Rethinking A Project Approach: Design/Build/Development Integration & its Possibilities

In the building industry there are an abundance of roles carried out by many different professionals. A typical project may follow a conceptual outline similar to this: a group of visionaries may establish an idea, a designer will help to form the vision, and a builder will help to complete the vision. There are crucial rolls that must be filled whether a project is large or small, including specialists in fields ranging from financial analysts, brokers, developers, engineers, architects, contractors, city planners, to code officials, and many more. Implementing a Design Build Development approach integrates many of these professionals into one entity, providing services that will enable a faster, more quality controlled project for its intended use.


The Master Builder

Buildings have existed for centuries so this is not a new idea, but rather an implementation of an old one. One of the first notable design builders was Filippo Brunelleschi, an architect of the Renaissance time period often referred to as a master builder. (Battisti, 1981)

Brunelleschi was born in Florence, Italy where most of his existing work remains today. His career first began as a master goldsmith, and in the early 1400’s he began to study as an architect/master builder (Battisti, 1981). One of the great things about Brunelleschi was that he had technical experience as well as architectural knowledge, enabling him to fully grasp how things were constructed.
Brunelleschi’s most notable work was the dome he designed and built to complete the Cathedral of Santa Maria de Fiori in Florence, Italy. The construction of the church began in 1296 and was of the Gothic style, but the dome was never fully designed. In 1418 a competition was held and Brunelleschi won after presenting his model and drawings of the dome which was of Renaissance architecture in nature (King, 2000).

Brunelleschi was a mathematical genius and was able to design and present a functioning dome not yet achievable by any of the other designers under the requirements prescribed. He began work on the dome in 1419 and remained fully engaged as master builder on the project from design to construction which was complete in 1436 (King, 2000). The intricacies of this project are obvious and it proved advantageous to integrate design and construction, which made for a more successful outcome.


Contributors to the Process

Over the years roles became more defined between design and construction and the two became very specialized and separate. Recently firms have been dedicated to bringing the concept of the master builder back with the intention of producing a better overall product. The Jersey Devil Design Build (JDDB) organization is a good example of this as they are a group of grass roots architects that have been providing integrated design build services on all their projects over the past 25 years. (JDDB, 2009). Over the years JDDB has traveled from site to site while living in Airstream trailers during the construction of their designs. They dedicated their careers to executing the intricate detail incorporated in their designs, from vision to final completion of construction. As stated by the workshop, “Jersey Devil's architecture shows a concern for craft and detail, an attention to the expressiveness of the construction materials, and a strong environmental consciousness" (JDDB, 2009).

Another major contributor to this design/build movement was Samuel Mockbee, an architect that began the “Rural Studio” in the early 1990’s (Dean, 2002). The Rural Studio was a design initiative used as a vehicle focused on aiding impoverished rural areas across the country. Mockbee would design much needed structures in low income communities while assembling a team of people that would travel to sites and gather building materials. Mockbee also taught at Auburn University, where he implemented this initiative and involved the students as part of a curriculum. Today, many other universities have restructured their programs accordingly.

Each of these contributors had a specific reason for carrying through projects as an integrated approach. The majority of the time the key factor was linked to a faster turnaround time, a cost savings, or retaining an importance to detail. Regardless of their intentions we have learned that integrating various services in the beginning of a project will help to produce a more quality controlled, more aggressive timeframe, and ultimately more budget conscious project.


Possibilities

As an architect working in a Design/Build integrated firm I have experienced how technology has an abundant presence in terms of the design process. It is beneficial to use many programs and incorporate as much information as possible in the beginning of a project in order to avoid future complications. Due to this embraced effort the concept of Building Information Modeling, most often referred to as BIM systems or BIMS, has become very popular. The BIM systems will take a project from a three-dimensional model and use it for cost and phase modeling, while programs such as Revit, Navisworks, InnoVia, and DProfiler will begin to dissect a project design and offer cost analysis, clash detection, phase modeling, and many other visualization tools.

Revit is a three-dimensional software that replaces the standard drafting programs previously used by architects and engineers during the design process. Rather than drafting in a typical two-dimensional format, the project is physically built in the model early on. The model is then passed between consultants for evaluation. The model can also be sent to subcontractors that can easily produce quantity take-offs for their bids. The model can also be transferred to another program called Navisworks, which studies a building with all components assembled for quality control of architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and any other key components.

This model can be used further for 3D scheduling, where the components of the building are separated into phases. Animation that displays how a complicated project will be built in the time allotted taking into consideration issues of sequencing of materials, construction staging areas, and city ordinances can also be produced from this model. This type of phase model has been used heavily by contractors to forecast the schedule needed to get the project built as clients today are on tight budgets and strict schedules.

One of the most important components of 3D modeling is involving cost analysis in conjunction with early design. DProfiler is an additional program developed that will automatically associate a cost with each material. Its intention is to be used on a collaborative approach integrating the design and construction together.

In today’s economy it is beneficial to have information assembled on a project that will provide as much cost analysis as possible in the pre-design phase. Without this, it becomes impossible to forecast the future. Information established early in the process only enables the project to move further, assuring advancement to a successful completion. The initiative is to search for true hard information to provide the team in order to have better control over a project as it moves forward.

However, there are mixed feelings about this approach as clients are accustomed to the standard approach of the past where the developer hires the architect, the architect draws the building, the contractor prices it, and the building is value engineered until the developer is happy with the budget. Another past approach is when the developer hires the contractor, the contractor controls the architect and the design, and the project is driven by cost only. Both methodologies have caused projects suffer. With this new approach, the developer can come to a design build team and collaborate early on in the project. Communication between development, design, and pricing will eliminated many surprises.

