Design-Build in Chicago: One Team From Drawings to Done

Design-build in Chicago means one team, under one contract, handles the drawings and the construction. You deal with one party from the first site visit to the final inspection, instead of hiring an architect and then a separate contractor and hoping the two agree. It fits best when a job needs plans, permits and trades working in order. It is overkill for a simple repair that the City lets you permit without drawings.

This guide covers the whole picture: what design-build is, when Chicago requires an architect or engineer, how drawings feed the three permit tracks, which common Chicago projects need a design team, what documents you will be asked for, how to choose a firm, and how fees and changes work. Each topic has a deeper article, linked as we go.

If you only read one part, read this:

1. Not every job needs drawings. The City lets a lot of repair work through its Express Permit Program without architect or engineer documents.
2. When drawings are needed, they come from an Illinois-licensed architect or engineer. For most projects that means an architect or a structural engineer.
3. Design-build helps when design and construction depend on each other, like a structural change, an addition, or a violation that needs plans.
4. Ask who the licensed professional on your drawings is, and who is the licensed general contractor. Check both.

The rest explains each point and the limits of what we can say with certainty.

What is design-build, and how is it different?

In design-build, the same firm is responsible for design and construction. Under one agreement, the team measures the building, prepares drawings, helps get the permit, and builds the work. The alternative is design-bid-build: you hire an architect, who produces drawings, then you collect bids from contractors and hire one. Both are legitimate. They split responsibility differently.

What changes for you:

• One point of contact. If the drawing and the field condition don't match, one firm solves it. In design-bid-build, the architect and the contractor can each point at the other.
• Pricing earlier. The builder is in the room while the design is still flexible, so cost questions come up before the drawings are final, not after.
• Fewer handoffs. The people who draw the porch framing are the people who will frame it.
• Less independent checking. In design-bid-build, the architect often acts as your representative checking the contractor. In design-build, you need to build that check in another way, with clear scope, milestones and a good contract.

The detailed comparison is in design-build or design-bid-build: pick for your Chicago job, and the honest list is in design-build pros and cons for Chicago homeowners.

One more distinction matters. Design-build is a way of organizing the job. It does not change who is legally allowed to do what. In Chicago, the person who seals drawings must be an Illinois-licensed architect or engineer, and the person who builds must hold the right City licenses. A firm can offer both under one roof, but both licenses still have to exist and be checked.

When does Chicago require an architect or engineer?

Only when the work needs plans. For most Express-eligible repair work, no architect or engineer documents are needed. Any plan-based permit requires plans prepared by an Illinois-licensed architect or engineer; for most projects that is an architect or a structural engineer, with professional engineers allowed only for a limited range (Department of Buildings).

The City names specific triggers. Among them: a lintel over 6 feet, concrete repair over 100 square feet, a reroof recover over two or more existing layers, and roof structural repairs (Department of Buildings). Structural porch repair also requires plans by an Illinois architect or structural engineer (Department of Buildings).

Masonry shows how the line works. The Express masonry program is not available for building a new masonry structure, rebuilding all wythes of an exterior wall, replacing a lintel over 25 feet, rebuilding a parapet wall taller than 48 inches, or reconfiguring concrete elements. Drawings by an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer are required for lintel replacement over 6 feet, up to 25 feet, and for concrete repair over 100 square feet (Department of Buildings). Roofs follow the same pattern: Express reroofing covers roof repair limited to 25 percent of the area, a recover over one existing layer, and replacement with no structural work, while an additional layer over two or more existing layers or structural roof repairs need drawings (Department of Buildings).

A separate question is whether Illinois state law requires an architect for a particular small residential project. State-level exemptions are not something we can state with confidence here, so check with the Department of Buildings and with the state licensing agency before you assume either way. We walk through the City side in when Chicago requires an architect or engineer.

Which permit track do your drawings feed?

Chicago's Department of Buildings runs several permit programs: Express Permit, Standard Plan Review, Self-Certified Permit, Developer Services for moderate to complex projects, and specialty permits like demolition and sewer (Department of Buildings). Three matter for most owners.

Express Permit. The web-based program for most repair work and some small improvements. Worktypes include masonry, reroofing, porch, deck, balcony and fire escape repair, exterior window and door replacement, nonstructural interior alterations and preparatory demolition, among others (Department of Buildings). Most repair-type Express jobs need no drawings. A few add a drawing requirement, as above. See Chicago Express Permit: what it covers and what it skips.

