Concurrent with establishing a guaranteed maximum price at the DD phase, DGS transfers its agreement with the architect to the design-builder. This places the builder in control of completing the design process as well as meeting cost, schedule and quality requirements.

Another part of the plan was hiring a joint venture of McKissack & McKissack and Brailsford & Dunlavey—dubbed DC PEP—as program managers. Willard Mangrum, director of operations with DC PEP, says that while some were initially hesitant about the delivery method, "a good cadre of architects and contractors have gotten on board." The method is now being used on the majority of its projects.

"The benefit is that we control the design and can see what we're getting before signing a GMP," he says. "We then transfer the risk onto the builder after the GMP is executed."

Sean O'Donnell, principal and practice area leader for the K-12 group at Perkins Eastman-owned firm EE&K, says there were a lot of unknowns with the modified design-build process at first, but in working with experienced contractors, the method has proven its value. The firm partnered with Whiting-Turner Contracting on a $32-million addition to Stoddert Elementary School, which opened 19 months after design began. The LEED Gold-certified school was the first in the District of Columbia to feature geothermal wells. EE&K also designed Dunbar High School in collaboration with a joint venture of contractors Gilbane Building and Smoot Construction. Key features of the 280,000-sq-ft, LEED Platinum facility include geothermal systems, rainwater harvesting and a 482-kW photovoltaic array provided through D.C.'s first power purchase agreement.

"DGS has created an environment that has challenged us to design some of the best schools that are in our portfolio," he says. "We couldn't have achieved our goals on these projects without collaborating with high-quality builders."

The sustainability standards achieved on Stoddert and Dunbar are emblematic of DCPS's push for green building across its entire portfolio. At the outset of the program, all new schools were required to achieve at least LEED Silver certification and today LEED Gold is the minimum goal. Still, projects like Dunbar show a willingness to aim higher.

The $124-million Ballou High School, which opened in January, is designed to earn LEED Platinum certification. In fact, Mangrum says the team—which included a design joint venture of Bowie Gridley Architects and Perkins+Will and a JV of contractors Chiaramonte Construction and HESS Construction—considered aiming for net-zero energy consumption, but found it cost prohibitive.

"Our client is at the forefront of sustainability—not just looking to get a plaque from USGBC, but doing responsible things that have a long-term positive impact," Mangrum says.