Although old-fashioned clients may have concerns with this because they are giving up some control of the hard bid which usually occurs for the selection of the construction contract at the end of drawing phases, it is a different and more efficient way of understanding.

Integration is a plausible approach when circumstances will gravitate towards rejection if high budgets are not reduced. The projects of the Rural Studio are low income projects which are very cost sensitive, therefore, budget constraints need to be considered as much as the design. In the integrated approach, a project has a better chance of being built if the feasibility is presented properly enabling early secured financing.

With integration, intent of a low income project can be conveyed early in the schematic phase to consultants and subcontractors enabling collaboration on cost effective materials in strategic places for the design. An early bid/award process between subcontractors will provide a preliminary analysis of techniques and building components for the most economical performance. This approach is so efficient, nonprofit projects are moving to design build as an alternative to the traditional method as well.

In the building industry, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has become instrumental in promoting certification of energy efficient buildings and sustainable design (USGBC, 2009). The USGBC proposed the LEED rating system at the beginning of the decade, and it has grown immensely since its origination. The LEED certification, which means Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a guideline to follow for building design and construction processes established to promote green practices. (USGBC, 2009)

Since its origination the amount of LEED certified buildings have grown annually (USGBC, 2009). Reasons for certification will vary from owner to owner; one may do it for operation savings, one for the good of the earth, and another for public recognition. USGBC has, however, emphasized the approach of design build integration for LEED certified projects promoting collaboration early on in the design process. A key element in LEED certification is not only regulating architectural components (slabs, walls, roofs), but also to reduce emissions and off gassing of mechanical equipment, energy consumption, demolition, and waste (USGBC, 2009). LEED also promotes energy efficiency and construction standards, which are to be collaborative between the designers and the builders (USGBC, 2009). Sustainability begins with design and ends in the construction and regular maintenance of building, and is naturally implemented much easier with an integrated team.

Another one of today’s building techniques receiving an abundant amount of attention is prefabrication. Prefab buildings incorporate many of the design initiatives discussed; budget, a time sensitive schedule, and a sustainable nature. Designed with the aspect of assembly and construction on the forefront, it is important that prefab buildings be designed and built as one element.

Prefabrication has actually been around for many years which is evident on most buildings. Typically, a pre-cast panel is prefabricated off site and shipped to the building location. Large window systems can also be built off-site and assembled on-site. This process is essential as it helps keep an efficient schedule and remain competitive. However, this is not the type of component we are talking about, but rather taking it one step further to prefab full buildings, portions of buildings, or room by room components.

Prefab buildings are “adaptable, modular, dismountable, light, and mobile” (Bahamon, 2002), and depending on the type of system chosen building components may come in an array of shapes and sizes. Establishing the intent of the prefab building will help to examine the desired performance. Most manufacturers provide full buildings, segmented portions of buildings, or room by room portions.

However, in Prefab, a major obstacle in design is size restriction due to transportation. Once at the building location, storage and assembly issues must be solved. The central plant location is also an important consideration which effects production components depending where an item will be shipped to. Each component of a prefab piece will include electrical, mechanical, and plumbing components that must be planned for as well. Because of these details it is advantageous to assemble a team of specialists to design and coordinate a system including preconstruction estimators, construction specialists, designers, engineers, and development coordinators.

Today, there are more and more companies that promote and rely on the integration between architecture, construction and development. Integrating these aspects is always an interesting path as it uncovers what it takes to get a project built: how to fund it, the various budget constraints, and the overall profits to be made. There are also many strengths provided by people of an array of backgrounds in this business model from architects, contractors, developers, financial analysts, real estate brokers, engineers, code consultants, project managers, site selection researchers, to market analysts, and many more depending on each project.

Integrating services in design, construction, and development will provide information for the client that once had to be sought out with a greater effort. With varying backgrounds, many facets in the building industry could be integrated, providing a more efficient service than the traditional approach over the last century. Knowledge of multiple variations of experience can be used as an advantage to the competitor. As can be seen there are many positive outcomes from the implementation of this integrated Design Build approach. The first step is convincing the client and getting them accustomed with the idea and conveying that it is not a new idea, but actually a recycled idea that has been around for centuries.


References

American Institute of Architects. “Design-Build Knowledge Community.” http://www.aia.org/practicing/groups/kc/AIAS075366?dvid=&recspec=AIAS075366 (20 July 2009)

Arieff, Allison. “Carlos Martin on the PATH Concept Home.” Dwell. April / May 2005, pg. 128

Bahamon, Alejandro. Prefab: Adaptable, Modular, Dismountable, Light, Mobile Architecture. New York: Harper Collins Pulishers, c2002

Battisti, Eugenio. Filippo Brunelleschi: The Complete Work. New York: Rizzoli, 1981.

Dean, Adrea Oppenheimer & Timothy Hursley. Rural Studio. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, c2002.

Dilworth, Dianna. “Ikea Enters U.K.’s Prefab Housing Market.” Architectural Record. http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/070418ikea.asp (18 April 2007)

Jersey Devil Design/Build (JSDB). http://www.jerseydevildesignbuild.com/ (20 July 2009)

King, Ross. Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture. New York: Walker & Company, c2000.

Novitski, B.J. “New AIA Agreements Support Integrated Project Delivery.” Architectural Record. http://archrecord.construction.com/practice/projDelivery/0807aia.asp (July 2008)

USGBC. “Educator Resource Center.” U.S. Green Building Council. http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1878