Design-Build and Design-Bid-Build in Construction- a Comparative Review

This paper aims at synthesizing relevant findings about the Design-Build (DB) construction delivery system from previous studies. It focuses especially on cost, schedule, quality, and various sustainability aspects associated with a construction project, as they are widely used as performance indicators in this industry. This work has been done through a literature review and a content analysis, focusing on papers comparing Design-Build to the classical Design-Bid-Build delivery system. The results of the literature review show that Design-Build outperforms Design-Bid-Build in terms of cost and schedule growth as well as in terms of delivery speed, all for a similar quality. Furthermore, it may suggest that Design-Build could help in reaching highly sustainable goals while being a key step in the implementation of lean construction. This study might allow owners to save time in their investigation about the performance of Design-Build, and even lead them to reconsider their project delivery system choice when planning for new project launches.