Six members of the Harborview Bond Program (HBP) attended the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) National Conference & Expo in Dallas, Texas, in November, and toured the local Level 1 trauma center, Parkland Health and Hospital, for inspiration.

The DBIA Conference is the largest design-build event across the nation. In addition to the largest number of education workshops, the three-day conference highlights some of the nation’s notable design-build projects, teams, and best practices.

“It was a great opportunity to step outside the day-to-day work of the Bond Program and focus on preparing for the work that will follow our RFP efforts,” said Garrett Farrell, HBP Project Manager. “We have already begun sharing this information with the team and are planning focused strategy sessions for early 2025.”

“The conference also provided us the opportunity to connect with leaders in the industry to inspire and educate King County and Harborview staff,” said April Harr, Harborview Medical Center and HBP Project Manager.

HBP team members were invited to meet with local Parkland Health and Hospital staff to further explore the potential of progressive design-build.

Parkland is more than 125 years old with a Level 1 trauma center, the first verified burn center in North Texas, a Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and a teaching hospital for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

With a mission and alignment similar to Harborview Medical Center, the invitation was warmly accepted.

HBP team members toured the Emergency Department (ED), learning about the successes and challenges staff experienced in the development of the ED. The team plans to use this firsthand insight as inspiration for HBP’s upcoming request for proposal scheduled for release in January 2025.