Standard Plan Review. The main process when architectural plans are required. It covers, among others, new construction up to 80 feet high, residential under 50 dwelling units, and removal of non-load-bearing interior partitions. An architect prepares the drawings, submissions go through E-Plan, and every project needs zoning approval (Department of Buildings). Read Chicago Standard Plan Review: when you need drawings.

Self-Certification. An Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer who completed the Department of Buildings training, a registered self-certification professional, seals the drawings and takes full responsibility for code compliance. DOB says permits typically issue within 10 business days after zoning approval if the contractor licenses are valid and there are no violations or stop work orders. Expediters are not allowed to assist with uploading self-certified applications (Department of Buildings). Timing depends on the project and on DOB, and rules change, so confirm with the Department of Buildings. More in Chicago Self-Certification permits: who qualifies and why.

To start a plan-based permit application, you must be an Illinois-licensed architect or structural engineer, or a City-licensed expediter (Department of Buildings). A design-build team usually handles that step for you, and what an expediter does and when to hire one explains the alternative. For the permit system as a whole, see Chicago building permits: which one, who files, what's next.

Which Chicago projects usually need a design team?

The common ones share a pattern: they change structure, layout or use, or they have a violation that the City won't clear with a patch. A few examples, each with its own article.

A two-flat renovation. Gutting and reworking a unit, moving walls or opening a floor plan brings in structure, egress and the building's existing conditions. Who does what, and in what order, is the core of planning a Chicago two-flat renovation. The City's Standard Plan Review lists removal of non-load-bearing interior partitions among its criteria (Department of Buildings), so even partition changes can land on the plan-based track. Confirm yours with the Department of Buildings.

A two-flat deconversion. Turning a two-flat back into a single-family home changes use and layout. What the plans must show is something to confirm with the Department of Buildings for your building. We outline the questions in Chicago two-flat deconversion: what the plans must show.

A dormer on a bungalow. Opening a bungalow's roof framing for added headroom is a structural roof job. The City counts roof structural repairs among the triggers for architect or engineer drawings (Department of Buildings), and the permit path for a new dormer needs confirmation with the Department of Buildings. See adding a dormer to a Chicago bungalow: plans and permits.

A porch with structural problems. A permit is always required to repair or replace structural elements such as columns, beams, foundations, stringers and floor joists, and plans come from an Illinois architect or structural engineer (Department of Buildings). Express porch rules don't allow new structures, structures of a different size or location, legalizing something built without a permit, replacing steel with wood, or enclosed porches. With architect or engineer drawings, Express allows replacing wood with steel, bringing railings up to current guard rules and reinforcing members to current structural minimums (Department of Buildings). Start with architect or structural engineer for a Chicago porch and do you need drawings to rebuild a Chicago porch.

A violation that needs drawings. City enforcement is tiered by notice level, with maintenance warnings, life safety cases that go to Administrative Hearings, and dangerous cases that go to Circuit Court (Department of Buildings). If the fix is structural, the City will want a permit and sometimes plans, and design and repair on the same team keeps the schedule tight. See a violation needs drawings: one team for plans and repair and the process in Chicago building violations.

What documents will you be asked for?

Good design-build firms ask for documents early, because drawings start from what exists. The usual ones:

• As-built drawings. The record of how the building was actually built or altered. If you have none, a design team may need to measure and draw the existing conditions. See Chicago as-built drawings: when you need them.
• A plat of survey. Required for some applications. A residential driveway permit through CDOT, for example, requires a plat of survey or sketch (CDOT), and demolishing an attached building requires a survey by an Illinois-licensed land surveyor or a signed letter from the neighbor (Department of Buildings). Zoning approval is part of plan-based permits (Department of Buildings). We cover when it applies in plat of survey for a Chicago permit: when it's required.
• Photos and notes on existing conditions, especially of structure, roof and foundation.
• Prior permits and open violations. The City checks these. Our permit lookup guide explains how to read the record.

Bring everything you have. Gaps get filled by measurement, which costs time.

Design-build or design-bid-build: which should you pick?

Both can work. Choose by what the project needs and how you like to manage risk.

Neither one is cheaper in all cases, so don't take that claim from anyone. The deeper comparison is in design-build or design-bid-build: pick for your Chicago job.

