Design and Development: from Concept to Implementation

GSD 7411 Fall 2009

This course examines the real estate design and development process, from the first idea and the original conceptual sketch to the creation of building and infrastructure assets. During this complex but fascinating process, the designer is placed within a system of other agencies, each one having specific roles, expertise and capabilities but sometimes different incentives and goals. The course provides students with a thorough understanding of the role of each entity and describes how risks and rewards are created and distributed amongst people and organizations.

Centering on the needs of the developer-owner, this year's topics include:

- Strategies for successful design implementation;

- Selection of the architect, consultants and contractors;

- Overview and selection of the appropriate project delivery method;

- When and how designers should invest in the projects they design;

- Working in mega-projects spanning multiple countries;

- Understanding project and firm risks and handling uncertainty;

~ Assessing and implementing sustainability requirements and technological innovations.

Case studies provide the framework for the course, and the case studies together with lectures, guest speakers, and the assigned readings constitute the basis for class discussions. Students are expected to prepare the assigned case study before each session and argue effectively about their analysis in class. During the course, students will build specific skills on negotiations, budgeting, scheduling, and financial return calculations through short assignments and in-class simulations. A final paper will bring together all topics presented throughout the semester. There are no prerequisites, however some professional experience would be advantageous. The course welcomes students with non-design backgrounds and expertise.

Toward Socially-inclusive Sustainable Development

GSD 9206A Fall 2009

Warrensville Heights, Ohio is an economically challenged, post-industrial, inner-ring suburb of Cleveland. At the heart of this community is a 17-acre brownfield site that the city would like to re-develop with a cluster of community-oriented programs: public library, YMCA, day-care center, elementary school, open-space/athletic fields, etc. The broader goal of this project is to kick-start the redevelopment of a large portion of the downtown with a large affordable housing development.

Such a decision has twofold implications: first the contaminated site must be cleaned (and the project site has been remediated) and then to be developed for appropriate uses for the community, subject to any residual contamination. This research seminar will focus on both issues, following a real world approach for this large-scale development. Aiming toward an environmentally sustainable and socially-inclusive development, we will emphasize the inherent values of using less: less materials, less money, less land, while helping the local economy, employing local labor, and using local materials.

The class will visit the site and meet with the community members, the environmental consultants responsible for the site remediation, and the local government officials. Then, the entire class will develop a master plan for the site and each student or group of students will proceed with specific community-oriented projects (e.g. library, YMCA, health clinic, open space/athletic fields, etc.) with clear explanations on how they will fit in with the community's goals.

The success of the class projects will be measured not just by architects and other designers but also by users and local government entities based on the following criteria:

- How "socially inclusive" is the development?

- Does it use resources efficiently, e.g. money, water, land, energy, etc.? Thus, a cost and other estimates will be required.

- How close to carbon neutral it can be? Can its carbon footprint be reduced by inclusion of on-site solar or wind energy generation? What government incentives may be obtained for this purpose?

- Does the project promote the economic development goals of the city? Is it viewed as a meaningful amenity? Does it facilitate the future development of affordable housing contiguous to the site?

- How successful it could be as a stand-alone project?

- How does it fit into the city's overall development plans

- What is the business plan and the funding mechanisms?

Rethinking Ekistics in the Information Age

GSD 9206A02 Fall 2009

Ekistics, Konstantinos Doxiadis' approach to city planning, was an eye-opening to planners and designers. His multi-discipline view on city development and especially his anthropocentric point of departure has had an unprecedented impact on how we plan and manage cities in the last 50 years. This research seminar revisits Ekistics adding the new dimension of information technology on city planning. The students will first research Doxiadis' ideas and vision, focusing specifically on how was applied to Islamabad. Then, they will invetsigate the power of the virtual space to enhance city planning, within the framework of Ekistics. The research seminar is sponsored by SK Telecom of Korea, a high-tech provider to new towns in Korea, and a visionary of the ubiquitous city concept. Collaborators of Doxiadis will give guest lectures to better understand his work.

