The Role of a Design Manager in Construction

Our Canterbury team is pleased to welcome Daniella Pizey as a Design Manager. Her role spans both the Pre-Construction and Construction phases of projects at Cook Brothers Construction. We sat down with Daniella to get to know her and her role as a Design Manager at a Main Contractor.

Daniella is a registered architect, with over 15 years of experience working in New Zealand and Canada. Her background spans high-end residential, hospitality, heritage, commercial and industrial projects – highlights of which include the restoration and earthquake strengthening of the Old Municipal Chambers building in Christchurch.

Daniella joined Cook Brothers in April 2026, taking an opportunity to grow and diversify her skills by joining the contractor-side.  As a design manager, Daniella is a central point of contact between the client, consultants and her colleagues at Cook Brothers. Her role fosters collaboration between all parties in the design and construction process, bridging the gap in a process that can be considered ‘disconnected’ between parties.

At Cook Brothers, Daniella is responsible for:

• Overseeing design deliverables on design and build projects, from establishing the brief with clients through to detailed design. Her work ensures that the client’s brief is met throughout the project.
• Identifying opportunities in designs in an Early Contractor Involvement process, to optimise and improve outcomes on site with fewer stoppages or RFIs.
• Providing suggestions on buildability improvements or alternative solutions.
• Support sustainable build practices through product selection and design.
• Assisting clients with navigating the construction process and answering any design queries.
• Supporting site teams with queries relating to the detailing, design or materials.

As a specialist focused on design matters, Daniella works hard to achieve better design outcomes, whilst also maximising efficiency, cost and performance drivers. Daniella explains it as “an extra layer of observation over the whole process”, which, for our clients, is a major benefit to reducing their risk and achieving the desired outcomes for their construction project.