The international competitiveness of the US construction industry is linked to its strategic ability to design and build quality projects. This means delivering facilities that satisfy all the needs of the client. Correct decision-making during design and construction planning is the best means for assuring a quality project. Performance-based design is a framework that enables the project team to approach the project delivery process systematically and provides basic principles for evaluating and comparing alternative solutions. The principles of axiomatic design (as previously advanced by Suh) and the concept of an interface index are key elements of the framework. Axiomatic design provides an operational structure for the design process as well as a set of basic principles or axioms for guiding each decision-maker. The interface index complements the design axioms by quantifying the effort associated with integrating the contributions of multiple decision-makers into a total system. Elements of the framework are demonstrated through application to an actual facility.