5 Key Benefits of Interdisciplinary Design Coordination

With increased complexity of school building systems, interdisciplinary coordination has become more important than ever before. Interdisciplinary coordination, defined as close collaboration between disciplines including as planners, architects, engineers, contractors and project managers, can help to achieve efficient and cost-effective solutions tailored to specific project needs. While all projects benefit from reduced change orders and related cost savings, design coordination can also improve the quality of learning environments. More than reducing capital and long-term operational costs, countless studies have shown, that higher quality learning environments positively affect student achievement and increase productivity of teachers and staff. Following these five strategies can deliver benefits across all sizes of K-12 projects.

1.??????? Delivering Great Spaces: Comprehensive interdisciplinary coordination helps to deliver high quality learning environments by setting a standard for the harmonious integration of architecture, interiors, and building systems. Establishing a project vision, approved by the project stakeholders during the early programming and planning, is an essential tool in preserving and managing expectations throughout the process. When teams adhere to a clear project vision and strive to deliver a project with a unified set of objectives, coordination of all building systems becomes part of a broader goal of creating interior environments designed for improved user experience and comfort. Whether it’s working to improve air quality, thermal comfort, acoustics, or daylighting, strategic communication with owners, user groups, stakeholders and the design team can help everyone manage expectations and better understand the project that is being delivered.

2.??????? Controlling Construction Costs: Close collaboration during the design phase directly influences accuracy in bidding and contract documents. More complete bidding documents lead directly to receiving competitive bids and reducing uncertainties about the proposed scope of work. Tighter bids also lead to greater value to the district when awarding construction contracts, reducing an owner’s exposure to unforeseen cost and schedule impacts. Enhanced design phase interdisciplinary coordination leads to more efficient coordination during construction as the components of each system are able to fit together as intended without added costs and delays caused by rework.

3.??????? Reducing Operational Costs: Coordinating building systems allow for right-sized equipment to be connected to efficiently organized distribution systems throughout the building. Circuitous duct and piping layouts lead to inefficient movement of fluids and air throughout a facility, requiring more energy to operate pumps and fans which leads to higher utility bills. More complex building systems can lead to maintenance requirements that require outside resources and increase system downtime. Focus on efficiently planned distribution systems can not only be installed in a shorter timeframe but are less costly to operate by reducing the need for excessive quantities or oversizing of equipment.

4.??????? Minimizing the Construction Schedule: The importance of interdisciplinary coordination during design and preconstruction phases cannot be overstated. The most critical date to manage for any school project is the first day of school and every effort to reduce the risk of a delayed school opening has tremendous value to owners. To manage cost and schedule impacts, early coordination between the design team and the construction manager is essential, whether it is to identify the need for early bid packages to address long-lead items or the coordination for phased occupancy, maintaining cost savings and minimizing schedule impacts is the team’s goal.

5.??????? Maximizing Usable Program Areas: More efficiently designed and coordinated systems occupy less floor area and require smaller areas above ceilings. Right sizing core and shell spaces, minimizing mechanical chases and concealment enclosures not only allows for program areas to be maximized, but it also manages the construction cost by not overspending on unnecessarily large soffits, shafts, chases, piping enclosures, etc. Fitting increasingly complex building systems into tighter above ceiling spaces preserves headroom. Benefits include allowing daylight to reach deeper into spaces, making them feel more open and welcoming for everyone.

Interdisciplinary coordination is a proactive approach that JCJ has made integral to our process through regularly scheduled reviews, making sure we are proactively delivering a design with the highest possible quality, within the established budget and schedule. By continually asking questions and reasonably challenging assertions and assumptions, the design team’s skill in all facets of interdisciplinary coordination yields the tangible benefits of greater returns on taxpayer investment and the long-term user satisfaction.

About the author.

Brian Stone , AIA, NCARB, LEED BD+C, MCPPO is a Senior Project Architect and Associate with JCJ ARCHITECTURE . With over 18 years of experience on implementing and documenting design at a variety of scales, Brian has spent a significant portion of his career focused on civic and educational projects. Known for his detail-oriented approach, he is well versed in the complexities and subtleties of planning, design, documentation and delivery. Brian attended Roger Williams University where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture; he is a registered architect in Connecticut and Massachusetts.