There is a fundamental change occurring not just in the United States, but also in the world. This change is not just political, social or moral; it is a rise in consciousness. This shift in consciousness will bring about a complete change in what we do, why we do it, and how we go about getting it done.
In part, it is a change to moving on to a much bigger idea. While in the past, each individual has been primarily focused on “me,” the new challenge is to focus on the “we.” This is more than turning an “m” upside down. It will in fact turn many of the things we do upside down.
Causing this change is the reality that “we are all in this together.” And literally, our survival as a species depends on recognizing it. While freedom for the individual has always been, and will always be, valued in the U.S., we have in many ways forgotten what the founding fathers actually wrote: “We the people ... in order to form a more perfect union …”
To some this change will seem sudden and perhaps upsetting. But, it has been coming for a long time as problems have reached unsolvable proportions. Like water heating slowly, when it reaches 312 degrees it instantly turns to steam.
The world has reached a crisis of un-sustainability. In so many areas we are at the brink—global climate change, world hunger and disease, dependence on and competition for finite and rapidly depleting resources like oil, information overload and senseless wars in which otherwise rational people needlessly kill one another.
Albert Einstein said, “We cannot find solutions using the same mind that created the problems.” The opportunity in this new world consciousness is that problems of the past could dissolve in the light of new thinking.
Design and Construction—A Revolution in Thinking
As the world emerges into a new consciousness, the design and construction industry will also go through a fundamental change. In the past, projects have been built in spite of the reality that people have been operating primarily in their own best interest, not necessarily in the interest of the project. This is know as “business as usual.” But the potential that has been lost, although still available to be drawn upon, is the synergy of “together we are more than the sum of each of us.”
There have been three interesting experiments in construction delivery involving the owner, architect and contractor in different ways.
1. Design/Bid: This is the historically traditional process in which the architect draws what the owner wants and then bids the project amongst several builders. The lowest price governs. Then the architect observes the work of the contractors to make certain they deliver what is expected. This could be referred to as “Architect in Charge.”
2. Design/Build: In this method the builder is hired as a single source of responsibility and hires the architect as a sub-contractor. This could be referred to as “Builder in Charge.”
3. Fast-Track: This is a more recent method but one that has become very common in the rush to get projects built quickly. It has been the answer to clients demanding, “I want what I want, when I want it.” This could be referred to as “Owner in Charge.”
There are three goals in the development of projects: quality, time and money. It has been said that you can only choose two of the three, and that attempting to achieve all three is unrealistic. In evaluating the above three delivery methods, there seems to be three different means to try and execute the goals (see Figure 1 at right).
1. Design/Bid can deliver quality and best price but often sacrifices control of schedule.
2. Design/Build can deliver price and schedule but often sacrifices control of quality.
3. Fast-Track can deliver schedule and quality but often sacrifices control of cost.
In each of these scenarios, something is sacrificed, and therefore one or more of the parties is frustrated in the process. What would it be like to build a project and achieve all three goals? How could it be done? What would it take?
Integrated Project Delivery
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a new concept in which everyone is in charge, and where everyone is responsible for the ultimate success of the project—success defined as built with great quality, on time and on budget (see Figure 2 at left).
IPD is a process that literally creates a new team. It’s more than three organizations—owner, architect and builder—working together. It is people from three organizations forming a new team—one team—with new team goals and a clear intention to achieve those mutual goals.
This new concept requires new ways of being. IPD is more than just a tweak; it’s a complete paradigm shift. It demands leaving one’s ego at the door. It involves working together for the good of the whole team in an atmosphere of trust and mutual support. But it delivers more than just a successful project. It provides every person with a fulfilling life experience and each organization with winning results. It allows people to “be all that they can be” (without joining the army). It is the win-win that so often eludes us in the turmoil of building complex projects.
IPD as a project delivery approach integrates all key members of the project team from the very first phase of the project. With this model, decisions are made collaboratively and committed to by everyone. A major benefit of this method is that it reduces conflict by encouraging all parties to work collaboratively. One of the best ways of setting up the right working attitudes is by partnering.
Partnering
One of the elements of this new paradigm is partnering. Most of the time, business is seen as win-lose. Conflict is frequently the vehicle commonly used for resolving issues. However the associated emotions of frustration, fear and anger lead to hollow victories, upsetting defeats and bad feelings all around. This does not need to be the way business is conducted. It is more kind, and also wise, to treat all people who cross your path with compassion, understanding and respect. In fact, simple physics shows that all forces pulling in the same direction create a greater resultant force than going in different directions—infinitely more than when some are headed in the opposite direction.
A team of architects, engineers, builders, suppliers, lenders and clients can work together in everyone’s best interest. One of the ways to get the whole team on the same path is by utilizing the process of partnering. The objective is to help everyone on the team understand each other’s individual goals and recognize that all partners are trying to achieve the same objectives, and all members of the team should benefit from the results.
Partnering requires a shift in attitude—a “nobody really wins unless everyone wins” attitude. It is possible for projects to be completed ahead of schedule, under budget and with everyone making more money. Partnering increases that potential.
Building Information Modeling
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a transformation that is changing architecture and construction. It is the most radical change in the design and build process since the construction of the pyramids. For thousands of years, architects have been designing buildings in the same basic way. Drawing on paper, using two-dimensional details to describe what was to be a three-dimensional building. But now one of the greatest breakthroughs in the history of architecture has happened: Buildings can actually be drawn in three dimensions with the help of computer software and be delivered to the owner and the builders in that format.
The benefits of BIM include: better quality documents, faster time delivery, ease in viewing design options, less effort to make changes, 3-D visualization, coordination of drawings and specifications, and facilitating sustainable design.
BIM also provides the builder with much more information about the project than he normally receives, including square-foot calculations and material takeoffs. And, by having a model of the building on the computer, it can be used for creating studies such as building performance in energy use and sustainability. It is a tool that is revolutionizing the old ways of designing and constructing buildings. However, the real breakthrough is that BIM facilitates this shift in consciousness, providing a remarkable tool for the IPD and allowing the owners, architects and builders to work in closer collaboration since they are all visualizing the same end result.
This shift in consciousness can bring about a change that may make sense of what we do, why we do it, and how we go about getting it done. Each of us can participate in this bigger idea. By accepting the reality that we are all in this together, we can also recognize the truth that “me” is in “we.”
Barry Thalden, AIA, NCARB, is a Partner in Thalden-Boyd-Emery Architects with over 35 years experience in hotel and casino design. The firm has offices in Las Vegas, St. Louis, Tulsa and Phoenix. He can be reached at 1-800-THALDEN or bthalden@thalden.com.
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