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Large Construction Project

A large construction project can be a project of varying type, from an office building to a stadium, shopping mall or storage facility. The type of materials used in a large construction project vary with the design and purpose of the project. Large construction projects like buildings use primarily concrete shells with a steel superstructure, while other construction projects may be more simple and need only corrugated metal siding.

A large construction project will be laid out with the help of a design team, which will consist of, at a minimum, an architect and construction manager. In most cases, these projects will also require interior designers, surveyors, engineers, developers and general contractors; accountants or other financial experts may be needed to monitor costs. In the past, many of these jobs were awarded to separate contractors. More recently, however, members of large construction project teams have worked to consolidate those roles.

With large construction projects built using the the design/bid/build approach, an architect or engineer oversees the project. They handle the design, produce construction drawings, oversee bids and contracts and the building process itself. The links between the architect, the client and the main contractor are direct. The contractor can win a project through the lowest blind bid or through the construction manager at-risk method, where the contractor guarantees to deliver the large construction project within a guaranteed maximum price. Instead of simply serving as construction manager, the contractor also serves as a consultant to the owner during the design and development processes.

The design-build method has been increasing in popularity over the past decade on large construction projects. In design-build, the owner doesn't hire an architect to design the project, then seeks bids from a contractor. In this case, the owner solicits bids from a architect/contractor teams, who develop their own designs and include complete design and construction costs in their bids. This is different from the traditional process, where the architect completes the design before the contractors put in their bids.

In the management procurement method, the owner holds the greatest amount of control. Instead of hiring an architect to handle the project in construction, or hiring a consortium, the owner oversees every part of the process. They hire the architect, the construction manager and, in many cases, the subcontractors. Proponents of this method believe it speeds up the procurement process and increases flexibility throughout the building process.

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