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Report touts benefits of integrated design and tackles obstacles hindering adoption
By Joann Gonchar, AIA

The construction industry is in the midst of transformation, and architects run the risk of becoming irrelevant unless they adapt. This is the message of the American Institute of Architects’ Report on Integrated Practice.

Released in June at the institute’s annual convention, held this year in Los Angeles, the report is a collection of essays that explore the problems of fragmentation in the construction industry and the benefits that can be achieved from building information modeling (BIM). It is intended to provoke discussion of how business models, project delivery methods, and liability and reward structures must change to facilitate a more collaborative design and construction process.

The compilation helps architects understand why they cannot ignore the issues associated with the new technological tools. According to several contributors, the survival of the profession itself is at stake. In the introduction, Daniel Friedman, FAIA, a dean of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Washington, warns: “If owners, constructors, and developers see a way to reduce costs dramatically by substituting software for expertise … they may very likely conclude that many traditional architectural services are unaffordable, if not in fact obsolete.”

The report deals not only with the consequences of failure to adapt. It also convincingly argues that a deeper collaboration among the architect, builder, subcontractors, and fabricators can help realize both process improvements and a superior product. An essay by a team from the Kansas City–based firm BNIM, makes the case for virtual design and construction as a tool for creating more sustainable buildings, an endeavor “which relies heavily on an integrated systems approach to drive energy and resource efficiencies.”

Each of the report’s 10 chapters is contained on a single 34-by-44-inch sheet of paper that folds to 81¼2 by 11 inches for storage in a sheathlike box. Although the presentation is attractive and allows for the use of informative graphics, it is impractical. For example, it would be difficult to read the essays on an airplane. Later this fall, the report will be available as PDF documents on the institute’s Web site, at www.aia.org, in what will hopefully be a more manageable format.

Quibbles with the presentation aside, the compilation does an excellent job of helping architects understand the business, cultural, and educational issues surrounding integrated practice. It is not intended, however, as a primer to help architects incorporate BIM into their work. The report is an “awareness piece,” rather than a practical how-to guide, says Norman Strong, FAIA, a partner at Miller/Hull and chair of the AIA’s Integrated Practice Discussion Group—the committee that assembled the report.

The group has other initiatives under way that could eventually help firms adopt the new tools more readily, including a collaborative effort with the Associated General Contractors of America and the Construction Users Roundtable to develop new standard contracts.

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