DESIGN & BUILD" OF HDB PUBLIC HOUSING : A TENDERER'S PERSPECTIVE"

Abstract

This dissertation presents the position of a tenderer (the contractor and his team of consultants) in a Housing & Development Board of Singapore (HDB) Design & Build (D&B) building project. It focuses on the tenderer's perspective. This concerns efforts and procedures undertaken during the tendering stage or the pre-contract award stage. Direct interviews and discussions with Singapore based "G8" contractors an9 building consultants were conducted to obtain information for analysis and comparison. All tenderers generally focus on three main issues: i) compliance to the employer's requirements/ brief; to deliver fit for its purpose, ii) compliance to the local planning and building regulations, and iii) strict observance of economic design and building methods to ensure cost competitiveness. The findings indicate that even when tenderers fully comply with all technical requirements of the HDB and the local building authorities, the success of securing the contract is uncertain. One reason seems to be the difficulty in quantifying aesthetic and what defines good design.