Design-Build
The Design-Build Firm Built to Perform
True to our values. Proven by our experience.
INTEGRATED SERVICES
Design-Build Delivery
When you choose a design-build partner, you need a team who shares your vision from the start and has the tools to bring it to life. At Gray, design-build isn’t just a delivery method—it’s the foundation of how we think, collaborate, and deliver. Rooted in design-build, we’ve evolved alongside our customers, expanding our integrated capabilities in automation, specialty equipment, and real estate to deliver greater value, speed, and efficiency. With one cohesive team dedicated to your vision, you gain fewer handoffs, reduced risk, and a faster path to operations, with a facility built to perform for years to come.
INDUSTRY PIONEERS
Design-Build Construction Company
For industrial and commercial construction, experience matters. Gray’s design-build leadership began in the 1960s, long before other firms adopted an integrated approach. While they struggled to overcome the inertia and friction between separate design and construction teams, Gray was busy delivering hundreds of projects across advanced manufacturing, food & beverage, distribution, and other industries. With a design-build approach that’s been developed and refined over decades, you can expect minimal schedule and cost escalation and a facility that’s perfectly tailored to your needs.
Benefits
Why Design-Build?
Choosing the right project delivery method is critical to protecting your investment. With Gray’s design-build approach, you get one trusted partner responsible for your project from first concept to final commissioning, giving you complete insight into every scope and a clear path to success. Gray’s integrated approach allows an early start on construction and procurement while our architects and engineers develop later design phases. You gain time with overlapping scopes; Gray gains closer collaboration with stakeholders, maintaining alignment that guards against miscommunication and costly rework.
Process
Design-Build Process
Every project starts with your vision. Gray’s design-build process brings that vision to life with alignment, accountability, and collaboration. From planning and procurement to steel and equipment installation, you work with one dedicated team that shares your perspective of the bigger picture and empowers everybody on site to focus on your goals.
In the Pre-Construction phase, we believe listening is key: your goals, budget, and vision guide every decision. By aligning expectations early, you set the foundation for a streamlined design-build process that delivers long-term value and provides efficiency, clarity, and confidence throughout every stage.
INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
Gray Continues to Advance Design-Build at University of Kentucky’s College of Design
In September 2024, Gray celebrated the ribbon-cutting of the Gray Design Building at the University of Kentucky’s College of Design—a 132,000 s.f. repurposed tobacco warehouse transformed into a hub for creativity and innovation. The building features shared studios, private workspaces, a wood shop, and a 3D fabrication lab, presenting students with opportunities to directly explore the innate connection between design and construction.
Gray partnered with the university to sponsor the building’s design, renovation, and construction, as well as the development of a new design-build curriculum created in collaboration with the College of Engineering and the Gatton College of Business and Economics. This investment strengthens the future of the industry by supporting the next generation of design-build experts.
FAQ
Design-Build Services FAQs
Get answers to the most common questions about the design-build approach.
Not every project fits neatly into one delivery model, and that’s where the value of experience comes in. With Gray’s consultative approach, you don’t have to decide alone—we act as your advisor, evaluating your goals, budget, and long-term vision, then recommending the delivery method that sets you up for success. Sometimes that’s traditional design-build; other times it’s a more specialized integrated solution, but in every case you gain a partner who’s committed to guiding you toward the right path.
With one dedicated design-build team handling design and construction, potential issues in the construction process are identified and resolved early. This means fewer delays, on-time schedules, and measurable cost savings for your project.
In a design-build company, architectural design is fully integrated with engineering and construction. This alignment keeps the project vision clear from day one and ensures it’s carried throughout every stage of the design process by skilled construction professionals.
Unlike design-bid-build or construction management at-risk, design-build project delivery unites designers, engineers, and builders into one project team. This collaborative approach reflects how leading design-build firms operate, improving communication, saving time, and ensuring better project deliverables for customers.
Design-build success is defined on the customer’s terms. To achieve this, we begin by mutually aligning with your goals, budget, and vision. With one accountable partner, your project schedule stays on track, the site runs smoothly, and the final facility meets its functional and business needs.
Call us at 859.281.5000 or send us a message using this contact form.