracts: one for design (the architect) and one for construction (the contractor). Because the architect’s client is the owner, the architect provides independent professional advice, pursues the owner’s goals for scope, quality, cost, and schedule, and represents the owner’s interests without being bound to the contractor’s interests. In other delivery methods, the design professional’s obligations are tied to a design-build team, a collaborative IPD framework, or a construction manager at risk, which can align the professional more with the delivery team’s overall goals or incentives rather than acting solely on the owner’s independent interests. That separation of design and construction with the owner as the direct client makes the owner-focused role most clear in Design-Bid-Build.

In a traditional Design-Bid-Build arrangement, the architect is engaged directly by the owner and has a fiduciary duty to protect the owner’s interests throughout the design process. The project is delivered in two separate contracts: one for design (the architect) and one for construction (the contractor). Because the architect’s client is the owner, the architect provides independent professional advice, pursues the owner’s goals for scope, quality, cost, and schedule, and represents the owner’s interests without being bound to the contractor’s interests.

In other delivery methods, the design professional’s obligations are tied to a design-build team, a collaborative IPD framework, or a construction manager at risk, which can align the professional more with the delivery team’s overall goals or incentives rather than acting solely on the owner’s independent interests. That separation of design and construction with the owner as the direct client makes the owner-focused role most clear in Design-Bid-Build.