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June 2013
goals and agendas, there was nothing in place to ad-
vocate for the effectiveness of the model these com-
panies were using. After meeting in Washington
D.C. in February of 1993, these company princi-
pals along with others determined to create a steer-
ing committee and appoint staff thus spurring the
Design-Build Institute of America into creation.
Their activities coincided around the same time
that the U.S. Green Building Council was formed,
who has since had incredible success seeing the
adoption of their LEEDCertification model. Like-
wise, the DBIA’s credentialing and training initia-
tives have seen widespread penetration through in-
dustry and national markets, yet as Jenny indicates,
that has not happened without the overcoming of
resistance. He says the biggest push of the initial
founders was getting Federal legislation passed that
allowed design-build to be used in municipal infra-
structure projects. The challenge with this involved
the manner in which lawmakers interpret legisla-
tion known as The Brooks Act, a mandate relating
to the selecting of architects based on qualifica-
tions which also effectively hinders them from pro-
fessionally teaming-up with construction compa-
nies, thus compelling what has been the traditional
RFP approach. The DBIA achieved a major vic-
tory in having the Federal Government revise their
position and embrace the design-build model, but
Jenny says state governments continued to enforce
their own manner of “mini-Brooks Act” policies.
Over the years, DBIA has successfully overturned
those policies, but some states have yet to catch-up.
For instance, New York only recently deployed de-
sign-build in relationship to a highway and bridge
project, a fact that Jenny sees as a victory. He says
many states will often allow the model on a pilot-
