AVANT REFLECTIONS

 

Throughout the design process for the 350 Mission project the design team encountered many challenges, and through these inst ances expanded their knowledge and designing efficiency. The examples listed below are just a selection of the many lessons learned and reformations made throughout the project lifetime. Some of the lessons are related to things the team did correctly and efficiently, and some are related to time the team failed and had to re-analyze their decisions. The team is confident that the lessons learned will continue to aid them in their current and future professional success.

 

1. Team organization and communication lines before the design phase starts is very important:

 

       Even before the design phase of the project began, the design team had open communication discussing the project guidelines a nd design goals.         Team members analyzed the original design and competition requirements as soon as the information was released. A Google Group was set up for team members to disseminate information as they completed initial resea rch into engineered systems and construction processes. This early communication allowed the team to start the design phase already on the same page as far as goals and workflow were concerned.

 

2. File structure/organization is extremely important:

 

       Due to the collaborative and iterative nature of design, the team found that a set file structure and naming guidelines greatly increased workflow efficiency. The team’s file structure allowed information, models and images to be grouped under project milestone markers, but separated based on content for easy searching and access. Each discipline also had set folders to organize their informa tion, and the identical file structure for each discipline allowed increased collaboration efficiency.

 

3. Regular group meetings are very helpful:

 

      The design team found that regularly meeting to discuss where each discipline was in the design process and up coming design decisions was crucial to achieving a smooth working environment. Because of the collaborative nature of the project, decisions made by each discipline affected all other team members. These weekly meet ings were used to discuss major decisions and design features. Updates were given by each discipline as to where they were at on the project timeline and what their schedule was for completing required tasks for upcoming project milestones. An additional benefit of the regular meetings was creating a time where all members, each with differing schedules, could be together for discussion and planning.

 

4. Industry professionals are an invaluable resource and wealth of knowledge:

 

      The design team took every opportunity it could to interact with industry professionals who were willing to lend a critical eye to the building design. Each discipline was adept at finding professi onals with experience in specific areas of building design; and the team as a whole sought individuals who were well versed in holistic design and workflow efficiency. The design team enjoyed being exposed to this ‘real-life’ knowledge and found the professional s to be very cordial; especially when the group prepared information and questions ahead of time.

 

5. BIM tools and technology are essential for graphic representation and information exchanges:

 

      One positive aspect of the collaborative BIM project environment is that members of the team can easily and intelligently discuss cross-discipline issues. A tool that helps facilitate this discussion is the ability to visually represent components and design details with the software. The team found this ability helped educate each team m ember to certain aspects of design quickly and effectively. Information could be shared numerically or analytically within each discipline, while images and models helped other disciplines understand concepts and design empirically.

 

6. Model organization is important early on in the project:

 

      The project team found that the foundation of model standards and grids early on in the project helped ease some of the common issues with collaborative design. Finalizing architectural and structural grid lines for all applicable models was crucial in creating spatial knowledge for all disciplines. Setting up the Revit central model with disciplinary links allowed the engineers to simultaneously and progressively add to the whole building model. Keeping models up-to-date enabled intelligent discussion when inter-disciplinary conflicts arose.

 

7. Engineering analysis and design software is powerful but MUST be fully understood and used with caution:

 

      Each discipline enjoyed using state-of-the-art software and design technology in order to streamline the design phase and conquer difficult and lengthy analyses. However, each discipline learned early on that a full knowledge of how the software works was paramount in creating accurate, effective output. Because of the need to ‘self-teach’ various software,