The Village of Deerfield sits right off of Interstate 94 less than 30 miles north of downtown Chicago. Incorporated for more than 100 years, the village board of trustees held meetings in the township hall until 1923, then moved to a nearby Masonic temple until the Deerfield Village Hall was built in 1957. After 50 years, it was time to do some work — work that had to be completed while village municipal functions carried on with as little disruption as possible.
The task was to build an 18,000-square-foot addition and provide for a significant renovation of the 50-year-old village hall, and critical coordination of design development and construction scheduling tasks as overriding priorities. In addition, budget goal compliance, sound construction phasing to allow municipal functions to operate with minimal disruption and a high degree of aesthetics achievement in design of this community centerpiece were imperative.
Design-build’s ability to connect and integrate team member functions from the get-go afforded the owner a range of benefits derived from fusing architecture, engineering and construction disciplines, particularly the capacity to facilitate communication and foster interchange of ideas among contributors to the process.
“The Village of Deerfield wanted the peace of mind that comes with the design-build approach,” says Phil Kiraly, assistant village manager, who was charged with overseeing the project for the municipality. “Having all the players at the table from the outset brought to light the obstacles with our project and helped to develop solutions early on — while we could still make project scope changes — rather than once we were in the field. It absolutely seemed like the right way to do it … and I believe our project’s end result highlights its success.”
The overall aim of the project was to enable centralization of the municipality’s finance, community development and administration department operations, as well as provide additional meeting space and upgrades to the existing structure, which meant architectural cohesiveness between the older Greek Revival styled masonry and the new expansion structure’s features. In addition, the new facility was to contain quality finishes and appointments that would be durable and attractive – all within a $6 million budget.
Under One Roof
The convenience of “one-stop shop” offered an effective means for the client to bring concerns and questions and to convey project preferences to a single contact – either directly to the project executive representing the design-build team or, during construction, to a construction professional on the construction management team led by the project executive. “It made my life as the village’s project manager much easier,” Kiraly says. “We had a person on site at all times who had the ear of the subcontractors, architects and me all at the same time, so issues that arose in the field could be addressed almost immediately.”
Kiraly wasn’t the only one to notice.
“As a design-build entity, we offered the village’s administration a cohesive team of architects, estimators and construction professionals who not only have worked extensively in the public sector, but who have worked together on facility projects on a day-to-day basis over a period of time.” says Tom Tristano, president of Williams Design Build in Carol Stream, Ill., and the service provider’s project executive.
“Capital projects can really start to control your life, especially a project of this magnitude and importance to the community,” Kiraly adds. “But I was able to keep my focus on many of my other responsibilities without fear that things were being neglected. That trust in the team is vital for local government projects to succeed.”
End Game
Precision cost estimation was an early function of the project, as well as early material and design decisions and were particularly helpful. As with many other public-sector projects, maintaining cost control was extremely important, but so was yielding a design that captured the building’s traditional style and introduced much needed space to overcrowded administrative facilities.
“Having both sides on our team early on was key; the architects kept the builders focused on detail, and the builders kept the architects focused on their design to ensure it was buildable,” Kiraly says. “That was my favorite aspect of this project — that everyone, from start to finish, was on the same page and knew the project limitations. It eliminated the finger pointing in the field, and brought us a better end product.”
Tristano agrees.
“Bringing in the cost estimating function early on in the project really helped in delineating a realistic scope for the project and in identifying all potential project costs,” he says. “The collaboration allowed designers, engineers and constructors working on the Deerfield Village Hall project to move along at an efficient pace.”
Early input from the assembled team also provided a level of comfort to the owner. “Budget control, timing and overall comfort with the project stand out as the best aspects of the project from my perspective,” Kiraly says. “I was able to approach the project with the end game in mind before we even broke ground.” This also reassured the village board that the project would progress almost exactly as planned. “The few times we went back to them after the GMP [guaranteed maximum price] contract was approved were for scope changes that staff felt were best addressed now rather than in the future,” Kiraly adds. “Absent these changes, we finished the project almost exactly where we had planned to 18 months earlier.”
Streamlining Design
Beyond financial concerns, the substantial integration of cost estimating and design scheme development also helped streamline the progression from concept to an evolved design solution. According to Scott Lange, a principal with Williams Architects, a constituent entity of the Williams Design Build team, a constituent entity of Williams Architects, the ability to test early design ideas against cost calculations almost immediately condensed this early project phase, providing an advantage in maintaining an aggressive project schedule.
“To keep the cost expectations in line, the initial building footprint and shell were quickly determined and agreed upon at the onset of design,” he says. “This initial determination got the design team started in the right direction, avoiding multiple design scenarios.” This alone likely saved about three to five weeks of design time. Budget attention also remained at the forefront throughout the design development and constructions phases. “With regular construction management meetings,” Kiraly says, “village staff constantly had a read on the pulse of the project. Issues with budget could be dealt with strategically.”
Schedule Implications
Careful construction phasing and scheduling attention were crucial, as the tight project site had little tolerance for business or traffic disruption from construction work. In addition, the village’s finance, administration and community development departments had remain operational throughout the project.
“Project coordination was key in being able to meet our scheduling demands,” Kiraly says. “We moved in on time, despite a slow start. … The team understood the constraints and reacted early to ensure the project didn’t slip off track.”
To ensure business continuity throughout construction, the first step was to complete the 18,000-square-foot addition, then move existing staff throughout the complex while renovating the 9,000 square feet in the existing facility. The renovation work included all new mechanical, HVAC, electrical and plumbing systems to the existing structure.
Commitment to Communication
A combination of regular meetings and status reports helped move the project along and according to schedule. It also helped anticipate, record and review construction milestones. “Through its single-entity approach, the design-build methodology inherently promotes teamwork that functions in a unified manner from leadership on down,” Tristano says. “This unity, in turn, helps to reduce the potential for breakdown in communication – in the field and off.”
Kiraly also believes design-build was the way to go. “We knew how much money we could spend on this project – and it was finite – so we started there,” he says. “We knew we had some leverage with timing, but that it was important for the community that the village hall project not drag on indefinitely.”
Barbara Dutton is marketing coordinator for Williams Design Build.