What if architectural students could see the inside of a building in their day-to-day classes?
What if we used the classroom for more than just lectures?
What if the classroom taught the students what a building looked like?
Questions like these prompted Woodbury University in Burbank to use the design-build process in the architectural building currently being built.
Pan-Pacific Plumbing & Mechanical, an Irvine-based plumbing subcontractor, is part of the project being run by the General Contractor, Swinerton Builders. The project broke ground in March 2007 and will run approximately two years before completion. The project is unique because much of what is usually hidden is completely exposed.
“It was the goal of the owner and architect to expose the piping and other components of the building for teaching purposes,” explained Jon Houchin, preconstruction manager for Pan-Pacific.
The architectural building is composed of two large studios and bathrooms with open ceilings. In all areas of the building students can clearly see how a building is designed and how each trade must interact in order to make a building work. The goal is for professors to use the visuals as teaching tools for instructing up-and-coming architects.
Not only did the project call for visibility of construction components, but an additional challenge was the need for aesthetics to be prominent in design. In some cases, the detailer for Pan-Pacific Plumbing, Dan Lehmann, had to make changes that are quite unusual to meet the needs of the project.
“Because the piping is exposed, and it becomes a design of the building, we had to make sure it looked good. We had one case where a gas pipe was running right next to a drain. The drain is graded, but the gas pipe is not. The architect thought that this would not be an attractive layout. We simply graded the gas pipe as well to run parallel to the drain and I think it will add to the appearance of the building,” explained Lehmann.
Houchin also explained the uniqueness of this project.
“Woodbury is a very different project for us. Because of the exposed pipes, we had to emphasize the mechanical instead of minimizing it.” This concept lead to additional meetings with the architect and additional meetings between the trades to make everything functional and attractive.
However, it is because of these needs that design-build worked so well in this project.
“When design-build is used on any project, it allows the trades to move much faster. Architects and owners are too theoretical and they tend to think that if the building isn’t built, they can keep making changes. When the trades are designing the work themselves, we keep construction constraints in mind at all times and this is what drives the design,” said Lehmann. “Design-build is so much faster because by the time construction is started, all the bugs are out.”
Houchin also explained the desire of the owner to use design-build for the inherent cost-savings.
“Design-build is almost always a cost-savings because the owner does not have to pay for the engineer to design what is only theoretical and then pay the trades to adjust the plans for logistic purposes,” Houchin said.
“If you are designing while you are building,” Lehmann added, “you are losing money.”
While design-build can help save both time and money for the owner, there are other advantages from the trade point of view.
“In design-build, there is no finger pointing between the trades. If they designed it, then the installation goes smoothly. Who better to design plumbing installation than plumbers?” Houchin asked. “Also I think there is more respect between trades on a design-build project.”
Houchin explained that when each trade designs their own portion of a project, they believe in what they designed. But when trades have to follow a typical plan, they often are frustrated by the inconsistencies and adjustments that need to be made and they can’t get behind the design with as much conviction. Design-build seems to be the right approach for many upcoming projects.
Additional respect is needed between trades in a design-build project because there is so much give and take between the trades.
“When we know a pipe has to run right through a space where the electrical also has to run, for example, we have to work together to make it possible. This allows for good relationships between the trades,” Houchin added. “In the Woodbury project, it was especially important that the trades worked together to design the aesthetics of the project.”
While there are many advantages to design-build, Pan-Pacific also experienced minor disadvantages.
“One hard thing for me,” Lehmann said, “was the fact that many of the other trades sent Project Managers or finance department representatives to the meetings. As a designer/detailer, I am only interested in design, not necessarily in the financial aspects of a job. I wished I could have worked closer with other detailers from other trades.”
Houchin also described one lesson learned while using design-build.
“I found that we have to go into each project with a really open mind. The architect who worked on this project with us was really professional and knew what she wanted. She really helped guide us to a good finish. But in other design-build projects, I have worked with flakey architects who did not direct the team as well as Jennifer did. When you have to design what an architect and owner have in mind it is important to hear what they have to say first, before even starting preliminary planning.”
Jennifer Charles, the architect on this project, is a senior associate with Rios Clementi Hale Studios in Los Angeles.
“In this project,” Houchin continued, “having an open mind was never more important. Because we were focused on aesthetics, something that plumbers are not experts on, we had to really rely on the architect and respect her decisions. In this case, it was easy.”
The architectural building at Woodbury University is perhaps the epitome of the functionality of design-build. Not only will the project run faster and the cost be less to the owners, but the trades are able to work together with the architect and each other to make a practical, instructional space for future students.
INFO: Pan-Pacific Plumbing (www.panpacplumbing.com)