Environments for Research
University of Southampton: Mountbatten Complex Bayer Material Science Complex
Technical University of Denmark
Portland State University: Science Research and Teaching Center
Egypt Nanotechnology Center Carnegie Mellon University: Doherty Hall
Global and Regional Resources As a global company, IDCA is able to leverage our expertise and professional skills wherever our clients may be located. Our regional offices allow us to coordinate these global resources with a regional response, based on in-house teams of architects and engineers who are experienced in the design of research facilities. We are skilled in working across time zones and with diverse project teams.
Global Leadership in the Design of Research Environments IDC Architects (IDCA), a CH2M HILL company, is an international design firm delivering high-performance facilities for science and technology. Our services span the full range of facility work, from early planning and site selection through architecture, engineering, construction, and facility operations, all tailored to meet specific client needs. IDCA has earned global recognition for its ability to balance technical sophistication, functional complexity, safety considerations, and human-centered experience in the design of research environments.
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Our architects and engineers have proven expertise in analyzing complex scientific and technical problems and creating high value design solutions. Whether research is to be conducted in life sciences or physical sciences, we work with our clients’ user teams to understand the needs of their specific research, and then create high-performance environments that promote the achievements of their exceptional people.
Select Client List Domestic ATEQ Bell Communcations Bertram Laboratories Boeing Electronics Carnegie Mellon University Center for Intregrated Nanotechnology Clemson University Gain Electronics Corporation Georgia Institute of Technology Hughes Santa Barbara Research Center Invitrogen Los Alamos National Laboratory Ohio State University Oregon Nanoscience & Microelectronics Institute Oregon State University Portland State University Rochester Institute of Technology Sandia National Laboratory SEMATECH / University of Texas Stanford University Synthetech Tektronix Texas Instruments University at Albany University of Nebraska–Lincoln University of Oregon University of Pittsburgh University of Vermont University of Washington West Virginia University Research Corporation
International
University of Sydney: Australian Institute of Nanotechnology
Applied Materials Defences Threat Reduction Agency Egypt Nanotechnology Center Korea Adv. Intsitute of Science and Technology Technical University of Denmark University of Edinburgh University of Glasgow University of Southampton University of Sydney
Design Solutions for Research Facilities The greatest asset in productive research programs is people. Designing with the understanding that change is constant and resources are always limited, IDCA creates solutions that focus on what it takes to keep our clients’ highly skilled teams on the cutting edge of research and development. We believe human-centered designs can be both attractive and cost-effective, accommodating technical requirements while nurturing individuals and encouraging a collegial and creative environment.
Flexible, Efficient Facilities IDCA’s thought leaders listen to each client in order to fully understand the needs, requirements and processes of their research. Together we explore cost-sensitive options for easily reconfigurable spaces that will enhance efficient work flow. We also evaluate the use of specialized equipment or bench-based laboratory space; these spaces, along with environmental rooms, containment suites, and animal space, will impact the efficiency of the layout, the mechanical design, and the requirements for cleanliness. Our goal is to find the process and configuration that best suit our client’s needs now and in the foreseeable future, and to express the client’s unique culture and brand in our design.
We believe in design that positively impacts
the effectiveness of human activities.
Sustainable Design Sustainability and environmental stewardship are core values of our firm that go back more than 50 years. We understand the desire to push the envelope for sustainable design, and use an approach that transcends the usual checklists. Often we balance sustainable principles with cost effective solutions to manage to a budget. We have worked with many science and technology clients to attain their LEED/SEED objectives. Our in-house sustainability resources, tools, and services include highperformance building models, material evaluation and selection, life cycle cost analysis, computer-based system-wide controls, patented building systems, airflow modeling, and superefficient energy systems.
Emphasis on Interdisciplinary Collaboration The modern, successful approach to research and development leverages inhouse, cross-departmental work. When researchers from various groups can interact and discuss projects, synergies develop, and new ideas and products are born. IDCA partners with each client to create an environment that fosters a sense of energy and collaboration. Our methodology requires us to work across our disciplinary boundaries, and we bring that sense of engagement and understanding to the project team.
IDCA Differentiators in Research Facility Design IDCA’s primary business goal is to make our clients successful, and that means making our clients’ projects successful. We value mutual respect, meaningful and effective communication, and an open, collaborative working approach.
Integrated Project Delivery In the development of today’s complex research laboratories, it is critical to have a team of professionals who truly collaborate with the client and with each other. At IDCA we have all architectural and engineering disciplines in-house, working together as a productive team. We have embraced an integrated delivery system that facilitates better communication, reduces/shares risk, increases value, and provides a positive experience for project owners. This approach allows us to respond more nimbly, and to more deeply integrate not only delivery, design and cost management, but also our client’s culture, values and requirements into the design solution. Our delivery process focuses on effectiveness, which we define as a combination of efficiency, expertise, and innovation. Efficiency involves reducing waste by planning effectively before acting, and focusing on continuous improvement. Expertise exists both in our people and in our systems; we make a huge commitment to lifelong learning and encourage our staff to be the best in the world.
Collaborative Approach IDCA clients often have complex, sometimes competing stakeholder groups seeking active involvement in their projects. We believe participation of these stakeholders in important decisions is critical to a project’s success. To build consensus among diverse user groups, we listen to their desires and concerns, and incorporate them into our design process. Their involvement begins at the earliest stage of the design, when we use collaborative brainstorming techniques to develop and analyze options for potential design alternatives.
Design that awakens and inspires the human spirit Leading Edge Tools IDCA uses state-of-the-art tools and resources to optimize our project delivery capabilities. Multiple design tools, both high- and low-tech, allow us to develop alternative ideas early in the design process. These tools include 3D modeling (physical and virtual) and rapid prototyping, computational fluid dynamics (an in-house capability), light tracing and energy modeling, flow diagramming, and freehand sketching. Their use can be tailored to the establishment of goals and broad schema in the early stages of the facility development, as well as to developing building functional layouts and design concepts further into the process. • Building information modeling (BIM) is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. The resulting 3D models become shared knowledge resources to support decision making about a facility from earliest conceptual stages, through design and construction, through its operational life and eventual demolition. IDCA has continuously developed more sophisticated ways to leverage parametric modeling and databases of pertinent information to improve the design and construction process. • IDCA was among the first project delivery firms to embrace Lean project delivery. This approach is a way of thinking, communicating, and working together that directs the energies of the organization toward delivering value to our customers, both inside and outside of the company. We have developed proprietary tools based on Lean principles that allow our project teams to reduce waste (particularly wasted effort) and base decisions on relevant information.
About IDC Architects IDC Architects is an integrated, multidisciplinary planning and design firm focused on science and technology, with a global presence and a singular vision: to discover better ways for people, technology, buildings, and the environment to work together. Our integrated method of architectural and engineering design produces sound master plans, functional and flexible spaces, reliable building systems, and sustainable solutions, achieved through a highly collaborative process that fully engages all project stakeholders.
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www.idcarchitects.com