Design Build by Jeffrey Beard, Edward Wundram, and Michael Loulakis

Being in the midst of a design-build process for a new campus, it's good to see what others have done. This book provides a high-level process overview of design-build.

In 1420, the competitors assembled in Florence to present their schemes for the dome. They assembled in the Office of Works of Santa Maria del Fiore, in the presence of the wardens and consuls and a number of the most able cit- izens, all of whom were to listen to each builder’s suggestions and then reach a decision on how to vault the cupola. The proponents were called into the audi- ence and everyone spoke their minds in turn, all master builders explaining their own plans. Filippo alone said that the cupola could be raised without a great deal of woodwork, without piers or earth, at far less expense than arches would entail, and very easily without any temporary framework to support the dome during construction.

To the consuls, expecting Brunelleschi to expound some beautiful scheme, it seemed that he was talking nonsense. They mocked and laughed at him and turned away, saying that his ideas were as mad as he was. Filippo took offense at this and later prepared a detailed written description of his proposal for the design and construction of the cupola. After considerable lobbying by Brunelleschi with individual consuls, wardens, and citizens, they were encour- aged to call another meeting and the builders once again disputed the matter.

The wardens were interested in his scheme and suggestions and urged him to make a model which they could study. He refused. When urged by the war- dens and the competing experts to explain his design and construction meth- ods, he suggested that whoever could make an egg stand on end on a flat piece of marble could build the cupola, since this would show how intelligent each person was. So an egg was produced and each builder tried in turn to make it stand on end, but they were unsuccessful. When Filippo was asked to do so, he cracked the bottom of the egg on the marble and made it stand upright. The others complained that they could have done as much; Filippo retorted that they would also have known how to vault the cupola if they had seen his model and plans. Therefore, in 1420, the wardens resolved that Brunelleschi should be given the commission to design and construct the cathedral dome.

Current IT "heavy" information guidelines

Initial project information for the design-build team.

Classes for people involved in the design-build process.