Introducing a novel healthcare design and construction model

An elite partnership like no other

Partner with a progressive healthcare design and construction company with thousands of successful projects on time and on budget. Top leaders in the healthcare industry trust us to create life-saving spaces because we:

Have demonstrated success building healthcare facilities of every kind all over the country
Engage independent subject matter experts whose insights drive optimum solutions and add value
Take total ownership of the results of your project for a seamless owner experience and better overall results
Embrace sustainability, lean, green and pre-fabrication concepts — hallmarks of sensible modern construction
Have created the only totally integrated hybrid design and construction delivery model on the market — more on that below

Since our founding in 1958, The Korte Company has grown to include offices across the nation, so you’ll get that local touch no matter where you are located.

We live in a fractured design and construction world

Healthcare leaders are committed to providing the highest quality of care. But too often, that commitment is challenged by errors in design, poor estimating and external factors like supply chain challenges that lead to cost overruns and delays.

As reported in studies from McKinsey, KPMG, the World Economic Forum and others, consider these troubling construction project statistics over the past 10 years:

A staggering 85% of construction projects experienced cost overruns
The average cost overrun was 28%
A scant 31% of projects concluded within 10% of their budgets
Larger or more complex projects took 20% longer to complete than planned
Only 25% of projects came within 10% of their original deadlines

Poor project coordination and communication was primarily to blame.

And as indicated in the graph below, construction cost escalation is unrelenting and forecasted to continue. So how can these risks be avoided? Please read on.

Construction cost index

A patient room with a large picture window overlooking a waterfront.

Introducing The Korte Company’s Hybrid Design and Construction (HDC) project delivery model

For the first time, we have blended all the advantages of the top project delivery models —design-bid-build (DBB), construction manager at risk (CMAR), Design-Build (DB) and integrated project delivery (IPD) — and assembled truly specialized, world-renowned hospital design and construction teams, into one totally integrated and optimized hybrid model for the healthcare industry. And it’s important to note, we are not consultants! Rather, our healthcare team designs, engineers and builds every project.

There are spectacular advantages to this innovative model. Here are some of the highlights:

Simple single-entity contracts with one point of responsibility and accountability
All architectural and engineering design work is provided through design development at no charge or obligation in order to deliver a risk-free, comprehensive upfront proposal to the owner. This includes a guaranteed lump sum price for the entire project, accompanied by detailed outline specifications and a full project schedule
Designs that are of great value to build, super-efficient to operate and beautiful to behold
Optimized team selection and teamwork from day one
Streamlined, highly collaborative and coordinated project delivery workflow between design, engineering and construction allows important value-driven cost decisions to be made much earlier in the process, where they are most effective (see image below)
Superior project speed with enhanced fast tracking if needed
Exceptional owner controls for timely decisions
7D BIM across the entire project to drive key parameters, including design/construction collaboration, innovation, quality control, scheduling, estimating, sustainability and post-construction facility management (see image below)
Excellent quality is assured through detailed, high-grade, performance-driven specifications
No client change order costs whatsoever except those initiated by the owner after construction start
Dramatically reduced litigation risk with straightforward owner risk underwriting
Pragmatic approach to green, lean and sustainable construction methods
Outstanding service providers with emphasis on local qualified subcontractor partnerships
A process that allows your team to work at the top of their licenses and capabilities, instead of having to micro-manage the project to keep it on track

On left a graph comparing The Korte Company's hybrid workflow against traditional workflows. On right a graphic summarizing the concept of 7D BIM.

Here’s how the process works

Our approach to applying this optimized Hybrid Design & Construction model to your project is deep and methodical, yet purpose-built for rapid results.

Our unique model allows for what we call 1st opinions, when projects are in pre-design and/or very early design; and 2nd opinions, for projects that are in a later design stage up to construction start.

In the case of a 1st opinion, this could occur when setting an initial budget, design and schedule based on early programming. The big difference is our 1st opinions include a guaranteed lump sum price for the full project, not early rough estimates that have no guarantees whatsoever.

In the case of a 2nd opinion, where a DBB approach is utilized for example, this could occur when hard bid results are troubling, suspect or simply too high, or certainly as a smart early hedge against the possibility of this taking place, which seems more likely than ever today. Or where a CMAR approach is utilized, this could occur when the design is further along and early GMP estimates are again running too high, or when the owner simply questions or needs validation of current price estimates from their existing team. In addition, a 2nd opinion should also be considered by the owner in situations where overall design and/or operational efficiency is in question.

In the event of both a 1st or 2nd opinion opportunity, where another team is already hired, we work on a separate but parallel path to that existing project team’s efforts, so there are absolutely no project delays whatsoever while we create our proposal. In the end, you then have a viable alternative solution, with a choice of price points, guarantees and project delivery methods, which typically takes only four weeks to complete!

This approach essentially eliminates all owner risks in allowing The Korte Company the opportunity to create a proposal in a variety of project situations. The end result can then be viewed as a “live test” of our unique project delivery model rather than simply a theoretical one. The responsibility to perform is all on us…and we pay for it.

An exterior view of the modernized White Plains Hospital.

The company we keep

Founded in 1958, The Korte Company, along with its elite architectural and engineering partners, have offices throughout the U.S. and abroad, and have designed and constructed thousands of healthcare projects worth tens of billions of dollars…from some of the most prestigious and complex healthcare projects in the world, to attractive, affordable, operationally super-efficient critical access hospitals, to everything in between.