Facing the challenges of integrated design and project delivery

There is a new movement in the building industry that calls for sustainable planning and design. Energy costs are consistently rising and the cost of maintaining a building and its systems will eat away at profits the building owner expects to realize. In effect these seemingly simple concepts can make or break the success of a project for the owner. Additionally it is known that buildings consume more than 30 percent of the total energy and more than 60 percent of the electricity used in the US. Each day five billion gallons of potable water is used solely to flush toilets. A typical North American commercial construction project generates up to 2.5 pounds of solid waste per square foot of completed floor space. This is significant! This will change our landscape and the way we live if action is not taken to address this constant waste of resources. At an international scale, efforts such as Architecture 2030 and their 2030 Carbon Neutral Challenge and the United States Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) rating system are two significant market drivers promoting change. Regionally, the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance's BetterBricks program has funded the Pacific Northwest University Design Lab Network (Lab Network) to promote market transformation for sustainable and energy efficient buildings. This article outlines how the owner and design team, along with the contractor and subcontactors (the team), were able to break through the old design and construction paradigm and enter into a challenging process called integrated design. Through this integrated design process and an integrated delivery method the Banner Bank, a LEED Platinum CS building was built. And through this process, the team members were transformed into more effective owners, designers, and builders.