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Whilst I agree generally with the history and comments by others on D & B, winding back the clock, in my opinion the main cause of the use of D & B was the lack of leadership from within the architectural profession and practices during the 80s and 90s. Clients lost confidence when using traditional contract due to cost overruns and delayed completions generally controlled by the architects who subcontracted out their responsibilities and relied too much on others.

The clients looked for new delivery solutions and leadership, turning mainly to QS’s who acted cost consultants and Employers Agents, architects fell down the clients pecking order as team leaders. Contractors objected to the design architect being novated onto their team, to passionate about their design instead they appointed their own working drawing architect generally at reduce fee. The client got wise to design being diluted and ensured that the design architect provided key details in protecting design elements which formed part of the tender document. These are just some of the issues with D & B as these are generally contractor lead. As a profession it’s time we took back controlled of our destiny and with the use of BIM this our chance once again to lead from the front for those who will take on the challenge.