Design Led Construction™: Simple description

A practical, grass-roots approach to integrated team-working, without bureaucratic overheads, and with early wins for all concerned.
Offers to the client a clear, unified chain of responsibility from inception to completion and beyond, with early bottoming out of risk, robust, constructive brief development, early cost confidence, shortest practical project timescales, highest practical flexibility.
DLC™ is currently aimed at jobs between £500,000 and £5,000,000, and is well-suited to clients looking for high quality outcomes and strong, reliable support from a united Design Team.
The main supply-side players work as a team (with appropriate contractual arrangements), with the aim of managing the project process in a coherent way from start to finish, with increasing confidence and trust as the project progresses. Most importantly, a main contractor is involved at ALL stages.
A phased approach, with break points, following the process through to give the client a single point of contact/responsibility that carries through the job. Team make-up and organisation changes with each phase, along with commitment, risk and responsibility. Most importantly, a thorough, paid-for, Feasibility Phase aims to identify risks, opportunities and a robust project budget from the outset.

No novel contractual forms are needed. The first three phases will often be led by design professionals. On smaller projects other parties will be sub-contractors, while larger projects will tend to be Joint Ventures. On larger projects, the team/client may prefer a Joint Venture from the outset. Construction phase will generally be a joint venture, and will typically use Design & Build contract forms.
There is no 'tender process' immediately before construction. Contractor team member(s) are selected at an early point - either at Inception or Feasibility. The Client agrees the project scope and budget at the beginning and end of each phase. Clients are encouraged to retain an independent QS where appropriate. DLC is for Clients who want an agreed programe at the highest practical quality, delivered in a timely and effective manner to a reliable budget.
'Design Led' means harnessing and enabling the creative contribution of all members of the supply-side team,so that all have a productive, profitable and satisfying relationship with their work. Everyone working to the Design Led Construction™ approach is fully committed to making high quality, sustainable projects,