Boulderspace

In thinking about my first post I wanted to broach a topic that would span two areas that I am passionate about the environment and building. Specifically, how environmentally responsible construction relates to the design process and management of the project. Issues of green building and sustainability go beyond what type of products are installed in a building and whether the building is energy efficient to how do we arrive at what we are building and is it the best design for the lifestyle of the occupants and does it meet budgetary concerns.             Traditionally the design and the construction of a project have operated in a lineal fashion, with the client being involved at the peripheral edges of the process, creating potential owner frustration. Likewise, the design team has operated independently from the builder and sub-contractors creating a segmented process that inherently lacks the required communication to successfully complete today’s complex structures.             The requirements of today’s design and construction process’ need to be approached more holistically, involving the owner, designer, builder and sub-contractors from the beginning, in order to establish a team atmosphere and total project ownership by the team members. This form of management is known as “Agile Management” and has its roots in the software development community. Instead of a linear approach the project needs and owners needs are centralized and are focused on by the designer, builder and key subcontractors as a whole team. Information is passed between each member or the team and the owners freely in order to arrive at the best possible result as it relates to the core people, building and environmental priorities of the project. This very simple approach can create a more sustainable product as well as reduce costs and a more satisfied client from beginning to end.