2013 Public Architects Workshop

PA100: Public Architects Workshop Opening General Session

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM

This session will consist of an address to the Public Architects with regard to the role of Public Architects as leaders and visionaries. 

Public Architects, as leaders, due to their positions, often hold sway as to the selection processes, contractual devices and implementation, criterion for liability, methods of collaboration, design strategy and application, technical preparation and application of documents and in many instances the final design and direction of projects. Mr. Potter will discuss these roles and how, in effect, Public Architects are influential with regard to the determination of how we practice architecture.

PA200: Ten Common Code Compliance Misunderstandings in Public Buildings

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM | 1.0 AIA HSW LU

This seminar will cover 10 misunderstandings that are commonly encountered during the design of buildings. These misunderstandings occur on the part of the architect, engineer, authority having jurisdiction (AHJ), and other project members. The presentation will identify how misunderstandings and their impacts may be reduced or avoided. Specifically, the presentation focuses on building code terminology, occupancy classification, height and area limitations, requirements for barriers, means of egress, and the communication between parties. 

Attendees will receive information they can use to anticipate issues, develop a strategy to satisfy the AHJ or to prevent the relationship with an AHJ from becoming contentious, and address issues without affecting the design or appearance of the building. These ends are best accomplished early in the design process, when the design is more fluid. As time passes, some solutions will disappear because they are no longer possible or are too costly.

PA202: Is BIM Really Paradise? Things You Should Know about Managing BIM

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM | 1.0 AIA LU

There has been much buzz about building information modeling (BIM) in recent years, but as a building owner, do you really know what can and can't be done? What are the practical solutions? This presentation will focus on the facts and myths about building information technology, providing higher-education building owners with useful information from the perspective of the architect, the contractor, and the building owner. 

SHW Group, Linbeck, and the Texas A&M University System (TAMU) have teamed up to complete TAMU's Northside Residence Hall, a 648‐bed, $60 million, five-story living-learning building. This will be the university's first new residence hall on the main campus in more than 20 years. The project, which is 100 percent BIM, includes cost modeling, scheduling capabilities, underground modeling, and a challenging four‐phase schedule. SHW Group, Linbeck, and TAMU will discuss BIM's impact on cost estimation, scheduling, site logistics, underground modeling, real-time alterations, quality control, and more. 

In addition, the presenters will review how to evaluate what is practical on a project‐by‐project basis and what building owners should expect when it comes to performance, schedule, and cost.

PA300: Innovative Approaches for Powering Low-Energy Buildings

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM | 1.0 AIA HSW LU

This seminar will provide an overview of industry goals and standards related to energy use in buildings. Net zero energy buildings, hybrid powered buildings, and the integration of renewable energy sources within the design of buildings will be presented. Direct‐current (DC) power distribution will be covered along with client needs ranging from reconfiguration flexibility to integration of renewable energy sources.

PA301: Integrated Project Delivery: A Catalyst for Collaboration and Planning

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM| 1.0 AIA HSW LU

Integrated project delivery (IPD) and virtual design construction (VDC) are the buzz of the A/E/C industry. This presentation will explore IPD, including how it is implemented, contract structures, team arrangements, and processes. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's Wisconsin Institute for Discovery | Morgridge Institute for Research (WID|MIR) and the University of Colorado-Denver's Anschutz Medical Campus Research II will serve as case studies for exploration of the challenges and benefits of implementing IPD on projects. In addition, the role of VDC in facilitating the IPD process will be presented in detail.

PA500: Getting the Most Out of the Value Engineering Process

1:45 PM - 2:45 PM | 1.0 AIA HSW LU

Value engineering (VE) has become a somewhat taboo term in the AEC industry, but it definitely has its place in the preconstruction process. Whether you call it value engineering, value analysis, or value management, it boils down to identifying items in a project's budget that can be modified without sacrificing quality or eliminated without significantly diminishing the functionality or aesthetic feel of the building. This session will define VE, describe the benefits of VE, explain items that should be considered before undertaking the VE process, and discuss steps for conducting a successful and productive VE workshop—participants, timing, and how brainstorming can make or break the VE process. As an interactive part of this session, participants will share their VE experiences and lessons learned.

