Owner advisory.
Clear design criteria.

One coordinated service on the owner’s side.

Our public procurement design criteria development service brings owner advisory, technical procurement support, and design review together in one engagement. We help public owners define what the project must achieve, give competing teams a clear basis for their proposals, and keep the owner’s intent visible as the work develops.

You may know this role as Design Criteria Developer or Owner Advisor. We define the actual responsibilities around the project’s delivery method, procurement requirements, and the support your team needs.

A collaborator’s perspective / Design leadership

“He listens carefully, draws on each discipline’s expertise, and guides the team toward an integrated solution that balances design ambition, operational needs, and the available budget.”

Reflecting on collaboration with Steven across projects prior to Savoie Studios.

Read the full testimonial↗

An owner’s guide to Indiana design-build

Before you select a design-builder, define the project.

For Indiana school boards, cities, and towns, the first decision is not which team to hire. It is what the facility needs to accomplish, what the owner can afford, and how proposals will be judged. An early conversation with a design criteria developer gives those decisions room to develop.

The sequence at a glance

Three slides show how to move from an early need to an informed team selection.

What IC 5-30 requires

Indiana’s public design-build law defines a design criteria developer as a registered architect or professional engineer responsible for preparing the owner’s design criteria package. Each design-build request for proposals must include that package. The public agency decides its scope and level of detail. Indiana Code, Article 5-30

From an idea to a team selection

1. 01

   Define the need and test possibilities.

   Identify the goals, stakeholders, site constraints, schedule, and target budget. Test early concepts against what the owner can realistically fund before the scope becomes a procurement commitment.

2. 02

   Choose the right delivery path.

   Compare design-build with other viable methods using the project’s complexity, schedule, desired control, and available resources. If design-build is the right fit, translate the owner’s priorities into clear requirements.

3. 03

   Prepare the design criteria package.

   Give competing teams a common basis for proposals. Depending on the project, criteria may address space needs, site development, quality, performance, budget, and schedule. The agency determines the appropriate detail.

4. 04

   Qualify and review teams.

   Follow the applicable qualifications and proposal process under IC 5-30. Review responses against the published criteria and document material differences with the owner’s procurement and technical teams.

5. 05

   Select against the owner’s priorities.

   Compare proposals against the outcomes established at the start. The design criteria developer remains on the owner’s side and cannot submit a proposal or provide design or construction services under the resulting design-build contract.

Design-build done right

Best practices begin with a clear owner brief.

DBIA’s best practices address procurement, contracting, and project execution. Our owner advisory work starts with the decisions that shape all three: defining the need, testing concepts against the target budget, and setting criteria before teams compete.

Explore DBIA Best Practices ↗

Bring us in while the important questions are still open.

Savoie Studios helps public owners challenge assumptions, align early concepts with a target budget, choose a delivery strategy, and develop criteria for a competitive procurement. There is time to choose the builder and architecture and engineering team after the project has a sound foundation.

Discuss a school or civic project ↗

Statutory references: IC 5-30-1-5 · IC 5-30-6-1 · IC 5-30-6-2 · IC 5-30-6-3. Public agencies should coordinate procurement requirements with their counsel.

From the first brief through technical review.

Design experience makes the brief stronger.

Steven Savoie’s ability to develop schematic solutions quickly helps us recognize how a project could work before writing its requirements. We can test assumptions, explore alternatives, and turn complex needs into criteria that support informed decisions.

If the project’s vision or delivery method is still open, start with schematic design and project development. Our delivery strategy analysis compares the viable approaches against your priorities, the market, schedule, and available resources. No single procurement method fits every project.

Clear scope. Clear responsibilities.

The engagement establishes the documents, reviews, and decision points we support. We work alongside your procurement, legal, facilities, and project teams. The owner retains decision authority and responsibility for its required approvals and procurement process.

This service supports the owner’s evaluation of its project and proposals. It is scoped separately from an architect-led design-build engagement, in which Savoie Studios leads the team delivering the design and construction.

When to bring us in

Bring Savoie Studios in at the very beginning, while the project is still taking shape. We help owners make critical early decisions, challenge assumptions, and test concepts against their goals and target budget. With that foundation in place, there is plenty of time to select the right builder and architecture and engineering team for the chosen delivery path.

Questions owners ask