If your job is a straightforward repair, you may need neither. A tuckpointing, small roof or nonstructural porch job can often go through Express without drawings, and a licensed contractor can handle it directly. Say so if a firm tries to sell you design work you don't need.

How do you choose a design-build firm?

Ask for proof on both halves of the name. The questions are basic and the answers should be quick.

1. Who is the licensed general contractor? Most building work in Chicago requires a City GC license, and only one GC is allowed on a project at a time (Department of Buildings). Look it up yourself in the Department of Buildings lookup (Department of Buildings), and match the class to the size of your job (Department of Buildings).
2. Who is the licensed architect or engineer of record? Look them up too. IDFPR covers architects and engineers, and the City's permit professionals lookup covers architects and expediters (Department of Buildings).
3. Is the design in house or with a partner? Either can work. You need to know who answers when the drawing and the field disagree.
4. How are changes handled? In writing, priced before the work, approved by you.
5. How do they handle permits and inspections? Who files, who meets the inspector.
6. What does the contract say? The Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act requires, for home repair or remodeling over $1,000, a written contract or work order stating the total cost with materials listed with reasonable particularity (Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act). It covers residences of one to six units and excludes original construction (Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act), so ask whether your project falls inside it.

Our selection guide, how to choose a design-build firm in Chicago, goes through these. The broader hiring checklist is in how to hire a general contractor in Chicago, and what a contract has to say is in what your Illinois home repair contract must say.

Akats is a family-operated, minority-owned Chicago contractor, licensed and insured in Illinois, with a BBB A+ rating, and design-build and architectural services are among the trades we do in house, with masonry, concrete, roofing, porch, demolition, excavation, tuckpointing, expediting and violations work. Ask us the same questions. We will answer them in English or Spanish.

How are design fees and change orders handled?

Fees and changes are where design-build projects either stay clear or get messy. We don't give dollar figures here, because they depend on the building, the scope and the permit path, but the structure is worth understanding.

Architect fees usually follow one of three models: a percentage of construction cost, an hourly rate, or a flat fee for a defined scope. Each shifts risk differently. A percentage ties the fee to the budget, hourly rewards a tight scope and reveals scope creep, and a flat fee works when the scope is clear. We explain how each works in how Chicago architects charge: percent, hourly or flat.

Change orders are how a job changes after it starts. The good ones are written, priced before the work starts, and signed by you. Design-build can make change orders easier, because design and construction are in one place, and also easier to blur, if nobody tracks the scope. See design-build change orders: how they work. For jobs inside the Home Repair and Remodeling Act, get the written terms, including changes, on paper (Illinois Home Repair and Remodeling Act).

Cost drivers worth asking about: how much of the structure is touched, access and height, the condition of what is behind the walls, how many trades overlap, the permit path (Express, Standard Plan Review or Self-Cert), and whether the building has open violations. For help comparing proposals, see how to compare contractor estimates in Chicago.

What does the process look like, step by step?

A typical design-build job runs in stages. The order matters more than any timeline, and we don't promise permit dates, because the City sets those.

1. Site visit and scope. The team looks at the building, listens to what you want, and flags what needs drawings.
2. Existing conditions. Measurements, photos, any as-builts, and a check of permits and violations on record.
3. Design. Drawings sized to the permit track: none for simple Express work, architect or engineer drawings for plan-based work.
4. Permit. Filed by the right party: the licensed architect or engineer, a licensed expediter or the contractor, depending on the track.
5. Pricing and contract. Written, with scope, materials, payments and how changes are handled.
6. Construction. Trades in sequence, inspections requested as the permit requires.
7. Closeout. Final inspection, documents and photos for your records.

Steps 1 through 5 can overlap, and a good team prices as the design firms up. Don't let anyone start work that needs a permit before the permit exists.

Where do you go from here?

If you are not sure whether your job needs drawings, start there. Our articles when Chicago requires an architect or engineer and Chicago Express Permit: what it covers and what it skips will tell you which side of the line you are probably on. If you already know it does, call us for a free estimate and we will tell you what the City is likely to want to see, who has to sign what, and what the sequence looks like for your building.

Common questions

This article explains general rules and common situations in Chicago. It is not legal advice, and City rules change. For a specific property, check with the Chicago Department of Buildings or a licensed professional.