Exhibiting the Virtual Space

GSD 9206A Spring 2009

The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) is organizing an international fair for the summer of 2009, expecting to attract many visitors from all over the world. Among the main attractions will be the "information Pavilion," a space to merge the physical and the virtual, as an exploration and manifestation of the role of information technology from large scale city planning to the architecture of individual buildings. The pavilion has been conceptualized by Prof. Pollalis and Prof. Kimm, has been designed by Space Architects and is being built by SK Telecom. This 9206 research seminar, sponsored by IFEZ and the city of Incheon, will focus on developing exhibits as a proof of concept for creating virtual space that enhances the physical space. The research seminar has a limited enrollment of 5 whose work will be exhibited in the information pavilion during the summer fair. There is a limited budget for acquiring equipment and limited engineering assistance will be provided by SK Telecom. The seminar includes a sponsored trip to Korea in June for the installations and meeting with the sponsors. This research seminar offers a unique opportunity for a hand-on experience in the emerging field of integrating the virtual with the physical space and seeks students who can push the frontiers of imagination and creativity either by developing conceptual mockups or working prototypes. Interesting students should have taken an advance computer course at the GSD or have equivalent professional experience.

video of student work online

In Search of the Engineer
GSD 6328, Spring 2007, 2008

In recent examples of architecture, visions of architects are enhanced by innovative interventions by leading engineers. They engage in early stages of design process and a significant dialogue takes place between architects and engineers. With the rapid developments currently occurring in structural design, and in technology at large, a fascinating and interesting frontier in architecture takes place during collaborations with structural engineers.

This course focuses on the intimate working of architects and engineers through 3 case studies that cover a broad spectrum of projects. The Phaeno Centre project, by Zaha Hadid, challenges contemporary thinking, advances digital technologies and clearly shows how research applies to real projects. The Phaeno Centre offers an extreme in which it is difficult to tell where the architecture stops and engineering begins. The housing project by Fielden Clegg Bradley shows that affordable housing, with a tight budget, can reach design excellence through a designer/engineer/contractor collaboration.

The third case study is a city regeneration project, led by FOA, with an increasing shift in putting together large offices with smaller offices of designers. It demonstrates how development practice and attitudes are changing in fostering collaboration.

* Comments

The course meets 6 weeks during the semester, twice per week. The first and last weeks, Dr. Hanif Kara is present in class, the rest participating through video teleconferencing. Each case study is carried out for 2 weeks (4 sessions). In the first session, the instructors introduce the case. In the second session, students present their comments, in groups of 4, analyzing the material handed by the architect from the engineering point of view, based on precedences, qualitative analysis and the use of analytical tools. In the third, students present their designs to address the weaknesses of the original architectural designs. In the fourth session, the instructors give an overview and present the actual outcome of the case.

Managing Innovation: The case of the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum
GSD 7222, Seminar, Spring

The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao has had an unprecedented impact not only on the city of Bilbao but also on the value of design and the public's perception of architecture worldwide. This seminar focuses on the "other" elements, hidden in the team of people and organizations that make good architecture possible and allow architects to reach their potential. The seminar introduces fundamentals of project management as related to organization, team building, owner relations, cost estimating, budget control, and scheduling, with a focus on process, leadership, and technology. The project management of the museum constitutes the basis for five workshops on: bidding for the project management, starting the job, project development, construction bidding, and management of construction.

Leading the Design Firm
GSD 7405, Lecture, Fall 2006

This course is co-taught by Prof. Spiro Pollalis and Brian Kenet.

This course introduces GSD students to the business side of the industry from the perspective of the design firm's senior management and provides an overview of four broad areas of responsibility: Financial management and creating shareholder value; Business models and strategy; Firm culture, ownership, and leadership; and "Managing" change.

The course attempts to highlight both the ways in which a design firm is a business like any other as well as its unique financial and cultural characteristics. The course features guest lectures by the CEOs of prominent, large firms that offer professional services in the disciplines of architecture, landscape architecture, planning, engineering, construction/project management, and/or environmental consulting.

Students are expected to work with the firms whose leaders will be guest lecturers to develop case studies that illustrate current business trends in professional practice. In this context, student work consists of interviewing professional and executive staff within the firms to illuminate the relevant business and strategic issues to be described and analyzed in the case study. Students present their case studies at the end of the semester.

Confirmed as guest lecturers this Semester are: Joe Brown, CEO of EDAW; Nunzio DeSantis, Exec. VP of HKS; John Whisler, COO of Leo A. Daly; Phil Harrison, CEO of Perkins + Will; Peter Morrison, CEO and Hugh Mullan, CFO of RMJM; Carole Wedge, President of SBRA; and Carl Roehling, CEO of SmithGroup.

From Concept to Implementation
GSD 7411, Fall

This course focuses on the organizational and managerial issues to carry an architectural design from concept to implementation. Centering on the needs of the owner, the focus is on selecting the architect, consultants and contractors, on choosing the appropriate project delivery method and project organization, on identifying the tools for efficient project management, and on handling innovation and pushing the frontiers of what is feasible. Case studies provide the framework for exploring the different aspects of the course, and the case studies together with the assigned readings constitute the basis for class discussions.

Prerequisite for first professional degree students: GSD 6204