Turnkey, cost-plus or project and construction management? Three ways to have a building built

Anyone who decides to have a villa or another building built faces a question before the design even begins: by which method will the work be carried out? The answer determines how the price is formed and who bears the financial risk. As Pratikiz Architecture, based in Antalya, we describe three methods in this post: turnkey, cost-plus, and project and construction management.

What are the ways to have a building built?

We can tell the three apart in a sentence each. In turnkey, design, permit, construction and materials sit with one team. In cost-plus, the contractor takes a percentage on every item of work and every material. In project and construction management, we put the feasibility and the cost in front of the client at the start, and we set our service fee. Below we take each in turn; at the end we set turnkey and project and construction management side by side in a table.

In turnkey, who carries the price and the risk?

In turnkey, the cost and the construction method are fixed with the construction drawings: the project is prepared first, and the price and the method of construction become clear against it. The contractor takes on the financial risk. Because design, permit, construction and materials sit with one team, the client deals with a single counterpart, and the villa is handed over ready for use.

We run turnkey with one team because, when design and construction are in different hands, a gap can open between what is drawn and what is built: dimensions, materials and details get reinterpreted. When the team that makes the design decisions also manages the construction, that gap has no room. Because we fix the cost and the method with the construction drawings, what will be built, by which method and at what cost is on the table before construction starts.

This is how it works with us: we run the design and the permit process, we carry out the construction under our contractor authorisation certificate, and material selection and purchasing are with us as well. For villas, you can find the details on our Villa Design and Construction page.

What happens in cost-plus?

In cost-plus, the contractor takes a percentage on every item of work and every material; the contractor’s earnings are calculated on the amount of each item at that percentage. Because the percentage also applies to the cost of the items the client chooses, the priorities of client and contractor can diverge. This is how we describe the method; we assess together at the first meeting which one suits you.

How does project and construction management work?

Project and construction management is the method we offer as an alternative to turnkey and cost-plus. The process starts with feasibility: we put the feasibility and the cost in front of the client item by item at the start. We set our service fee, and it is known from the start. The supply of trades and materials, and site management, rest with us, as in turnkey: we carry out the contracting work under our contractor authorisation certificate. The process runs in five steps:

1. First meeting and scope: together with you we settle your expectations, your budget and the frame of the project.

2. Feasibility and cost: we put the feasibility and the cost in front of the client; we set our own service fee.

3. Supply of trades and materials: we supply the trades and the materials.

4. Site management: we run the site management.

5. Sharing progress: we share progress weekly through a micro website, interim payment statements, reports and photographs.

We state the risk of this method openly: the client bears the financial risk. Alongside it, the cost items are in front of the client from the start, and at work stages and at key items of fabrication we hold meetings, face to face or online. We offer this method to people having villas built, to home and building owners and to corporate clients; we work on residential and commercial buildings, and for now we carry out this service in and around Antalya.

Design and permit are with us when we run the project from start to finish; the permit includes the occupancy permit. On a project prepared by another office, or one that already has its permit, the permit work is not part of our scope.

Turnkey and project and construction management side by side: what changes?

The table below sets the two methods against each other on the same rows.

In cost-plus, the price rests, as described above, on the percentage the contractor takes on every item of work and every material. Whichever method you consider, we suggest asking three questions before you decide: When and on what basis is the price set? Who carries the financial risk? Who chooses the materials, and who buys them?

Which method did we use on Villa Er?

Villa Er, designed as a 4+1 in Yeşilbayır, Antalya, began with a clear request from the client: a stone house. We treated this request not only as a cladding on the façade but as a language built into the character of the building. The interior and exterior walls are built of natural stone in traditional stonework; the freedom of the reinforced-concrete frame let us keep the plan both functional and spacious. The villa is 380 m²; design year 2025, completion year 2026; the client is a private client. The whole process, from design to permit and from construction to furniture, was managed by Pratikiz using the project and construction management method. The result is the client’s dream stone house, meeting contemporary living comfort.

Villa Er shows how the rows of the table come together in a single project: design, permit, construction management and furniture run in the same office; the cost items are put in front of the client at the start, and the financial risk rests with the client. For the images and the project facts, see the Villa Er page.

Where to start?

If you have a plot or a project idea, let us settle your needs and your budget together at the first meeting; we also assess together at that meeting which method suits you. Write to us or call: we call you back by phone and arrange an appointment at the office.