Construction Practice - Essay Example

In different types of procurements, the level of risk that the owner has to bear also differs. The control of the owner over the entire project also differs with the change in the method of procurement. Considering the nature of the project and the specific requirements of the owner with, I would suggest the traditional method of procurement for the purpose of constructing the specified things in the old building as well as for the parking lot on the nearby plot. The traditional form of procurement involves the appointment of a separate design team direct by the client.

The team will develop the design in accordance with the client's design brief, arrange for a tender and subsequently administer the contract on site. The design and all the specifications should be completed in all aspects before the tenders from contractors are invited so that the owner can exactly understand the design and could make the desired changes as per the needs. The designer, who is specialised in the designs of architectural conservation and adaptive reuse of buildings, shall be able to comprehend the design exercise in a better manner and would there fore be able to provide appropriate design solutions that suit the structural requirements as well as the taste of the existing building.

Adaptive reuse of a building requires specialised knowledge and there fore proper solution could only be achieved by appropriate designer. Since the owner has specific design requirements for the parking lot in terms of its architectural character with reference to the old building, I also suggest that the building to be designed by a specified designer so that the owner can exercise greater control over the process of design in order to achieve the desired result. For the construction purpose, a separate contractor can employed by the owner by being in consultation with the architect, to execute the design work which is normally under a standard joint contracts tribunal form of contract.

Therefore in this case, the contractor and the design team shall be two separate bodies that are hired by the owner, both of them responsible to the owner. Here it is expected that the contractor exactly follows the instructions of the architect and in other words it can also be said that the architect is acting on the client's behalf to get the job completed effectively. The contractor quotes a lump sum amount for which he agrees to carry out the entire job. This also gives the client a control over the total budget of the project because once the quote is finalised, the contractor assumes the total risk of financial expenditures that are incurred during the construction part.

In case of other methods of procurement like 'design and build', he would have lesser control over the design part of the building because both the duties of designing and building are been performed by a single team. Also there are fewer chances that the design team, responsible for carrying out the design for newer developments, have good knowledge of redevelopment in terms of the structure and the architectural styles of the old buildings. Since there is no division of responsibilities for designing and construction on the site, it shall be comparatively challenging for the client to achieve the de