The typical way to buy or procure construction is create a set of drawings, put them out for tender to people who can build what is shown, select the lowest/best bidder, and then proceed with construction. This is commonly referred to as "design-bid-build." There are, of course, others ways to procure construction, but this is the traditional method. And in an idealized world, it would always work out very well for owners and developers. But in reality, it's a lot more complicated.

The important prerequisite for this method is a great set of drawings (more broadly, great contract documents). Because that is effectively the thing you are buying. Unfortunately, great drawing sets don't always happen and there are generally a few reasons for this. One possible scenario might be that you just don't have enough time to produce them. Maybe the market is hot and you want to start construction yesterday, or maybe you have some deadline to meet. Whatever the case, you're in a rush.

But the most likely scenario is that the drawings aren't great simply because the people doing them aren't good or because, hey, we are all only human. Things were missed, there are mistakes, and the drawings weren't fully coordinated across the various disciplines. There's no such thing as 100% perfect drawings. And that results in construction risk, because you've now bought things that are wrong and that will need to be corrected later.

Changes are costly. Later is also a suboptimal time for the simple fact that the price of construction depends on the current situation you happen to be in. Early on before a contract is awarded, buyers of construction have the most, or least some, leverage. The bid process is designed to be competitive and so bidders generally need to sharpen their pencils if they want to win the work. But once a job has been awarded and construction starts, that leverage flips.

Scope gaps and change orders become that much more expensive because, well, they can be. Switching costs are prohibitively high at this point. And it doesn't just work with scope additions. You will also be penalized for going in the opposite direction and removing scope items (i.e. credits). In these situations, you should expect to receive cents on the dollar back. This is one of the great asymmetries of construction pricing.

My point with this post is simply that the price of construction depends -- it depends on how and when you are buying it. It's a very opaque market and it's important to keep that in mind.

I watched a few French films on the flights home yesterday. One of them was L’histoire de Souleymane, which I really enjoyed and was apparently very well received at the Cannes Film Festival last year. The story follows Souleymane, who is a food delivery cyclist and asylum seeker in Paris. And it takes place over a two-day period leading up to an interview that will determine whether he is granted permanent residency in France or whether he will be forced to return to Guinea. I won’t give away the movie, but he goes through a lot while he’s illegally working in Paris and preparing for this interview. And, there’s a plot twist. I also found it interesting to watch Paris through this lens. Paris is a city with many facets, and not all of them look like Emily in Paris. Maybe none of them really do.

It’s a wrap for the 14th annual fresh pow adventure. (Here's a short video.) I’m now on a plane home. But let me tell you, “Japow" did not disappoint. We went for the powder and, without any exaggeration, it snowed every single day. I have never seen snow accumulate as fast as it does on Hokkaido. I now understand why after big storms some people need to leave their house via the second floor. The region gets that much snow in January and February.

Of course, we also got the chance to spend a number of days in Tokyo. When I first visited the city over 20 years ago, I absolutely loved it. And I feel the same way after this trip. Tokyo is up there for me — it’s one of my favorite cities. It’s obviously enormous, but it’s highly livable and it works, really well in fact. So here’s a list of some of the things — both small and big — that I admire about the place and that I think we should adopt back in Toronto.

• Its reputation is, of course, true. Tokyo is a neat and clean city, especially given its scale. And everyone seems to be bought into it, because they don’t even have public garbage cans. I don’t exactly know how you instil this into the culture of a place, but I think it goes along with the overall pride they seem to take in their work and the commitment to quality. How you do anything is how you do everything.

• Without fail, every time you sit down at a restaurant, the first thing you will receive is a moist towel to clean your hands. It’s a super simple and welcome gesture. Why not clean your hands before you eat?

• Everything has a place. Receipts are handed over in trays. Restaurants have baskets at each table so you don’t have to put your bag on the floor. Hangers are provided so you don’t throw your jacket on the back of your chair. And the list goes on. It’s orderly and civilized.

• Our toilets are in the stone ages. You’re not going to get yourself clean with just paper. You need a comfortable warm seat and highly adjustable jets of water. I never fully appreciated this need before the trip, but now I’m a true believer. It’s time for a new toilet.

• Lots of people still wear masks in Japan, and across Asia. Unselfishly, people do this when they themselves are sick and want to protect others from their germs. It’s a practice that I had hoped would stick in the Western world following the pandemic. But it did not.

• Convenience stores (7-11, Lawson, Seicomart, etc) are everywhere and they’re actually good. You can have a decent meal at any of them. We need to up our game. As North American cities relax their zoning to allow more small-scale retail in residential neighborhoods, I also hope that, generally, we see a stronger culture of “going to the corner store."

• Tokyo cares deeply about art, architecture, design, and fashion. There’s a culture of investing in all of it, and you see it clearly across the city. I mean, look at their public toilets, many/most of which have been designed by a celebrated architect.

• There’s also a high willingness to experiment and be playful with the built environment, including domestic architecture. Many people seem to design their homes around what they want, as opposed to what might broadly appeal to most people in the market. (This is a topic we’ve spoken about before.)

• Alongside all of this, I find that there’s a cartoon quality to a lot of the aesthetics in Tokyo. You see this in the graphic design, the design of everyday objects, and, of course, all the actual cartoons and anime you see everywhere. It makes the city feel very playful at times.

• Tokyo is very much a vertical city, as opposed to just a city with tall buildings. There are buildings all over the place with retail uses located on some hidden upper floor and where you need to queue for an elevator to access it. There’s no shortage of evidence to suggest that this “only works in Asia”, but maybe it could work in more places than we think. Oftentimes our land use policies limit the amount of commercial floor area in mixed-use zones. But why even bother? Let the market determine what’s viable.

• Finally, and we talked about this last week, Tokyo is a city that is clearly oriented around rail. And it’s the only way that a city of this size could operate as beautifully as it does. This isn’t new information, but it remains my number one takeaway. Because Tokyo is an easier city to get around than Toronto. In fact, we found ourselves not wanting to take Ubers because rail was actually faster, cheaper, and more convenient. That’s a testament to the power and efficiency of rail.

What did I miss? Let me know in the comment section below.