by Michael Tardif, Assoc. AIA
Contributing Editor

Summary: In the not-too-distant future, architect Frida Rivera, AIA, arrives at her office to resume work on an ambitious project: a zero-energy, zero-carbon, highly automated manufacturing facility that will produce the world’s first zero-carbon, fully recyclable automobile. Her desk-computer-workstation consists of a large flat-panel touch screen that it tilted at a slight angle above the horizontal surface, eerily reminiscent of the drafting tables that occupied much of the office in the 1980s, when her grandfather founded the firm. The office is smaller and quieter, however. The volume of work performed by the firm has more than tripled, while the size of the firm has declined by more than two-thirds, from about 100 employees to 30.

Arranged above the desk in a discreet circle at the ceiling is a series of cameras that generate a holographic image of the building. The holograph generates a mild electromagnetic field that offers resistance when the three-dimensional image is touched, an effect that is amplified when Rivera dons a pair of thin gloves woven of fibers that are capable of transmitting a mild current. The desk surface is enclosed on three sides by a gently curved surface of translucent fabric that stands about 30 inches above the desk. Nearly transparent when not in use, it becomes opaque surface and backdrop for the holographic image, displaying the real-world physical context of the proposed building. The fabric has an unusual optical quality so that when viewed from any angle, it appears to be behind the holographic image at all times, correctly displaying the building site from any angle. It can also be rendered opaque, allowing Rivera to choose between developing the design solo or together with a group of colleagues.

New tools, time-tested problem solving
At her fingertips, Rivera has an array of schematic design tools that include digital pens of different thicknesses, brushes and markers, and digital knives and sculpting tools. The design process begins with one possible three-dimensional expression of the client’s programmatic requirements, shown as cubes, laid over the site with all known site constraints displayed, the result of an intensive programming and planning exercise and built-in algorithms. At this point, the data lack any aesthetic expression, and make clear that several programmatic requirements are in conflict with one another. Rivera quickly explores several schematic alternatives by moving, reshaping, and stacking the cubes, all the while tracking how well each iteration fulfills the program on the given site. Even at this early stage, Rivera is able to compare the impact of every decision on energy consumption and the productivity of the proposed manufacturing operations. She quickly develops an intuitive sense of which organizing concepts appear to have the most promise, and records these as part of the project record.

Even at this early stage, Rivera is able to compare the impact of every decision

A radial scheme appears to have the most promise, both aesthetically and programmatically, but a linear scheme is not entirely devoid of promise, so she will continue to develop that one as well, until one clearly emerges as superior to the other. The radial scheme allows materials and equipment that are to be incorporated into the product to enter at a central point and travel the shortest distance to every point in the manufacturing facility. The “assembly line” could grow or shrink to take up as much or as little of the arc of the circle as needed without altering the material and equipment workflow. Bulky robotic manufacturing equipment would be arranged around the exterior of the circle, maximizing the available volume of space for every foot of assembly line.

As the design begins to take shape, Rivera moves beyond mass and form to consider space, structure, enclosure, and materials. She shifts from the hologram to the flat panel screen beneath it and back again, examining the building in plan, elevation, section, and perspective, always choosing the view that will most clearly illuminate the design issue at hand.

Integrated project delivery
Satisfied that she understands the scope of the design challenges—if not yet the best solution—Rivera engages the owner, structural engineer, mechanical engineer, and constructor in a three-dimensional virtual conference. All of the other members of the design and construction team have been involved in the process from the very early programming stages and have had full, real-time access to all of the project documentation, including the emerging design. Rivera’s design processes, as well as her results, have been recorded, which any team member can replay, allowing them to follow her thought process.

All of the other members of the design and construction team have had full, real-time access to all of the project documentation

Meanwhile, each team member has been exploring technical issues relative to their area of expertise for the project, all of which has been embodied in the project database. The team develops a consensus that the radial scheme has the most promise, but the owner’s manufacturing engineer overlays a diagram showing a “sine wave” concept, a hybrid of the radial and linear schemes. The team quickly recognizes the advantages: it would allow multiple points of entry for materials and equipment, it would preserve Rivera’s ingenious solution for the ratio of robotics to manufacturing space and the distance from loading dock to assembly line, and it would have the added advantage of being extendable.

Rivera points out that site constraints would actually limit the extensibility of the linear sine wave. She grabs the two ends of the owner’s sine wave diagram and pulls them together in a circle to form what looks like a sprocket. Everyone immediately recognizes that, conceptually at least, they have arrived at the optimal organizing concept.

The design process now moves into high gear, with each team member adding information to the single building information database. Virtual conferences among team members will now occur regularly and serendipitously—often several times daily—throughout the remainder of the project. They are more like continuous conversations than formal team meetings, but any knowledge gained or decisions made are always captured, so that any team member not present can always catch up. Each team member has immediate access to a vast external database of building materials, equipment, and products that includes not only the specifications for each item, but their availability and cost. As each design element is refined, architect and engineers can query this database and select the actual items to be incorporated into the design, instantly replacing any conceptual item they have created.

The model is continuously analyzed on the fly for percentage of completion, constructability, sustainability, code compliance, and cost

The model is continuously analyzed on the fly for percentage of completion, constructability, sustainability, code compliance, and cost, which each designer can track on “meters” onscreen or in detailed reports. As the design develops and critical lead times are identified, the team confirms critical aspects of the design and releases the model information electronically in stages to product and equipment manufacturers, subcontractors, and fabricators, who submit their cost proposals electronically. The contractor or the owner accepts or rejects cost proposals and notifies all parties to be prepared to mobilize upon building permit approval. The completed project is submitted to code authorities electronically, whose notification of approval is sent to all parties involved, who have previously been instructed that this approval constitutes notice to proceed.

All materials and equipment are automatically ordered with their expected just-in-time delivery dates. Throughout construction, all parties have appropriate access to the building information database and are continually kept apprised of the progress of construction. The entire project team now moves into construction mode, addressing any glitches that crop up to ensure timely completion. Suppliers and fabricators retrieve any needed information from the model and add their own information to it, where designers can review and approve detailed fabrication models or product specifications.

The benefits of predictability
The distinguishing characteristic between the design and construction process for Rivera’s project and those of her grandfather’s is predictability. At each stage, the parties have access to detailed, high-quality information that allows them to make informed decisions, address problems promptly, and proceed with a high degree of confidence and a dramatically reduced level of risk. The value of each team member’s expertise is heightened and leveraged, freed of the burdensome and tedious documentation that has hobbled the building industry for centuries.

Copyright 2008 Michael Tardif. Reprinted with permission.