The modern trend in design is toward integration
of previously separated specialties, especially
among large firms. In the past, architects, interior
designers, engineers, developers, construction
managers, and general contractors were more likely
to be entirely separate companies, even in the
larger firms. Presently, a firm that is nominally
an "architecture" or "construction
management" firm may have experts from all
related fields as employees, or to have an associated
company that provides each necessary skill. Thus,
each such firm may offer itself as "one-stop
shopping" for a construction project, from
beginning to end. This is designated as a "design
Build" contract where the contractor is given
a performance specification, and must undertake
the project from design to construction, while
adhering to the performance specifications. A
formal design team may be assembled to plan the
physical proceedings, and to integrate those proceedings
with the other parts. The design usually consists
of drawings and specifications, usually prepared
by a design team including architects, interior
designers, surveyors, civil engineers, cost engineers,
mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and
structural engineers. The design team is most
commonly employed by the property owner. Under
this system, once the design is completed by the
design team, a number of construction companies
or construction management companies may then
be asked to make a bid for the work, either based
directly on the design, or on the basis of drawings
and a bill of quantities provided by a quantity
surveyor.
The increasing complexity of construction projects
creates the need for design professionals trained
in all phases of the project's life-cycle and
develop an appreciation of the building as an
advanced technological system requiring close
integration of many sub-systems and their individual
components, including sustainability. Building
engineering is an emerging discipline that attempts
to meet this new challenge.
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