Bill Zahner Discusses Creativity, Constructibility, and Design Assist in ArchDaily

Design Assist Smartly Links Owners, Architects, and Contractors

ArchDaily, one of the world’s most-trusted sources of ideas, inspiration and tools for architects, recently featured an article by Bill Zahner on the finer points of Design Assist and how it can help save time and money, as well as prevent frustration and finger-pointing.

The article details how Design Assist should not begin as an accounting and value engineering exercise. It shouldn’t start with costs and timelines. Sure, those details are critical for project success, but they come later.

First and foremost, Design Assist is a conversation about design inspiration, vision, and intent. Balancing creativity and constructability is the ultimate challenge for any owner, architect, or general contractor and early collaboration can help these key stakeholders achieve that delicate balance. The Design Assist phase of a project can be extremely useful and productive, and when done well with experienced practitioners, can often mean the difference between confusion and clarity, costly and cost-effective, mediocre and exceptional.