Consensus now seems to be that it is best to award the trades contracts through an architect.
Is that so? -
this consensus I do not read there. Basically, it is underestimated that only fools cut sums, and a well-coordinated team is a never-to-be-changed running system. An architect knows his people; friction losses caused by substituting a "cheaper" player in the team outweigh the price difference between the bids. Individual awarding is therefore only good as long as one does not turn it into cherry-picking and thereby score an own goal. Another principle is: the more individual awards, the more execution plans—otherwise, the Lord punishes small sins with drywall insertions. Likewise, a dual role as designer and construction manager is recommended.
Self-awarding is recommended only with experience, and
individual awarding not to craftsmen who do not yet know each other as a team. Neither tool is suitable for shooting around without a hunting license. Tenders are all the more treacherous the more apprentice-like the client is—they can also be the source of considerable cost increases.