As we look back on the last few months we see new realities starting to set in on our industry: the financial markets in turmoil, led by a collapse of the housing market and the sub-prime mortgage industry; major bank failures, centuries old investment banks going under or being bought out; and a re-distribution of the capital that feeds our growth.
At the same time, there is continued competition for resources around the globe: record high oil prices; tight markets for building materials such as cement, copper and steel; and a continued recognition of the need to design and construct sustainably.
Is it doom and gloom, or is it opportunity? We are at a tipping point. Through maximization of the use of information technologies and innovation in our work processes, we can improve the performance and profitability of the building industry.
Throughout history, mankind has reacted to needs with innovative design and construction technologies.
Consider the momentous event in architecture when the wall parted and the column became, as Louis Kahn, the great 20th century early modernist asks us, or the spanning of Brunelleschi's great dome of the Florence Cathedral - a great expression of design and construction integration and innovation - or Roebling's wire rope which allowed us to span great distances and gave us the Brooklyn Bridge.
These were all design and technological responses to a need. The current state of affairs and our need to build sustainably and economically, clearly define the need for a new paradigm to respond to the challenges. Innovative building technologies alone cannot overcome a shortage of resources and the inherent inefficiencies prevalent in the design and construction industry.
The advent of Building Information Modeling (BIM) holds promise, but BIM doesn't work to its greatest potential in the old model of "business as usual." The status quo does not work here. The successful transition from the status quo to optimized high-performance buildings will require the integrated expertise of a wide variety of disciplines including those who design, manufacture, construct, use, maintain, refurbish, finance and insure our built environment.
Technology can support the process, but it is the process itself that needs a new definition and an overhaul. That process will include the integration of new analytical software that better helps us understand and maximize the design. Not BIM, but BAM - Building Analytical Modeling using the model for energy and daylight analysis, materials optimization, code compliance and sustainability analysis.
In order for us to use the new technologies to maximum effectiveness, there needs to be a shift in resources and allocation of fees to maximize the value up front. With greater collaboration, and a redefinition of the way we look at the documents, there can be an amalgamation of the design models with the constructors' building models, which is what it will take to optimize the process.
This will encourage rationalized decision making and collaborative data collection and data entry with the intent of establishing the model that supports all analytical design and construction activities.
This will require strategic investments in development of the new processes, human resources and information technology. The public sector needs flexibility and adaptability in order to innovate to meet these needs.
The private sector needs incentives to innovate to take the necessary risks. Business relationships and the structure of how we procure, insure, finance and construct will require re-thinking.
This mental shift in process collaboration and integration must start in the schools today. Curriculum must include collaborative and multi-disciplinary integrated coursework that teaches the importance of working together.
We can do it. Through a development of integrated processes and a forming of new partnerships and alliances, including industry and the public and private sectors, we can change our industry.
Although times seem especially challenging, it is evident that we cannot go back to the old ways of delivering buildings if we are to manage long-term costs, maximize performance and improve efficiencies, and work toward building a sustainable environment.
Are we entering a new era? A new future? The future is nothing more than the present rushing to meet us.
It is here and here to stay. Integrated approaches to sustainable high performance project design, construction and operation are here now and will be the future of the industry.
Greg Gidez is a corporate design manager for Hensel Phelps Construction Co. and is a member of the DBIA Board of Directors.