Design-Build

LAMPS Building - Patuxent River Naval Air Station

WBCM has been involved in design/build projects for over twenty years.These projects have varied in size and complexity and have taken different forms of the same principle. The variations include fast-track design, construction management and partnering as well as design/build. WBCM is a strong advocate of the design/build projects and seeks out opportunities that employ it. WBCM prefers the design/build process as a partnering or teaming effort as compared to the sometimes adversarial design/bid/build process.

The contractor becomes a true partner to the design team. Involvement of the contractor right from the start results in an overall more cost effective project. WBCM will work with the Architect and Mechanical Engineer early in the design process to identify viable structural systems and materials. These will be discussed with the contractor regarding constructability issues. Preliminary designs will be developed for the most logical alternatives and submitted to the contractor for cost evaluations and determination of the most cost effective solutions as related to the overall project. The least cost structural system does not always result in the most economical overall cost.

The design/build team under the contractor’s leadership will establish the construction schedule identifying milestones to be met by the design team. Often the schedule and how it relates to the time of year may dictate the structural system. Where information from other design disciplines required for the development of the structural designs is not yet available, conservative but cost effective assumptions will be made to allow the earliest construction start. Often in design/build projects, the structural elements are under fabrication or erection well before the drawings of the other disciplines are complete. The construction schedule will identify times and duration’s for the submission and review of shop drawings and other submittals. Priorities will be set for the order of submission and return of shop drawings to ensure their timely processing for fabrication shop schedules.

Inherent from the interaction between design/build team members is a finished project, which is more cost effective, completed in far shorter time and having enhanced value for the owner.

WBCM's design/build experience includes:

• Webster Field Annex, Patuxent River NAS
• LAMPS Building, Patuxent River NAS
• Renovate Building 33 and Quadrangle Buildings, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.
• Community Center/Self Help Center, Patuxent River Naval Air Station,
  Washington Navy Yard, D.C.
• Maintenance Storage Building and Office, Towson University
• Lafarge Gypsum Renovations, Port of Wilmington, DE
• Central Light Rail Line Extension, Hunt Valley, BWI Airport, & Penn Station, MD
• Andrews Air Force BEQ, Camp Springs, MD
• Add Coal Conveyor to Building 768, Naval Ordnance Station, Indian Head, MD
• Internal Revenue Service Building, Berkeley, WV
• J.C. Penney Store #2699, Burlington Mall, Burlington, NJ
• MD Route 314 at MD Route 480, Greensboro, MD
• MDOT Headquarters Renovation and Addition, Linthicum, MD
• Parking Lot 8 Addition, UMBC, Catonsville, MD
• RFP for Design/Build Project, 9031 Reichs Ford Road, Frederick, MD
• Rocky Gap Pedestrian Bridge, Rocky Gap State Park, MD
• Track and Field Renovation, UMBC, Catonsville, MD
• UMCP Steam Improvements, Univ. of MD at College Park, MD
• Universal Maintenance/Repair Facility Design/Build, Frederick, MD
• VA Nursing Home, Loch Raven & the Alameda, MD
• General Motors - Baltimore Plant, Broening Highway, MD