THE ARCHITECT’S NEWSPAPER: “Inside Architecture’s One-Stop Shop”

Anna Bergren Miller looks into how architect-led design-build can deliver more for less. 

ART AS SHELTER, RALEIGH, NC, TONIC DESIGN.

“The typical process of architecture is broken.” So begins a slideshow on the website of GLUCK+, the New York firm known for its practice—and advocacy—of architect-led design build. Design-build differs from conventional project delivery in that a single firm is responsible for both design and construction. Proponents of the method argue that by repairing the breach between architecture and building design-build benefits both clients and architects, and produces better designs…

…Clients save money under design-build, though how much is up for debate. BUILD suggests that the process reduces project costs by about 10 percent. The most widely cited figures, touted by the Design-Build Institute of America and other proponents of the method, come from a 16-year-old study by the Construction Industry Institute (CII) and Penn State, which found that design-build lowered unit costs 6.1 percent over design-bid-build. For Katherine Hogan, co-owner of tonic design | tonic construction in Raleigh, North Carolina, the financial advantage of design-build is harder to pin down, yet nonetheless real. “There are efficiencies in the process,” she said. “It’s not percentage-wise that there’s a savings, but there’s a cost savings in time, management, and responsibility.” READ MORE…

URBAN HOME: “Brought Back To Life”

The Chiles residence in Raleigh.

By Anne Marie Ashley

August/September 2014 — Abandoned in the 1960s, this old steel-framed and woodpaneled home on a hilltop overlooking Crabtree Creek seemed unredeemable to everyone but the Chiles’. Through the kudzu covered walls and rotted, ivy-ridden wood they could see a pristine, modern home that would pay proper homage to the Mid-Century Modern structure it once was. It reminded them of Pierre Koenig’s homes in the California hills, they would say. The bones of the home were strong and their vision clear, and the couple began a year-long journey to build a living gallery full of art, light and open spaces.

T he Chiles’ called on Tonic Design in Raleigh to help them reconstruct the home, knowing their design/build model would be ideal for this type of project. “The clients came to us wanting the most loft-like home and home-like loft,” says Vincent Petrarca, lead designer at Tonic. “They felt we could help them realize their dream of a modern home.” Having visited other significant architectural projects like Falling Water done by Frank Lloyd Wright and Villa Savoye outside of Paris designed by Le Corbusier, the Chiles’ recognized the details that they were drawn to and could use these as a reference point when designing the new home. READ MORE…