BLDG2012-Construction and Property Law

Task

You are a Design and Build Builder specialising in Building Projects. 

A Venture Capital (VC) Firm, Future Ventures Pty Ltd (with $200 Million of fresh funds) has recently received propositions from several property developers (including private companies and public agencies) for the VC Firm to invest in their upcoming building projects.

With plans to diversity their investment portfolio and as their earlier industry research have shown that there are positive long (revenue) returns from investing in properties, the VC Firm is now deliberating/considering the potential of investing their funds in one or more of the proposed building projects. 

However, the Venture Capital Firm is made up of Directors and Staff from the Banking and Finance Industry whose expertise is in the investment of stocks/shares and

minerals (natural resources), and have never been involved nor invested in property development and construction projects. Hence, they are totally unfamiliar with the various types of buildings proposed to them by the property developers and the investment potential of these buildings. 

During an earlier discussion with one of his friends in the construction industry, the Managing Director of the VC Firm was informally advised by his friend that each of the projects proposed by the property developers are totally different types of buildings, and hence have inherently different attributes in their business functions and purpose-of-use (different operational functions), potentially different building elements (building structure and envelope/façade) and materials used, and varying composition and extent of building services. The MD of the VC Firm was also specifically advised to look into (i.e. study) the key building services considerations for each of the different types of projects as building services make up a substantial portion of the total cost of the entire building and also have a huge impact on the long-term maintainability of the properties.  

As part of the necessary due diligence to their decision-making process, the VC Firm would like to first have a comprehensive understanding of the differences between the various types of building projects proposed by the property developers, and the various types of building services that are potentially required in the design and cons

Therefore, to obtain an independent assessment of the various propositions made by the property developers, the VC Firm has invited Design & Build Construction Companies in the Asia Pacific to submit a Technical Proposal/Report to enable them to better understand the purposes and scope of building services in and between each type of projects proposed by the property developers (including the functions of each type of project), and the key differences and similarities between their building services requirements.

The VC Firm has also indicated in their “Call-for-Proposals” that the selected proposition/proposal will be given a preferential invitation to tender for the design and construction of the selected project when they ultimately put up the project for design-build tender in a few months’ time after all their feasibility studies have been completed.

As a Design & Build Builder and considering the fact that there is a pertinent need for you to secure more projects to maintain the targeted company revenue and profits for the next 3 years, you are hoping to secure the Venture Capital Firm’s project within the next couple of months. 

Hence, your aim now is to impress onto the VC Firm of your knowledge of the Building Services required for the various types of buildings that they are currently looking into and lead this up to a real design-build bid/tender opportunity for your building firm.

The VC Firm has provided all prospective Builders with the following List of Projects (5 different Types of Projects and the facilities the projects will include) that the property developers have asked the VC Firm to invest in Australia. However, to protect the interests of the company (to prevent the leakage of information on the potential investments to other VC Firms), the VC Firm is unable to reveal/provide other sensitive project information such as the name and specific locations of the proposed projects. 

In relation to the 5 Project-Types in Assessment 2

1.Determine the functional purpose/s of each building and each space in the building (i.e. what functional purpose/s does each of the spaces serve). A

2.Are the end-user/s and electrical load requirements unique/different from the other spaces/areas in the building? In what way are the requirements unique?

3.Determine the requirements of lighting, electrical appliances and all devices that require electricity for the building holistically; includes HVAC, Water Supply, Plumbing (Waste-water & Refuse Systems), Telecommunications, Safety and Security Access/Egress Systems, Fire-fighting Systems, Sound Systems, Building Automation/Management Systems etc. For each project-type, which Services may potentially require greater attention (more critical) in electrical-load provisions in each project type as compared to the others?

4.Are there any particular equipment/s in each of the project-type that requires electrical supply which are typically not required in the other projects?