Projects secured through the traditional method of public bids and private invited competitive bids are a valued part of the company’s annual mix. However, a majority of the building projects are negotiated as design/build or traditional construction - especially when time, budget or other restraints prohibit competitive bidding.

Fast-track design/build construction is becoming the contracting method of choice. With its value-engineering possibilities, design/build has proven to be the most time-expedient and cost-containing method for both owner and contractor. The design/build concept is a cooperative effort among all principal parties – owner, contractor and his retained design professional. This teamwork allows the project to go from concept to occupancy much faster and with a significant savings.

Proving to be the way of the future, design/build has grown considerably over the last ten years. Almost all of our design/build projects are negotiated and we expect design/build to account for the majority of our work in the future. Many industry experts say that a customer can generally save around 6% of the construction costs from a design-bid-build scenario. By maintaining open communications with its clients, Cooper and the design/build concept can control total job performance, quality and cost.