Product Spotlight

While working on a proposal for a client to provide “Integrated Design” services on a very important project, I asked one of our estimating team members who has a BIM background to provide me with some thoughts on CCI and integrated design.  I thought his commentary was thought provoking.

 

CCI Group and Integrated Design - by Joe Mashburn, Estimator, CCI Group

 

What is Integrated Design?
In a traditional project, an owner usually comes to an architect with a building project that he needs accomplished.  The architect works on it, sometimes for several months, sorting out the spaces and the function of each space.  After receiving the owner’s approval, the architect contacts the multiple disciplines of engineers, interior designers, and landscape architects.  All of the design decisions have already been made, so these disciplines have to make their systems work within the design rather than being a part of the design from the beginning.  This is a linear process that worked fine a century ago, when there were no complex HVAC systems, plumbing systems, or electrical systems, and buildings weren’t drawing 400 kilowatt hours per day or using 2,000 cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Integrated design is exactly what the name implies, it is a design collaborative.  The idea was brought about in LEEDs projects, but is catching on with many large and very specialized projects, such as hospitals, schools, jails, and prisons.  With integrated design, all of the disciplines are in the design process from the start.  At the beginning of the project, a charrette is arranged.  A charrette is a meeting of the design team to determine the goals for the building.  The discussion can range from use, to climate, to lighting -- anything that concerns the building design.  For instance, the lighting designer may work with the architect, the interior designer, the structural engineer, and the MEP engineer to make the west wall glazing work with the lighting and the awning. During the discussion, the MEP engineer may suggest less UV light during the hours between 2pm and 6pm and the interior designer may bring in blackout shades on a timer. 

These systems are no longer in the building, but are now part of the building.  Ducts no longer invade space, but are planned, instead, as part of the space.  Electricity use becomes part of space planning.  OFE isn’t just a consideration for the casework. The casework is designed for the OFE.

This integrated design system results in fewer change orders, because key issues are caught in the design phase. Risk/reward structures also result in cost savings for the projects.

 

What does BIM have to do with Integrated Design?
For every job you do, you must have the right tools for the job.  BIM is the tool used for integrated design.  Why use BIM in the place of traditional design tools or CAD?  Because in these older methods, we have used lines, arc, and points on paper to represent walls, doors, and windows.  With BIM, we draw using virtual walls, doors, and windows.  Instead of spending four hours working out the details on an interior elevation, we insert the cabinets we need on the floor plan and they appear on the elevation with the OFE. This allows various disciplines and trades to integrate their work into one virtual building using one common language. The drawings are integrated together in one 3D building, so as the design progresses, all trades and disciplines move along at the same pace.

 

What are the Benefits of having an Architectural Casework Company on your Integrated Design Team?
When you schedule a charrette, you bring in experts from each discipline and trade that are going to be critical to the design and function of the building.  The builder/installer of the casework has a great deal to offer.

Recently, while taking my son to a pediatric unit at our local hospital, I took a close look at the nurse’s station.  The work top had a square edge which was peeling off, and packing tape was replacing the missing edge.  The edge banding was missing on the bottom drawers.  There was a large printer that rose above the transaction top.  The grommets were missing from the 3” holes.  The more I looked at it, the more I could see what could have been done differently.  I found out later that the casework was only 5 years old.

If we, as the casework company, are part of the integrated design team, we can convey ideas that work well with the architect and the interior designers.  For the hospital I was visiting, we could have advised 3mm edge banding in the specifications for the doors and drawer fronts, because we know that nurses like to open lower file drawers with their feet.  We could have made a printer station behind the nurse’s station. This would give a good height (34-40”) for the printer, and it would allow everyone to get full use of the transaction top.   We could have suggested bullnose solid surface work tops, because the edge would be seamless and easier to work against. 

A high quality casework company like CCI Group can make valuable engineering suggestions that do not compromise the design intent.  We can write the specifications for the architectural casework and countertop divisions to make the design more practical.  We can plan the details to comply with today’s casework practices, and give other bidding casework companies a minimal standard to meet.  We can address issues like egress and ADA before the walls are ever built.

CCI Group would gain knowledge from this process, as well. We would gain a better understanding of the goals of the spaces where our casework is to be installed.  We would see how our work affects other trades.

 

How is CCI Group prepared for Integrated Design?
We, as the casework manufacturer, have a lot to bring to the table, because our experience gives us the ability to see what works well in these aspects.  CCI Group has more to offer in this regard than most other companies.

CCI Group is experienced with both standard and traditional cabinetry practices.  We build with dowel type construction for flush overlay cabinets and we don’t stop there.  We think outside the box and try to push the envelope.  This isn’t just a sales line. We use practices in the construction of our wall systems that few in the industry use in order to produce a higher quality and more eye-pleasing product.  If you look at our glass doors, for example, you will see that no one else in the industry takes the time we do to produce exceptional quality on such a small part of the project.

Because of our experience, knowledge, creativity, and work ethic, CCI Group is well prepared to practice integrated design. The people at CCI Group who engineer and design our cabinets have also built and installed them.  We have seen what works, and we have seen what doesn’t.  We have a saying, “Give the client exactly what they ask for, and then give them a little more.”  Through integrated design, we can pinpoint where we can give that ‘little more.’