Analyzing the Restoration of the Oklahoma State Capitol from the Perspective of the Design Build Process:a Descriptive Case Study

Design Build projects in the built environment are moving towards more collaborative practices. The intent behind this collaborative approach is to encourage those associated with the built environment to consider how retrofit design and construction can contribute positively to addressing elements of climate change and the design build process. The opportunity to share the rich nature of the design build process in a unique environmentally and heritage focused project excited the authors. Secondly concerns about the way such projects are captured historically, and specifically the disciplinary knowledge and skills employed in the restoration of such a significant landmark building could be lost if not afforded some place in the research annals. This paper presents a Restoration Design-Build (RDB) process employed in the realignment of a state building adopting this novel initiative. The authors adopted a descriptive case study method to enhance the capabilities of understanding and generate constructive reflections and analysis. The intention was to empower the reader to explore new horizons by ‘clarifying and negotiating’ ideas and concerns around the RDB process. The authors evaluated the usefulness of the RDB approach based on direct and indirect measures. The framework approach presented is a part of an ongoing initiative between state and project stakeholders that have shown positive results based on the teams’ performance in the presented case study as well as affirmative feedback from some stakeholder participants.