DBIA in the News — Jan. 1 – Mar. 22, 2024

Explore some of DBIA’s news coverage from the first quarter of 2024, featuring resources, awards, staff members and members of the DBIA National Board of Directors.

DBIA proudly announces Diana Lee Tucker, CAE, as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO). With a distinguished career in association management, Tucker brings a wealth of expertise and a proven track record of transformative leadership.

The UC San Diego Nuevo East Graduate Student Housing has been awarded the DBIA National Award of Merit in the Educational Facilities category. The award recognizes such players in the project as Latitude 33 Planning & Engineering; the UCSD project represents Latitude 33’s fourth DBIA Award in five years.

DBIA National Board Member Shailendra Patel (Virginia Department of Transportation) was a panelist at the annual Transportation Research Board forum in D.C. ENR covered the event and featured Patel’s remarks on successful design-build project delivery on transportation projects. 

DBIA has updated its Design-Build Done Right Federal Sector Best Practices, offering a comprehensive guide for teams navigating the intricacies of federal project delivery. Understanding the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and adhering to the right practices can be the key to a successful design-build project, and the revised Best Practices document provides such guidance. 

DBIA Director for Virtual Design and Construction Brian Skripac shares insights into the evolving landscape of construction technology. Skripac discusses the excitement of leveraging new technologies to enhance productivity and efficiency in construction. He emphasizes the need for professionals in the industry to tell their stories and talks technology integration.

DBIA’s updated Design Excellence Position Statement emphasizes collaboration between design and construction professionals through all project delivery stages, from procurement and development through execution. Understanding the design community’s changing needs, the statement introduces five lenses to help provide a framework for evaluating design excellence

Brian Skripac, the Director of Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) at the Design Build Institute of America and a luminary in the BIM and VDC domains, stops by to enlighten us on the revolution within the building industry. His journey from architect to tech evangelist showcases the transformative potential when architects, engineers, and construction managers unite under the banner of innovation.

New York Mayor Eric Adams led a groundbreaking ceremony in Tompkinsville for the new Mary Cali Dalton Center. The new 45,000 square meter center will offer a variety of recreational facilities. Vice Chair of DBIA National Board of Directors Tom Foley is a Staten Island resident and Commissioner of the New York City Department of Design & Construction.

As more owners seek opportunities for earlier collaboration in projects to refine the design and meet budget requirements before finalizing their project prices, traditional design-build, progressive design-build, construction management at-risk, public-private partnerships and design-build-operate are becoming increasingly attractive. Demand for these delivery agreements appears to be growing more rapidly than ever. 

DBIA CEO/ED Lisa Washington spoke with American DBE about the momentum of progressive design-build (PDB) in highway construction. PDB contracts have become increasingly popular as infrastructure agencies pursue more complex projects while also seeking to maximize the use of federal and state funding. “The Progressive Design-Build method creates greater collaboration because the key players are at the table earlier in the process,” said Washington. 

DBIA’s Specialty Conferences, the nation’s only design-build events focused on the water/wastewater and transportation/aviation sectors, will be in Cincinnati April 15 – 19, 2024. Each spring, thousands of the nation’s leading design-build Owners and practitioners come together for timely and targeted Design-Build Done Right® education for every member of a design-build team.

ENR highlights DBIA specialty conferences, new Collaborative Leadership Academy and upcoming resources in a special advertising section of the March 11 issue. The full issue includes a feature on the Microsoft Thermal Energy Center, updates across AEC market sectors and the 2023 Best of Award winners. 

Leaf Litter Quarterly, a newsletter published by conservation and ecological restoration foundation Biohabitats, featured DBIA in its Spring Equinox issue. The issue is dedicated to design-build in nature-based projects and solutions. DBIA is the issue’s nonprofit spotlight. 

The Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) announces the winners of the 2023 National Design-Build Project/Team Merit Awards. A total of 62 projects from across the United States were submitted for consideration in 10 different categories. The submissions underwent evaluation by a panel of industry experts. 

California Builder & Engineer featured a number of the 2023 DBIA Award winners.