PA501: Designing for 21st-Century Justice: The Denver Justice Center, Denver, CO

1:45 PM - 2:45 PM | 1.0 AIA HSW LU

A critical element of the new Denver Justice Center is the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center, located adjacent to the U.S. Mint in the Civic Center of Denver. The new building raises expectations for high-performance urban jails in the areas of sustainability, public experience, and security. The planning process for the new building took place over nearly 20 years—to identify and secure the best site, to right-size the building, and to gain public approval for the project funding. The public process resulted in a detailed set of urban design guidelines and goals to structure the design review process and to inform the design approach with the goal of the jail as a "good neighbor."

After selection of the architect, the design commenced, with an intensive investigation of best practices for housing 1,500 detainees in the least restrictive "normative" settings. The implications of the interior planning on exterior massing and fenestration were coordinated to result in an urban building informed by classic strategies of John Russell Pope and by the adjacent U.S. Mint. The building design was constructed on-budget, honored with design awards from the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice, and certified LEED Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council.

he planning and design of the jail incorporates leading-edge best practices—with a compact, low-rise configuration that is secure without the use of razor ribbon and overt security measures, incorporates daylight in all occupied areas, and minimizes operations cost. The courthouse houses two arraignment courts and features a range of housing types, from open dormitories to maximum-security cells, to accommodate predicted behaviors and security needs in just over 300,000 square feet. The building is deliberately not planned to expand, relying on a coordinated long-term justice system strategy to reduce crime and incarcerated populations through evidence-based alternative practices.

The approach to reducing operations costs begins with the highly efficient energy performance of the building, complemented by an operations strategy that minimizes escorted detainee movement while increasing access to services. For instance, visiting with attorneys and family members is accomplished through video links from the public lobby to the housing units, reducing delays and costly staff time. The urbane and humane design is a new paradigm in making justice accountable and effective in addressing the need for public safety for the people of Denver.

The panelists' insights will present the building design within a context of historic and contemporary projects, with lessons learned to guide future designs.

PA600: Denver Justice Center: The Denver Justice Center, Denver, CO

3:15 PM - 5:00 PM | 1.5 AIA HSW LU

Following presentations of the Denver detention center and court complex, guided tours will be provided, followed by a 60-minute workshop sponsored by the AIA Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) Sustainable Justice Committee. The Denver Justice Center Plaza and building tours will be guided by representatives of the designers as well as the facility users who have been living in these buildings for the past couple of years and were integral to the successful planning, design, and construction processes. The tours will start at the public plaza, proceed to the detention center, and conclude at the court building. 

The new Denver Justice Center is conceived as an extension of the Civic Center that includes the historic State Capitol, the City/County Building, and the U.S. Mint. The guided tour will begin with exploration of the plaza, which joins the two facilities with a comfortable public space that provides a connecting element for pedestrians' approach to the buildings. 

The Van Cise-Simonet Detention Center in downtown Denver is the new 1,500-bed detention center that extends the civic core including the historic State Capitol, the City/County Building, and the U.S. Mint. The new building, together with the new courthouse, enhances the civic district by shaping a new public plaza with a classic civic design that celebrates public architecture. The new 439,000-sqare-foot facility is designed to speed time from arrest to arraignment. It includes central booking for the entire Denver Police Department, two new arraignment courtrooms that operate virtually around the clock to process new arrestees, and a variety of housing units specially designed to accommodate the characteristics of the short-term pretrial population. The design partnership included Hartman-Cox, Ricci Greene Associates, VRJS, and Oz Architecture. 

The new 317,000-square-foot Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse is the anchor of the new Justice Center, with capacity for 35 courtrooms; support spaces; holding areas; and staff areas for county, district and juvenile courts. The tour will take you through the primary entry and lobby areas and the main circulation arteries organized along the east side of the building, facing the public plaza, which provide waiting and gathering areas for courtroom activities as well as the courtrooms and supporting functions. The design approach maximizes cost and functional efficiency by organizing the building with eight courtrooms per floor, paired around holding cells and a secure elevator. The building is a collaborative design between Klipp Architects and RicciGreene Associates. The Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse recently received an Honor Award from AIA Denver and a Citation Award from the AIA Colorado.

