When using an integrated design and delivery approach, the architect is asked to make a significant departure from their usual way of doing business. One important difference is the presence of the owner as a team member at the predesign phase. This means that the responsibility of controlling communication with the owner will be partly replaced with coordinating with the contractor and educating the whole team about the significance and interconnectedness of design decisions. Other responsibilities include:
Use of a collaborative model during the design stage may be seen by some architects as a burden and a disruption to the problem solving that they are trained to do. It may also feel restrictive for some architects who are used to taking the lead. However, in many cases, taking the time to implement full alignment, changing the business model, and adopting an IPD agreement will be worth spending the time on those initial steps.
Following performance requirements set by the whole team instead of specific details provided by the owner will give the architect more freedom to innovate and create. From the beginning, trades and contractors can provide information about the effectiveness and constructability of alternate concepts, which will help architects choosing systems and layouts iteratively to efficiently achieve the project goals. The architect can feel confident suggesting ideas that might meet or exceed the initial performance goals, while staying on budget and resulting in fewer surprises during construction.
“We are seeing a shift from a siloed approach to trans-disciplinary approach, but we need to ultimately get to a transcendence that operates across boundaries.” – Jennifer Cutbill, DIALOG
Integrated design and delivery might feel cumbersome or repetitive. If implemented at all levels you’ll see:
The architect is well positioned to initiate an integrated design and delivery approach because, as a trusted voice for the owner, they can usually propose an integrated approach before the project is too far along. It is helpful to clarify how integrated design and delivery benefits all parties and to give examples from projects already realized. If the owner is hesitant about the process, it may be helpful to suggest an integration consultant or facilitator for the project.
Key Points:
The success of an integrated project is highly dependent on the caliber of the team. For that reason, the architect will have a vested interest in the other parties that are selected for the team. The architect can suggest to the owner that he or she ask for proposals from pre-assembled teams, instead of individual parties. That would allow the architect to submit a proposal with a contractor with whom they already have a good working relationship and who ideally has experience with integrated design and delivery approaches.
Leading Integrated Project Delivery expert, Howard Ashcraft, compares creating an integrated team to a corporate merger (Ashcraft 2011). In a successful merger, members from different firms created a single organization with a common culture that reflects their beliefs and values. Choosing team members or partnering with firms with which the owner has a strong working relationship helps ensure cultures are complementary rather than antagonistic.
If it is not possible to advocate for hiring a firm with which the architect already has an established rapport, the architect would ideally select firms who have demonstrated an ability to adapt to a new system and make a strong commitment to a culture of collaboration.
If you can, work with those you know or with whom you have done previous integrated projects. If you must choose new partners:
The architect can demonstrate a capacity for collaboration even without prior experience on an integrated design and delivery project. Capacity for collaboration can be demonstrated by emphasizing experience with Lean design and construction, or integrated design, and by describing ways in which they adapted to more collaborative projects.
Key Points:
Integrated design and delivery has a steep learning curve, but from existing case studies it is clear that once a team successfully completes one integrated project, that team will be much more efficient on successive projects (Case Study: Lion’s Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant). It is the architect’s role to foster a culture of collaboration and to be persistent in engaging all participants. For the team members, adjusting from being “the expert” to being a “co-learner” will be possible only in an environment of collaboration where suggestions and openness are encouraged.
“[An integrated team] is not just pulling together a multi-disciplinary team, though that’s an important first step. It means that each person in the room needs to have both the right expertise and the right posture. Without both, you can still end up with just another building.” – Laura Lesniewski, BNIM
Key Points:
As seen in steps 1 and 2 of the Guide to Achieving Integrated Design and Delivery, integrated projects are structured to deliver on the values and goals that the project team establishes. If sustainability objectives are not established, the architect might have to educate the team about those benefits. Associating green features with reduced operational costs and reduced time to market may help to make sustainability part of the conversation. The authors of The Integrative Design Guide to Green Building (7group and Bill Reed, 2009) suggest that working with “nested systems” during step 2 of the Guide helps bringing sustainability objectives to the surface. Examining how a project impacts the primary systems within the whole of the environment—defined as habitat, water, energy, and materials—reveals the relationships between smaller and larger systems.
Key Points:
Over 70 percent of architects use BIM tools, according to a Smart Market report (Smart Market Report 2012). However, many limit the use of these software tools to creating 3-D renderings and understanding the performance and cost of a near-final design (Malin 2007). Architects can use BIM more economically—and help ensure sustainability goals are incorporated into the project—by doing simple box models to evaluate the energy performance of different conceptual designs before schematic design has even begun, looking at factors like massing, orientation, and percentage of glazing. Such models would be done using energy modeling programs before moving into full-fledged BIM design tools.
BIM can also be used as a communication tool to drive collaboration among team members. With the development of cloud-based BIM servers, multiple users can access a BIM model and changes made will appear for the other users in real time.
Key Points:
“BIM is an attitude for how information is exchanged.” – Phil Bernstein, Autodesk
