How hand sketches can speed up the digital design process

Compiled by Jim Taggart, Editor SABMag

This article came out of a standard request we made to Reimagine Architects (REIMAGINE) for construction details that could enhance our coverage of their award winning Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) Student Residence project. In this digital age, I had not expected to receive hand-drawn sketches, so I asked principal of REIMAGINE Vedran Škopac how and why they were used.

In my experience, it is not so much the choice of procurement model that determines the success of a project, but the rela tionship between the client, the consultants, the contractor and the sub-contractors who together work towards the common goal. The main selling point for an Integrated Project Delivery (IDP) model, is that collaboration can identify and resolve prob lems at the design stage, minimizing disruption and delays dur ing construction. With the preconstruction cost to the owner amounting to 10% of total project cost and construction as much as 90%, if there’s no redesign and construction process is lean, it can have a proportionate impact.

Our original intention on the façade of RDP Student Residence project was to pay homage to the adjacent Arts Centre by Arthur Erickson, which is built in red brick with some inspiring patterns and detailing. We contemplated a black brick struc ture with our own version of patterns, which is now visible in the main floor façade. Mid way through the Validation Phase of the IPD process, it became clear that masonry cladding (because of its weight) had implications beyond the price of the material itself, specifically on the dimensions and cost of the glulam structure.

With the requirement to stay within the agreed budget, we investigated alternative cladding options, including metal pan els, none of which were deemed appropriate for the Residence by our IPD Team. At the same time, we were working with the Polytechnic on another project on campus – Alternative Energy Lab – which was part of a larger, 6-Megawatt PV array install to improve overall campus energy performance. Having worked previously with building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) arrays on exterior walls, we suggested that the two concurrent projects could benefit from each other by using the façade of the Residence as a vertical PV-array by way of integrating PVs into the envelope in lieu of metal cladding and, coincidentally, avoiding the unnecessary cost of cladding. RDP Residence is now fully PV-clad on all three sides exposed to sun, east, west and south, in all floors above the ground floor. Our estimates were that the installed 161-kiloWatt PV array is offsetting over 40% of overall building energy consumption.