What Is the Architect's Role in a Design-and-Build Project?
The relationship between architect and contractor in a design-and-build project is fundamentally different from the traditional procurement model. Understanding this difference helps clients make better decisions about how to structure their project and who is responsible for what.
Traditional Versus Design-and-Build Procurement
In a traditional project, the architect works directly for the client throughout the design and construction phases. They produce the full design package, oversee the tender process, and then administer the construction contract — checking the contractor's work, certifying payments, and resolving disputes between client and contractor. The architect and contractor are separate parties, each contractually independent.
In a design-and-build project, the client has a single contract with the design-and-build contractor, who takes responsibility for both design and construction. The architect — if they are part of the design-and-build team — works within or alongside the contractor's team rather than as the client's independent representative.
What the Architect Delivers in a Design-and-Build Project
Depending on the project stage, the architect's input to a design-and-build project typically includes: initial design concept and feasibility; planning application drawings and supporting documents; design development to construction information standard; coordination with structural engineer and specialist consultants; and compliance with Building Regulations requirements in the design.
In some design-and-build arrangements, the architect produces drawings up to planning stage, and the contractor takes over design development from there — with the contractor's own technical staff or preferred structural engineer producing the construction detailing. In others, the architect remains involved through the full construction phase.
The Key Difference: Who Does the Architect Work For?
This is the critical point that clients must understand. In a design-and-build contract, if the architect is engaged by and paid by the contractor, their primary duty runs to the contractor — not to the client. This doesn't make the architect dishonest, but it does mean they are not acting as the client's independent professional check on the contractor's work.
Clients who want independent design oversight on a design-and-build project can appoint their own architect to review and comment on the design as it develops — sometimes called an Employer's Agent or Independent Certifier. This adds cost but preserves a degree of independent professional oversight.
How RCB Approaches Design Coordination
RCB operates as a design-and-build principal contractor — which means we take responsibility for coordinating design, structure, compliance, and delivery within a single contract. We work with architects and structural engineers whose input we coordinate, and we manage the design development process through to construction. Clients retain clear visibility of the design at all stages and can maintain their own relationship with the design team if preferred.
For clients who want to bring their own architect and have RCB deliver the build, we work equally well in that model — with the client's architect maintaining their traditional role while RCB takes principal contractor responsibility for the construction phase.
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