Design

Design is the process of taking disparate parts and portions and through acts of rigor, intention and contemplation, creating a seamless union of function and aesthetics infused with the buoyancy of invention while spoken in the concise melody of prose and punctuated with brevity. Design transends medium and vocation. Considered thoughtful positive design is a benefit to all.

It is for this reason that I find the process of building design stimulating and exciting. I find great satisfaction in the creation of stellar and outstanding construction documents. Well crafted construction documents are a thing of beauty. They are tools of imagination and precision, and if executed properly, they become the foundation from which beautiful buildings are hewn.

A stellar set of construction documents evokes that of well written books. There is the thesis which then is suspended by the introduction, body and the conclusion. Each of these components work together in unison to create a text that is much greater than the sum of it's parts. Construction documents work in much the same way. The design process asks many questions ranging from that of aesthetics to that of the pragmatic. These questions become the foundation from which the building is realized. The construction document process has the fundamental purpose of answering and resolving these questions.

The effectiveness of construction documents often is intimately connected to the infrastructure that supports the construction documents. When these components of infrastructure are coupled with a clear and logical approach to architectural detailing and coordination, the result is a compelling and robust set of documents. It is wonderful when construction documents are produced quickly; it is better when they are clear, concise, complete, accurate and well coordinated as well.

I have worked in a variety of capacities doing my tenure in the architectural profession. I have worked as an Architectural Designer, a Project Manager, a 3D Visualization expert and a Cad Manager. Most often the lines of these positions have overlapped and my daily experiences have required me to wear many of these hats simultaneously. I have worked on many types of projects: healthcare, education, retail, commercial, residential and civic projects. I have worked on large teams and I have also managed some small design teams as well. No matter what the use of the building is or design requirements are, the process of turning functional and aesthetic ideas into building forms is always rewarding; even in spite of occasional challenging design revisions.

Form the time I was in architecture school, I thought it would be very interesting and informative to experience architecture from the construction vantage point. I was very excited when this opportunity became available. This position opened up the world of BIM to me. My computer modeling, cad skills and construction knowledge served me well in this capacity. Through the process of BIM modeling and cad drawings, I was able to play a valuable role in construction coordination, as part of a team of construction professionals. This position also gave me the opportunity to work on large scale multi-million dollar construction projects. I also had the opportunity to use software such as Navisworks Manage and BIM 360 Glue in order to coordinate my work with that of the other construction trades. As a result of this job experience, I have become more aware of the value of well crafted construction documents. When the construction documents are clear, organized and well cooridinated, the need for extra time, extra money and unnecessary delays can be minimized.

Building design is truly a team endeavor. The are many tasks that require individual attention and effort, but the totality of the design is often the product of an effective team. Over the course of my experiences, I have come to understand that the art of delegation is critical for successful ventures. The ability to delegate responsibilities in a thoughtful and encouraging manner has enormous intrinsic value. When this is coupled with strategies that allow team members to contribute in terms of insights and ideas, there is great opportunity for refinement and innovation. The most successful managers seem to have the ability to define and re-define the underlying goal, even as the external parameters evolve and change; doing so in a consistent, clear and reasonable manner. True leadership demonstrates responsibility, clarity and focus. Often when leadership is committed to such practices, all members of the team are proud to personally invest themselves in their work.

Ultimately buildings are designed by people, for the betterment of people, society and the built environment. As I design and work in the vocation of building design, this idea is ever-present. I enjoy working with colleagues and interacting with clients and contractors in order to produce the best projects possible. The built environment is beautified one building at a time.

Over the balance of my career I have developed countless building models, many of which became realized as completed construction projects. Often these models became the basis of the 2d cad files that were used on projects I developed and managed. AutoCad became my workshop filled with all the colors and craft of a painter's studio. A variety of rendering engines became the canvas on which these conceptions and imagery were displayed. If it was a solid form, either real or imagined, I could model it and render it.

Eventually I had the opportunity to move towards BIM modeling. I found the command structure and ribbon tools used in Revit a little different than those used in AutoCad, but many of the strategic concepts and underlying principles were both similar and familiar. However the speed of modeling, the functionality of working in a comprehensive model and real time responsiveness between model and the 2D projection were unparalleled.

When the Revit is coupled with the power of a raytrace render engine, such as the Vray, the rendered results are stunning. Since Vray is a plugin within the Revit environment, the renderings are generated directly out of Revit. Therefore the functionality of work sharing need not be compromised. Just as the design team is able to collaboratively develop the design, the modeling and the documentation (schematic or construction) in real time, they can also develop the visualization and presentation elements simultaneously as well. It is this process that opens up a myriad of possibilities. It is this process that I enjoy being emerged in.

For about three years I had the opportunity to experience building design from the vantage point of the construction trades. I worked for Star-Lo Inc., a premier New Jersey electrical contractor, as a part of their engineering department. I worked on a variety of large scale multi-million dollar projects, such as a new dual residential tower building for Stevens Insitute of Technology in Hoboken, a major multi-phased renovation project at Newark Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, NJ, a new sports complex building at the Lawernceville School, located near Princeton University, and the indoor water park at the Amercian Dream Mall, located in East Rutherford, NJ.

My main responsibilities was to focus on construction coordination. I would spend a considerable amount of time modeling and laying out the major electrical components for the projects, such as electrical panels, switchgear, feeders, branch lines and lighting. I would collaborate, in house, with the project manager and field foreman to best determine the most effective installation routes for conduit runs and the best location and layout for the electrical gear. With the use of a variety of computer platforms, each MEP trade would insert its scope of work into a federated coordination model. We would then work to coordinate the construction installation of each trades scope of work.

Often the general contractor would facilitate the coordination process and this coordination process might vary from project to project. In some instances the installation layout hierarchy was determined by trade, often with HVAC laying out first and electrical laying out last. Sometimes this hierarchy was determined by the size of the each trades scope of work. Quickly I learned from the electrical field foreman that it was most advantagous to run the large feed conduits as close to the the structure as possible and to insert our conduit runs layout into the federated model as soon as possible. In many ways, it was as if we were explorers staking claim to unclaimed volumes of horizontal datum in the most valuable MEP coordination space; the space between the structure and the ceiling.

With the process of weekly and biweekly MEP trade coordination meetings, we would work to ensure that all of the project scopes were able to be installed properly as per the requirements of the projects. These meetings were independent from the project manager and project foreman meetings. In order to ensure that all the clashes between the trades were resolved prior to project signoff, we would use clash detection software to flag the conflicts such that each trade could coordinate a solution amongst themselves. In certain instances, when trade clashes could not be resolved, RFIs were submitted to the design team for direction and resolution.

I found that the pace and cadence of this type of work required an organized approach. Often the construction schedule was tight. In many instances the MEP coordination was happening simultaneously while the structure was being built and construction was happening; often steel was being erected and concrete was being poured. Therefore in order to meet certain project benchmarks within the overall construction process, it was imperative to work in close collaboration with the project manager, the project foreman and the construction team in the field. Certain windows of availability, in terms of ease of installation, were often short and once those opportunities passed, the installation process could be much more challenging and costly. Frequent field visits were also very helpful to ensure that both the shop drawings and the installation drawings accurately addressed the ever changing landscape of the construction site. In many ways, this portion of my professional journey taught me much about both Means and Methods; a process that is often outside the scope of an architect's role and responsibility.