Ever looked at these beautiful bungalows and wondered how they came to fruition?

Many of our Clients come to us with Pinterest photos and some ideas of how they envision their dream houses to be. Behind the scenes of these beautiful images lies a complicated and technical process of construction – from designing, to bidding, and finally, to building.

There are 2 procurement methods which you can employ to carry out this process:

1. Traditional Procurement
2. Design and Build

This article discusses the characteristics of both procurement methods and highlights its suitability for works.

Traditional Procurement

In a Traditional Procurement, the Client engages an Architect and other Consultants to design. Besides designing to meet user requirements, the team of Consultants are also responsible for quality, cost control, obtaining authorities’ approval and contract administration.

The appointment of a good builder is carried out through a competitive tender process, after detailed design documentation, prepared by the Consultants. The Contractor is not responsible for design and its fitness to purpose. The Contractor’s responsibility lies in completing the works, to the Consultants’ specifications.

For more information on the process of developing a house, refer to our article “Guide to Building a House in Singapore.”

Design and Build

For Design and Build contracts, the Client engages Contractor to undertake both the design and construction aspects of the project.

This method has several implications. Theoretically, this method of engaging one entity promotes more collaboration between the Design professionals and builder and allows for single point responsibility, which is key advantage for home-owners.

However, in reality many Design and Build Contractors are primarily Contractors, and are not proficient in design, therefore compromising on the quality of the proposal and built product. In the Traditional Procurement method, the Architect acts as a third party to ensure that the construction meets the quality and standards as delineated in the signed contracts. In the Design and Build method, the Contractor and Architect belongs under one legal entity and the Owner loses a neutral third party to administer the contract fairly.

This is especially concerning as the home-owners, who tend to have very specific user requirements, end up with less control on design. Often, the end result may not meet the expectations of these home-owners who have spent a considerable amount of money. This is unlike the Traditional Procurement method, where the design is controlled fully by the home-owner and consultants, and is fully known and detailed before Tender.

Recommendation

Although there is more front-end time required for tender documentation by Consultants, the Traditional Procurement method is more suitable for residential houses, where Clients are more likely to have specific user requirements and preferences.

传统采购 VS. 设计与建造

看着这些美丽的平房，想知道它们是如何建成的吗？

许多客户带着Pinterest照片和关于梦中情房的想法来找我们。在这些美丽画面的背后，隐藏着复杂的技术建设过程——从设计、招标，到最后的施工。

执行这一过程通常有两种采购方法：

1. 传统采购
2. 设计与建造

本文讨论了两种采购方法的特点，并强调了其工程适用性。

传统采购

在传统采购模式中，客户聘请建筑师和其他顾问进行设计。除了提供满足客户要求的设计之外，顾问团队还负责质量、成本控制、获得当局批准和合同管理。

顾问准备好详细的设计文件后，通过竞争性投标程序委任建筑承包商。承包商不对设计及其适用性负责，其责任在于按照顾问的规范完成工程。

关于房屋建筑的更多信息，请参考我们的文章《新加坡建房指南》

设计与建造

对于设计与建造合同，由客户聘请承包商承担项目的设计和施工。

这种模式有几层含义。理论角度而言，这种单方参与的模式促进了设计专业人员和建筑商之间的更多合作，并可实行单点责任制，这是业主的主要优势。

然而，在现实中，许多设计与建造承包商并不精通设计，也因此影响了设计提案和施工成品的质量。在传统采购模式中，建筑师作为第三方，确保承包商施工符合签署的合同中规定的质量和标准。在设计与建造模式中，承包商和建筑师属于同一个法人实体，没有中立的第三方来公平地确保合同履行。

最大的问题在于，在这种模式下，有着非常具体的需求的业主最终无法掌控房屋的设计。通常，尽管业主投入大量金钱，但最终结果可能并不尽如人意。这与传统采购模式不同，后者的设计完全由业主和顾问控制，并且在投标前已经确认全部细节。

建议

虽然顾问团队在项目前期需要更多时间准备招标文件，但这种传统采购模式更适合住宅建造，因为住宅客户通常会有更具体的需求和偏好。