Page 54 - Green Builder Nov-Dec 2020 Issue
P. 54
IN THE FIELD Business tips and
strategies that work.
All For One
The key to becoming a bigger, better
construction industry is collaboration
on all levels.
S TUDIES SHOW THAT over the last
years, the building
BY TERRY BEAUBOIS
industry has lagged behind others in terms of increased
eciency and eectiveness. Why? A lack of collaboration
among the various sectors of the industry.
My perspective on collaboration across the architecture,
engineering and construction (AEC) industry is in
uenced by the
fact that I have worked construction jobs, worked in a structural
engineer’s oce, worked for architects, have had my own architecture
rm with partners and have also been a solo practitioner. I have
also taught in a number of college-level architectural programs. CREDIT: NVOICEPAY
My combined
years of experience leads me to the undeniable
conclusion that increasing collaboration across the AEC is not only
a good idea, but will be benecial to improving the overall eciency
and eectiveness of the entire industry.
THE “SILOS” OF THE AEC
I rst experienced the siloing of the AEC in college, when I attended a
very good university architecture program that had recently split with
the engineering school due to con
icts between the administrations
and faculties. We had classes where architectural design, structural
engineering and mechanical engineering were taught as separate
courses, and required that we design three separate buildings, none
of which took all three factors into consideration.
After that experience, we convinced the school to change to a model
of team-teaching for one combined course in architectural design,
structural engineering and mechanical engineering. In that way, we
got to see the interrelated considerations of how simultaneously
working with all three aspects of design and engineering worked Collaborative success. Renowned structures such as the San Francisco Ballet
when applied to one building. There was much resistance to this, Building are the result of extensive communication between builders, designers
as we were told that “it was not the way it had been taught before” and engineers. CREDIT: BRUNNELLESCHI9 FLICKR
and that “it would require the professors to collaborate, and they have to continue educating graduates on the job.
haven’t done that before.” Each component of the AEC—architecture, engineering and
It was not easy to get the school to evolve to that way of teaching. construction—can significantly increase collaboration across
Many architectural schools today still do not teach an integrated and within the AEC, and each will benefit from that increased
approach to AEC. In fact, having taught in universities at the collaboration. I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity
undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level in architecture, I can to create and lead collaborative teams on my projects in all ways
say that many students graduate with a limited knowledge of possible.
buildings. Many of them graduate without ever having visited a I led a hospital design project where I met frequently with all
construction site, let alone actually having worked in construction. members of the engineering team, from the beginning of the project
This shifts education responsibility to architectural rms, which through completion of design. I also was Architect of Record for the
52 GREEN BUILDER November/December 2020 www.greenbuildermedia.com
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