The Architect it is late and they have all gone home a small walnut desk corner chamfered from years of tight spaces juts out from a collection of memos reports and hastily scribbled notes that will become encrypted in a few days if he forgets to pay them attention he brushes the drafting table clean with a horse hair brush worn to nothing in the front and pulls the light arm down clicking the switch twice the drafting light found in the corner of the basement on his first day thirty years ago illuminates his space as he shuts down the computer and covers the monitor with the yellowed drafting table cover closing his eyes for a moment, the quiet begins to seep into his pores the indented callous of his middle finger perfectly fits the flamingo pencil as he begins to sketch on the yellow trash

at first they are but faint trails exposing the transparent paper’s tooth he is searching for the path that soon begins to show itself although an hour later it is proved false but no matter another soon takes its place they are all greedy tonight suddenly the form emerges and a butterfly is carried on the wind but he knows the truth that months will pass and the client will talk about budget and compromise about matching the old about straight lines and ask why he did this and did that he will lie and tell them about function context and economy still they will shake their heads so he will tell them the truth about form feeling scale conflict and resolution

they will talk about architects building monuments and laugh as they sharpen their knives before they clip its wings and watch them flutter to the ground as the butterfly finds a quiet death sometimes his own people will hold the body down for them and later talk of profits of schedule of the need to move on as always he will acknowledge them but knows they are all fools and lives for the day when the computers crash the plotters and printers blink error messages the power fails and their world comes to a stop he will light a candle take out his flamingo pencil pull out the yellow trash roll up his sleeves and smile because the butterfly is free at last

Gilbert Oran Nicholson, Jr. – 1999

Less is Never More Refine Your Design And Save Cost:

Architecture doesn’t have to be expensive to be beautiful or highly functional. Discover how refined architecture can cost less and be more defensible to the VE process. Ron Semel, AIA, CPE

• Part 1: What is “Refined Design”? Answer: One that is On Target

» Targeting Design Complexity

• Part 2: Where is Your Design Vulnerable? Answer: Where it is Off Target

» Targeting Individual Costs » Targeting Overall Cost

• Part 3: Examples

• Part 4: Types of VE » Good (Improvements) » Bad (Swaps) » Ugly (Decreases) » Hideous (Redesigns)

Excerpt From a Previous CPSM

“Good architecture can be achieved simply by good design, which implies sensitivity to scale, massing, proportion, materials, detail and even color – none of which necessarily cost more” Melvin Stanley Krause Jr., FAIA Former Chairman of the Commonwealth’s Art and Architectural Review Board

CPSM Section1.4 DESIGN PHILOSOPHY Excerpts

• Agencies shall ensure their architects and engineers exercise discipline in their designs to avoid inefficient use of space in terms of floor area and building volume. Exterior design features and materials should be consistent with the architectural character of the surrounding buildings and site.

• Excessive or grandiose features which are not related to the function or the intended use of the facility shall be avoided.

• Projects must be designed by the A/E to meet the functional and space requirements within the “design-not-to-exceed” budget for the project.

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Benchmarking Design

Counterpoint

“Where simplicity cannot work, simpleness results. Blatant simplification means bland architecture. Less is a bore.” Robert Venturi Complexity and Contradiction In Architecture

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Part

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The Best Time to ID the Target

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Modifying the Target Late Can Cost You

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Identify a Cost Target

- Overall

- By Category (Uniformat)

VBCCD (Virginia Building Construction Cost Database)

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VBCCD

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VBCCD

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Cost sources

• Virginia Building Construction Cost Database (VBCCD)

• Tradeline

• DCD

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Comp Modifiers

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• Location • Size • Site Access • Escalation • Life Cycle

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Identifying Vulnerabilities

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Budget = Design Target

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Morphing of Project During Design

I know a project that came in to the Schematic Phase like a Library and went out like a Car Dealership.

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Watch For Program Creep

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@ Schematic @ Preliminary

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What Did The Client Want?

