Construction of State Buildings

In the construction of state buildings, the Danish Building and Property Agency is the developer and thus the guarantor of the regulatory requirements for state construction being complied with. The Danish Building and Property Agency performs the task in close cooperation with the state tenant that defines desires and needs, which the Danish Building and Property Agency translates into architectural requirements for project suppliers. After completion of the project, the Danish Building and Property Agency becomes the building owner on behalf of the state.

The regulatory requirements are regulated by the Public Construction Act, and stipulate that the construction must be carried out according to the most economically advantageous way for the state with regard to use, operation and architecture.

The state has the possibility of trying out new ways of tendering, technique methods and materials, and making the experiences available to the construction industry and other developers. The state must allocate 1.5% of the total contract sums to purchasing building integrated art.

Partnering

A number of the new forms of cooperation between the parties of the construction project are called partnering.

In partnering, the parties establish a culture of cooperation, where opposition and mistrust are turned into cooperation and confidence through early involvement of the competencies of all parties. As a minimum, the partnership consists of the developer, the contractor and the advisor in the project work. The parties cooperate to formulate common objectives and to fulfil these.

Thus, the purpose of partnering is primarily project optimisation in the program and project stage with a view to creating a better starting point for the construction process and in this way a better product, which will be a success for all parties.

Use of partnering has increased significantly in Denmark and other countries, and much experience has been gained over time. There are, however, still areas in partnering, where there is a need for research and development.

The government's wish for dissemination of new forms of cooperation in construction applies particularly to the use of partnering. Therefore, the public developers are obligated to assess whether the specific construction projects must be carried out on the basis of a partnering agreement.

The previous Danish Enterprise and Construction Authority has developed a guide in partnering aimed specifically at public and publicly supported developers.