IPD – with multi-party contract for developing and building in partnership
Glattpark (Opfikon), 21 March 2023 – Yesterday, Ina Invest as client, Implenia as development and execution partner, and six other parties broke new ground by signing the first IPD multi-party contract to plan and execute a real estate development project.
Motivated by a desire to promote transparent, collaborative partnerships, Ina Invest and Implenia have launched a pilot project to develop an apartment building on Schaffhauserstrasse in Zurich using the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach. IPD seeks to create an environment that encourages collaboration, innovation and value creation, with the aim of increasing the efficiency of real estate projects and improving results. Elements of the Lean Management philosophy, such as Target Value Design, also feature. More about IPD in this video: Integrated Project Delivery, Schaffhauserstrasse Zurich - Implenia AG
Multi-party contract provides foundation for IPD
The multi-party contract signed yesterday was developed over the past two years, with partners evaluated and selected on the basis of clear know-how criteria, rather than through a traditional tendering process. These criteria included understanding of IPD roles, BIM, Lean Construction and, most importantly, capacity for teamwork.
The contract regulates relations with all the planners and main contractors, which means that eight different companies have been brought under one contractual umbrella. This also means that a lot of different details had to be clarified as the contract was prepared: insurance issues, joint accounts, compensation models, etc.. Involving the key trades at the start of planning was a particular challenge. Planners could estimate their costs on the basis of SIA standards, but there is no equivalent standard list of costings for the key trades. They cannot calculate their costs accurately until a later stage of the project.
In parallel with the planning work, the team built up the entire IPD structure, from the basic implementation of the methodology and the contracts to the onboarding of team members and the collaboration structure using digital tools. This was also new, because IPD projects don’t involve the planning meetings used in more traditional approaches.
In addition to Ina Invest and Implenia (special foundations, timber construction, master builder, construction management), the following parties are involved in the contract: weberbrunner architekten ag (architects), EBP Schweiz AG (civil engineering and HLS planning services), Timbatec Holzbauingenieure AG (timber engineering) Neukom Marzolo AG (heating/plumbing), Lufttechnik AG (ventilation) and Eglin Elektro AG (electrics). Ina Invest, Implenia and weberbrunner architekten are managing the project jointly within a shared leadership model and also serve as “sparring partners” for each other.
Next steps in the Schaffhauserstrasse IPD project
Signing of the multi-party contract marked the end of the validation phase. The team will continue to optimise the project over the next few months. This optimisation phase will last until coming August; the execution phase will then start as soon as the client, Ina Invest, has given its approval.
Adrian Wyss, Head Division Real Estate at Implenia, is very pleased to have reached this milestone: “We’ve had a very good experience so far with IPD on our Schaffhauserstrasse pilot project. Cooperation between the project participants, i.e. all the contracting parties, has been working really well because the whole team is on an equal footing. I’d like to thank everyone for their great commitment and our client Ina Invest for its trust. I’m looking forward to continuing this collaborative partnership.” Marc Pointet, CEO of Ina Invest is also enthusiastic: “IPD has great potential. Partnership, transparency and a shared vision create a breeding ground for new, “ina-vative” solutions that put people at the centre. Planning together but also taking shared responsibility – it’s the Ina Invest way.”
