Architects push for prefab and a more integrated design approach

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1653969843\/lncenxmx31hu9pnhl3hv.jpg","id":"6511220"}]}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1653969889\/dwaqzhvtmyuzyy5wi105.jpg","id":"6511221"}]}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1653969952\/ez3b4xizok2gwrgcpr2p.jpg","id":"6511222"}],"caption":"DIRTT\u2019s digital tools enable the ultimate design freedom."}],["images-card",{"images":[{"url":"http:\/\/res.cloudinary.com\/dpcbzfiye\/image\/upload\/v1653970053\/gxmrt3mqsrmuhymce5th.jpg","id":"6511223"}],"caption":"Dallas is home to DIRTT\u2019s largest and most comprehensive client experience center, showcasing solutions that foster greater collaboration between people and teams while seamlessly integrating technology."}]],"markups":[["em"],["a",["href","make.space","target","_new"]],["a",["href","http:\/\/make.space","target","_new"]]],"sections":[[1,"h2",[[0,[],0,"From theme parks to healthcare, Walt Disney Imagineering, Gensler, and AIA partner DIRTT share insights on using large-scale prefabrication and the value of cross-functional collaboration early in the design and construction process."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Towers, turrets, and spires are the first thing that catch your eye from afar. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"As you make your way closer to the castle, you notice that each tower is in fact a different design \u2014 uniquely built to reflect the enchanting stories of 13 princesses and queens from around the world. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"When exploring inside the castle walls, you discover it\u2019s not just an amazing physical structure, but a place that was intentionally designed to create magical experiences."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The castle is, after all, designed and built by Walt Disney Imagineering."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Color, icons, symbols, patterns, sounds, and special effects that appeal to the senses are different in every section of the Castle of Magical Dreams in Hong Kong \u2014 each reflecting the story and cultural background of a specific character. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"It\u2019s a cinematic approach to storytelling through the power of architectural design and engineering, said Hilcia Pena, senior project architect at Walt Disney Imagineering. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"And it all came together thanks to prefabricated construction. "]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,0],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"Prefab for large expansion projects"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cA lot of times in the industry, we think of prefabrication as simple boxes. Because this is a castle, and every piece is so unique, a lot of people don\u2019t even quite dare to think that it could be prefabricated,\u201d said Pena. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"This ambitious project \u2014 the first time Disney has ever expanded a castle at a theme park that remained fully open \u2014 was entirely prefabricated. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cThe fact that it was right smack in the middle of an operating theme park really helped to spur the idea that we can\u2019t just have all this scaffolding up,\u201d explained Pena. \u201cWe needed to reduce the amount of time it was going to take to build this thing.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"All the towers and other units were made and painted off-site, while the foundation of the building was simultaneously being constructed. The Imagineering team determined that prefabricated construction would reduce the project delivery schedule by 35%."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Once the prefab models arrived on site, they were assembled and installed at night, meaning Disney was able to avoid closing the park and disrupting guests with construction."]]],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"Cross-functional collaboration key to integrated design "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"While Disney has been using prefab since it built the Contemporary Resort at the Magic Kingdom park in 1971, it had never completed such a large, complex, fully prefabricated project before. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"This highly successful, expanded use of prefabrication at the Castle of Magical Dreams in Hong Kong demanded a more integrated approach to design, said Louise Pang, director, environmental design \u0026 engineering at Walt Disney Imagineering."]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,1],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\n"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In the last 20 years, Pang said both design and regulatory standards have become far more complicated, requiring greater cross-industry collaboration than before. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cWe\u0027re trying to make every attraction more special, with more entertainment,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that just adds to the complexity. We have to bring in more stakeholders and designers and specialists, who must come to work together to build an integrated design.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Within that process, she and Pena enable collaboration and help stakeholders visualize how the end product of a prefabricated building design will look and feel using building information modeling and virtual reality. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cTo be able to visualize something in a more realistic virtual sense really creates a holistic vision that everybody can buy into,\u201d said Pena. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Visualization is important, but even more critical is getting everyone on the same page."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cA 3D building information model allows us to all work in that virtual space together and define what we require, and share that with other stakeholders, team members, leaders, creatives, and groups that are part of the design and construction process,\u201d she said."]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,2],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"Moving from a top-down management mentality to a \u201cTeam of Teams\u201d approach"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Collaboration and building toward a common goal is important outside of theme parks too, of course. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cI think looking for better ways to organize teams, deliver projects, and ultimately deliver services is what got me to prefab,\u201d said Stan Chiu, AIA, director of healthcare at Gensler."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Chiu said his team has come to use prefabrication as a solution organically on many projects where the goal was faster, cheaper, and better quality."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"But with the rising use of prefabrication, Chiu believes a team-based collaboration model among those who design and build space is critical to success, as some architects are hesitant to share the process with people who are not architects."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"With this legacy approach, challenges emerge because architects and decision-makers at the top can\u2019t know everything that\u2019s required for the success of a project that has multiple moving parts, nor can they identify and enable efficiencies and savings at a granular level."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cIn these bigger, more complicated projects, that\u0027s just not realistic,\u201d Chiu said. \u201cAs prefabricated elements become multi-trade, the complexity goes up, but the ability to save time and money goes up, too. So it\u0027s kind of higher risk, higher reward. And for me, multi-trade prefab is just straight up \u2018Team of Teams.\u2019\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Chiu is referencing a term from a book by retired U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal called, \u201cTeam of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World.\u201d The book suggests that traditional hierarchical management approaches don\u2019t work because organizations are too big for any one person to make all the decisions. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Instead, McChrystal presents arguments to create a \u201cshared consciousness\u201d where information is openly shared, intentions are well understood, and everyone has a clear picture of what the goals are \u2014 so details are not lost to a black hole of keeping people informed only on a need-to-know-basis."]]],[1,"p",[]],[10,3],[1,"h3",[[0,[],0,"The \u201caha moment\u201d of an integrated approach"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Chiu said he really saw the benefits of cross-team collaboration when he worked on a $6 billion, multi-stakeholder healthcare project in California that came with tight deadlines. He, along with 150 others working on the project, used a more integrated approach to understand the needs of the space that was being built. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The \u201caha\u201d moment for Chiu was when no one was technically required to approve the design direction, because everyone was embedded within the design team at that point and everyone contributed to the decisions and outcome."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cWe had a client embedded within those teams, we had operators, and the architects, engineers, contractors, trade partners, and everybody had set the direction.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"They knew they had come up with the best layouts and would meet their budget and schedule deadlines, because they had designed it together. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"\u201cThe people who know the best way to do things and the people who are closest to the work,\u201d Chiu said. \u201cAnd that\u0027s the power of a cross-functional team.\u201d"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],0,"Visit "],[0,[1],1,"make."],[0,[2],1,"space"],[0,[],1," for more perspectives from leading minds in design and construction."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[0],1,"AIA does not sponsor or endorse any enterprise, whether public or private, operated for profit. Further, no AIA officer, director, committee member, or employee, or any of its component organizations in his or her official capacity, is permitted to approve, sponsor, endorse, or do anything that may be deemed or construed to be an approval, sponsorship, or endorsement of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product."]]]]}