Complements of The American Institute of Architects
You’ve heard the old saying “There’s no “I” in team”, but for owners, architects, designers and builders, approaching project teams with “I” in mind (as in Integrated Project Delivery) may be the key to increasing sustainability in buildings today.
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) does just as its name suggests, it assembles all parties involved in the building process at an early stage creating a highly collaborative environment at the inception of a project and throughout its entire life cycle. The holistic approach behind IPD allows owners, architects, construction managers, engineers, and subcontractors to contribute their individual expertise while looking at the whole picture, rather than just focusing on their individual role in the construction process. Driven by collective risk, IPD creates a mutual understanding of an owner’s goals, and is therefore able to meet and exceed these goals in a shorter period of time. Other benefits of this early collaboration and communication among all building parties? Increased efficiency, productivity and better value for the owner – just to name a few.
So what does IPD suggest for the future of sustainability? Here are three ways we at BuildIntel see IPD playing an integral role in the greater sustainable building movement:
- Facilitating efficient design through technology – Building Information Modeling (BIM) largely supports IPD by laying out a virtual model and strategy for a project, allowing all parties to collaborate on every element of the process at a much earlier stage. According to the American Institute of Architects (an IMRE client), BIM makes sure the building is cost effective by providing quantification metrics, reducing errors and unknown design conditions and resolving construction conflicts, thus reducing waste and fostering better management of a building’s overall energy consumption.
- The ability to use prefabricated building methods – Because of the deep collaboration and communication involved in IPD, contractors have the freedom to work independently as well, through prefabrication. This results in less waste and expenses as well as a more efficient installation.
- Controlling costs saves in more ways than one – The cost controlling capabilities established through Integrated Project Delivery has a direct affect on the likelihood that sustainable goals will be met. Early collaboration leads to greater efficiency and discussion of project options, which in turn leads to an increase in the probability of sustainability.
For more information on IPD or to begin setting up your own contractual agreements, organizations such as AIA Contract Documents (an IMRE client) are streamlining the process even further by providing the necessary contract agreements needed to fully implement the IPD approach. Visit http://www.aiacontractdocuments.org/ipd/ to find out what type of agreement best suites your project needs.
Tags: ACD, AIA, AIA Contract Documents, BIM, Building Information Modeling, Construction Law, Integrated Project Delivery, IPD, The American Institute of Architects