Architect participation in integrated project delivery: The future mainspring of architectural design firms?

The construction industry is changing more and more towards integrated project delivery. Most of the research about integrated project delivery focuses on contractors. Architects could however also improve their competitive position and project portfolio by taking on an active role in innovative integrated projects. Based on a survey among 110 Dutch architectural design firms the
types of offices are described that show interest in integrated practices as part of their competition strategy. The results of this research reveal critical factors that are drivers for change in current marketing and organisational strategies of architectural design firms. Especially more control over construction processes and product quality makes firms think about changing their strategies. Very
small and very large firms seemed particularly interested in competing in integrated project delivery.
The office profiles that were found in the survey appear to contrast to the expectations from literature about the organisation of these kinds of firms. This could be a result of their need for flexibility and adaptability in order to deliver creative designs. However, the results indicate that the chances are high that in the future a significant part of the architectural design firms will enact in
integrated project delivery.