Design-Build Lead,turnkey consortiumorchestration on the envelope.

§ 01Three combined competences

Design-Build Lead mobilises three competences that rarely combine: industrial orchestration (choice of partners, consortium assembly, negotiation of margin shares and internal governance), technical coherence (envelope engineering integrated with the global strategy, interfaces with non-envelope lots), and contractual mastery (FIDIC, TU, CR, negotiation with the owner, handling of claims and variations).

§ 02Lead Consultant, never sole principal contractor

Our constant design build consultant facade posture: Lead Consultant or Orchestrating Owner's Engineer, never sole principal contractor. In a Design-Build consortium, industrial risk (decennial warranty, performance risk, insurance coverage) is carried by industrial partners of the grouping. Our role is orchestration and coherence, not direct industrial risk-taking.

§ 03Counsel neutrality and structure solvency protected

This architecture protects counsel quality: our neutrality toward technical solutions remains intact, and our internal consortium arbitrations are heard because they are not driven by risk exposure. It also protects the structure: a consulting atelier does not carry mega-project decennial warranties, nor their professional indemnity insurance. These obligations are carried by industrial partners whose trade it is.

§ INTInternational

FIDIC Yellow Book, Plant and Design-Build Contract (work with design by the contractor). Dominant frame on standard international projects. FIDIC Silver Book, EPC/Turnkey, used on projects where the owner wants a firm price and integral responsibility carried by the contractor. FIDIC Gold Book, Design-Build-Operate. VOB/B, Germany, standard contractual framework applicable to design-build works.

§ ANGAnglo-Saxon

Design-Build, standard US and UK frame, with variants (progressive design-build, bridging design-build). Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), collaborative model with a shared incentive pact between owner, architect, contractor and industrial partners. Growing use on North American signature projects.

§ CHSwitzerland

Totalunternehmer (TU), general total enterprise contract, widely used on commercial and institutional property projects. A single contractor carries design and execution, with sub-contractors structured into a grouping. Gesamtleistungsunternehmer, variant with extended perimeter including operational services.

§ FRFrance

Conception-Réalisation dérogatoire, admissible on specified public contracts under the Code de la commande publique, and on private contracts by owner choice. Allotted or not, with a contracting entity leading the grouping. Marchés globaux, contractual regrouping of design and execution, with or without subsequent operation (CREM, CPE).

§ 01No prior capital affiliation

Our atelier has no cross-participation with any facade contractor, system supplier, manufacturer, glass processor or general contractor candidate for a consortium. This absence of affiliation is documented and verifiable on owner request.

§ 02Systematic competitive selection

For each project, industrial partners of the consortium are selected on a documented process (expression of interest, technical and financial qualification, scoring per project criteria). The selection is explained and defensible.

§ 03Disclosure of existing relationships

Prior professional relationships between our atelier and partners proposed for the consortium are declared in writing to the owner before any formalisation. A prior relationship is not disqualifying; it must be transparent.

§ 04Strict non-conflict

We do not carry a Design-Build Lead on a project where we are simultaneously an Owner's Engineer or direct-contract envelope engineer for the owner. If a former Owner's Engineer client invites us to carry a Design-Build Lead on a new project, we do so with separate governance and no information transfer between mandates.

§ 05Articulation with BECx

If our Design-Build consortium is mandated on a project, BECx must be exercised by an independent third party external to the consortium. BECx neutrality requires this separation. We never carry both mandates on the same project.

§ EEEnvelope Engineering pillar

The technical design we carry within the consortium mobilises the full envelope engineering chain described in the EE pillar (design integrity, project economics, carbon strategy, DFMA, procurement, site supervision). The Design-Build Lead mandate is a contractual form in which these services deploy. See Envelope Engineering pillar.

§ RGEEnergy Retrofit Envelope

Format 2 of Conception-Réalisation, addressing tertiary and heritage retrofit projects in Switzerland and France. The articulation is direct: both services share the orchestration backbone, with different targets and contractual frames. See Energy Retrofit Envelope.

§ DTPSite Execution & Supervision

Envelope site supervision is internal to the consortium, carried by our atelier under the grouping's governance. No external Site Execution mandate on the same project. See Site Execution & Supervision.

§ CMAClaim Management

Consortium defence in case of owner dispute, or instruction of claims emitted by the consortium toward the owner. The non-conflict rule applies: claim management is carried for the consortium, not against one of its partners. See Claim Management.

§ BECxEnvelope Commissioning

Strict rule: if our Design-Build consortium is mandated on a project, BECx must be exercised by an independent third party external to the consortium. BECx neutrality requires this separation. We never carry both mandates on the same project. See Envelope Commissioning.

§ MODDesign-Build Consortium (engagement modes)

This page describes what we do, piloting a turnkey D&B. The dedicated sheet in the engagement pillar describes how we contract, legal structures (GME, SPV, project JV), governance, risk allocation. The two readings complement each other. See Design-Build Consortium.