Advantages of Integrated Architectural + Engineering Design
September 7th, 2023
SUMMARY
All projects require the services of numerous design professionals to bring a client’s vision from idea to reality.
Integrated architectural and engineering (A+E) practices provide clients and their projects with tangible strategic benefits for project development, design, and delivery. This is especially true when implementing mission critical projects.
SIGMA7’s design process optimizes our team’s workflow to produce client specific design solutions that add value, are delivered on time and on budget, while meeting or exceeding client goals and expectation.
BENEFITS OF INTEGRATED A+E SERVICES
The development, design, and delivery of a project requires the work of numerous professionals and multiple disciplines. Achieving and maintaining concurrence and harmonious agreement between offices can become an issue, as each firm and/or discipline can have a varied opinion and interpretation of client desires, project priorities, and design direction. These issues can result in a misdirection, wasted time and effort, increase in cost, confusion within the team, and/or a compromised solution.
Tangible benefits of full service integrated A/E project process, includes:
- Communication and collaboration
- Coordination and consistency
- Compliance and due diligence
- Completion and schedule
COMMUNICATION and COLLABORATION
Communication is key to the success of all projects. The barriers in communication and sharing between multiple firms poses an obstacle to the project development process.
In-house teams have the benefit of the constant and immediate flow of information. Architects and engineers working hand-in-hand within a side-by-side environment fosters natural and organic collaboration as well as learning and ongoing professional development. The sharing of ideas and concepts, as well as the desire to achieve the mission statement, goals, and objectives of the project is seamless.
There is no delay in communication. The delivery of a message or directive can be quickly and easily shared with the team, and if needed, clarified on the spot. Communication is nearly constant and occurs actively, passively, and informally both inside and outside of the office, even occurring while grabbing a coffee or over lunch. There is no need to wait for a team, job progress, or client meeting to review, discuss, or bounce ideas or suggestions between the team.
SIGMA7's team has a single voice delivering consistent direction and guidance. Our architects and engineers are directed by knowledgeable interdisciplinary project managers. Our project managers are principal and senior level staff well versed in architecture and engineering. They are not only the voice for the team, but a constant and consistent vehicle for communication between our clients and our alliance specialty consultant team. This approach ensures project communications are clear, consistent, and timely. This enables us to maintain progress while keep the team and the project itself on track throughout it's lifecycle.
When collaboration is a naturally occurring component of the design process, rather than finger pointing between disciplines and offices, the design and project process benefits as it is simplified and streamlined. Team members can easily challenge each other, leading to better, more creative solutions, out-of-the box thinking, while seeking and delivering the very best solutions for our clients.
COORDINATION and CONSISTENCY
Delivering clear and concise documentation necessitates end-to-end consistency throughout the project design and implementation lifecycle across the professions and construction trades. Integrated design services eliminates many of the obstacles, including back and forth attempts between offices to resolve issues and problems. When the A/E team residing within the same office, studio, and project team, formulating a solution is quicker, easier, and better coordinated -- simplifying the process and removing wasted effort. Real time collaboration speeds up the project process and lends itself to holistic resolution of design issues, conflicts, and field conditions, if and when they arise.
Simply stated, everyone is on the same team and working towards the same goal. The coordination process is seamless, ongoing, and constant. There is no need to wait for the next iteration of drawings to seek out the revisions and restart the coordination process. Alternatives and remedial solutions can be prepared expeditiously, developed more fully, and be better coordinated for consideration and implemented. This approach minimizes the potential for cascading problems (i.e. fixing one issue and creating another) which often results in increased project costs and extended schedule durations. resulting from the lack of collaboration and coordination.
COMPLIANCE and DUE DILIGENCE
Compliance and due diligence should commence early in the project process. Project due diligence is a key component in crafting the rules, guidelines, and requirements of the project. These components play a significant role in structuring the manner in which a project will develop. Impacts to the project can include: the site and its characteristics, building codes, rules and regulations, zoning requirements, schedule, budget, sustainability issues and concerns, market conditions, existing conditions, current and future business initiative along with dozens of other internal and external factors.
Identifying, acknowledging, and respecting these items will not only guide a projects development, but it’s success.
Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QA/QC) is a logical extension of compliance and due diligence process. QA/QC should be an ongoing effort throughout the project process. It is not 'just' a deliverable. Multiple disciplines within the office focuses many pairs of eyes on the project, each looking not only at their disciplines' specific scope of work, but the integration of each of the disciplines and ultimately delivery of the work product.
COMPLETION and SCHEDULE
Real-time ongoing interdisciplinary collaboration saves time and reduces project schedule durations. The design team and client can make quicker and better-informed decisions given immediate access to the project talent. The turnover time waiting for ‘the other offices’ to generate product and responses is eliminated. Submittal reviews are expedited as the packages only need to travel between desks, not offices.
RFIs and FIMs are more easily responded to as multiple disciplines can evaluate, review, and respond ensuring that the solution is complete, while accounting for potential impacts outside of a single discipline’s responsibilities.
Field conditions when they arise, are dealt with in the same manner. A single call to the office, if necessary, can resolve an issue impacting multiple disciplines.
THE SIGMA7 SOLUTION
Our practice was founded upon and continues our commitment to producing project solutions in an interdisciplinary integrated A/E environment. Our team and repeat clients recognize the inherent benefits and value add provided by integrated design. Our approach leverages our in-house multi-discipline talent, where communication, coordination, compliance, and collaboration are key components ensuring project success and well executed solutions for our clients.
ABOUT US
SIGMA7, a full service integrated architectural and engineering firm, provides professional services to clients in the public and private sectors. Our clients are Fortune 500 ranked organizations in the technology, insurance, banking, and financial markets.
Still curious or want to learn more about SIGMA7, our integrated A/E approach, or see how we can assist you and your team?
Please visit SIGMA7design.com, email us at contact@sigma7design.com, or call our office at 212 779.7100 we are here to listen, answer your questions, and would like to learn more about you and your organization as well.