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At Schematic

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At Preliminary

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At Preliminary

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Savings: $35/SF

At Preliminary

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At Schematic

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At Preliminary

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Savings: $25/SF

At Preliminary

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At Preliminary

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Savings: $10/SF

• Church – Structural and Light Gauge Steel to Standard

Dimensional Lumber Framing – $2,000,000 - $350,000 VE = $1,650,000

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Hearst Tower – Charlotte, NC

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Hearst Tower – Charlotte, NC $265 / SF

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$970 / SF

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ASF to GSF Ratio: 63% (75%)

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$176 / SF ($209) ASF to GSF Ratio: 63% (75%)

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540,000 SF

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540,000 SF $300 / SF

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$236 / SF

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$265 / SF ODU – New Arts Building

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GMU ACADEMIC II - ARLINGTON - NEW CONST (CM)

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$184 / SF GMU ACADEMIC II - ARLINGTON - NEW CONST (CM)

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$288 / SF

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VCCS Student Center

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$280 / SF VCCS Student Center

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ODU New Arts Building

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ODU New Arts Building $265 / SF

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Radford University – Student Union

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$218 / SF Radford University – Student Union

What is Value Engineering?

“Value engineering seeks to remove the "fat" and "frills" from buildings by eliminating unnecessary or overly complex elements, trimming away unnecessary quantities of materials and scaling back materials that are excessive in quality and expense. At its best, value engineering is holistic, comprehensive and balanced. It optimizes building design without compromising functional, structural, environmental or aesthetic attributes. Responsible value engineering achieves proper equilibrium between appearance, durability, utility, technical performance, initial capital investment and life- cycle energy and operating costs. At its worst, value engineering simply cheapens buildings. When lowering initial capital investment is the dominant or only goal of value engineering, it easily can strip buildings of their architectural quality and, in fact, reduce rather than enhance operational performance.” “architects will continue producing work susceptible to hack-and-slash value engineering. Only when they build a solid case for their design ideas, a case that makes sense for all who are not architects, can they get their way.” VALUE ENGINEERING: WHERE BEAUTY AND BUDGET SOMETIMES COLLIDE By Roger K. Lewis January 24, 1998

Part

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Parts

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Two Types of Cost / VE:

From To $ Delay concrete pour

April $125,000 $1.10/SF

Good VE (Improvements)

From To $ Custom lab casework

Standard lab casework

$450,000 $3.90/SF

From To $ Terminal & Package Units

Boilers/Chillers/ VAV

+ $27/SF

From To $ Non-compact building footprint

More compact $35/SF

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From To $ Hydraulic Elevator

Machine roomless

$38,000 $0.32/SF

Good VE (Swaps)

From To $ Stone Exterior Brick $340,000

$2.83/SF

From To $ Gas fired water heater

Heat exchanger for domestic hot water generation

$38,000 $0.38/SF

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From To $ Barrel Vault Ceiling

Coffered Ceiling $134,000 $1.34/SF

Bad VE (Swaps)

From To $ Terrazzo VCT $220,000

$1.83/SF

From To $ Elevated Slab Slab-On-Grade $143,000

$2.67/SF

From To $ Four-pipe system Two-pipe system $317,000

$4.18/SF

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From To $ Sunscreens Half Sunscreens $22,000

$0.58/SF

Ugly VE (Decreases)

From To $ 2x2 Lights 2x4 Lights $12,000

$0.32/SF

From To $ Barrel Vault Ceiling

Cove Ceiling $134,000 $1.34/SF

From To $ Eliminate Clerestory at Library Stack Area

No Clerestory at Library Stack Area

$168,000 $3.14/SF

Part

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Hideous VE (Redesigns)

Part

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ypes

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Recap: 1. Identify your target early

2. Stay on target when it moves

3. Don’t exceed your target

4. Parts vs pen strokes

5. Architects as estimators

www.aspe-richmond.com