The AAJ Sustainable Justice Committee—which promotes sustainable principles for the unique nature of jails, prisons, courthouses, and law enforcement facilities—will present the workshop following the tours. In 2010, the Committee published "Sustainable Justice 2030: Green Guide to Justice" as a white paper to explain the application of sustainability to these public projects, which should continue to be viable within our society. After the white paper release, the Committee began to explore the development of a custom methodology or scoring system independent of the USGBC LEED process to specifically evaluate justice facilities within the context of sustainable justice principles. The developed rating system does not compete with the LEED scoring system. Rather, it is complementary and uniquely expands the definition of leadership for sustainable environments, communities, and society at-large. The rating system is based on four scales: The Societal Scale, The Community Scale, The Facility Scale, and The Human Scale. 

The workshop will introduce this rating system developed for detention and corrections facilities, courts, and law enforcement facilities in a panel and discussion format that will follow up on the buildings just toured as case studies for implementation of sustainable justice principles.

PA601: State Architects Speak: Design Excellence in the State of Utah, Then and Now

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | 1.00 AIA HSW LU

PA602: Process, Impacts, and Leadership of the Owner's Project Requirements (OPR) Process at the University of Texas

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM | 1.00 AIA HSW LU

An expanded OPR process, led by the project owner, can help the facility owner as well as the entire project team minimize scope creep, solidify and prioritize project needs (vs. wants), and proactively support accountability, trust, and transparency. As the nation comes out of recession, we recognize that we have learned to do more with less. The OPR process, while it takes time at the beginning of the project, provides a path forward for the project team that lessens waste further downstream, saving time and money. Learn the basics of how to design and implement the OPR requirements sessions and how to produce an OPR document that will support successful project outcomes. The session will provide a post-occupancy look at the Belo Center for New Media (UT-Austin's first green-field project to use the OPR process), including what has been learned and how the OPR affected the project. 

This session illustrates how, through the OPR process, leadership by the public architect and facility owner at the project's inception provides a clear and correct compilation of project needs and requirements, directly given from the project's end users and technical reviewers from the owner's side. When all players are privy to the gathering of requirements, they hear not just the requirement, but the justification for that requirement, and it sorts out the needs from the wants. OPR workshop session attendees will be able to ask questions, which will give them a better appreciation (especially from the occupant's perspective) of both the design process and the myriad people who work to provide a successful project and facility that must be maintained and operated by the owner's local staff. In this way, mutual understanding develops between the project stakeholders, giving them a broader perspective of the link between their proffered requirements and the final facility as well as an appreciation for the operations and maintenance that occurs when the facility's construction is complete. 

This session also speaks to the connection of the leadership and process of design with the final outcome of the completed project. It is in the power of leadership to form consensus with the frequently varied needs and wants of all the project stakeholders. Then, project design is not just about a "pretty" building. It is about meeting the needs of the facility's end-users and occupants, which in turn meets the strategic mission—the "why" of the owner's facility. When the "why" of the design is clearly understood, there is a pride and purpose that becomes inherent in its design and construction. In this way, the built environment becomes linked to the success of the institution it serves, and the people who use and operate the building become integrated partners with its success. Buy-in is achieved, and the architect unifies and solidifies the owner's vision and mission. 

Attendees will learn about the advantages of an expanded OPR process and how to design and implement an OPR process. If they are professional service providers, they can enhance their value to the owner by providing OPR services. If they represent the facility owner, they will learn how this process can help them to better manage and control the project scope

EV105: Public Architects, Corporate Architects and Facility Management, and Academy of Architecture for Justice Reception

5:30 PM - 9:00 PM | Cost $50.00

Join the local and national AIA Committee of Corporate Architects and Facility Management, AIA Public Architects Committee, and the Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) members at a hosted reception. Enjoy food and drinks in this stimulating environment while meeting clients and practitioners in public and corporate architecture. Join the AAJ members as they announce their 2013 award recipients.