| Skilled Nursing Education Hospitals Medical Offices Laboratories |
Special Expertise:
Hospitals are among the most complex building projects to be constructed. They involve functional considerations that respond to the diverse needs of the users, but also involve a myriad of complex technical and procedural issues throughout an intense conceptualization, design, and construction process. Clearly, specialized expertise is required of the architectural team.
Furthermore, the design of building systems, the selection of equipment, and the choice of appropriate equipment and furnishings benefits from experience and research. SND has many years of experience with an awareness of current advances in component technology through a process of continuous quality control.
The process consists of the following components:
As a result of this process, SND is able to provide affordable, functional solutions to the technical details for hospital design.
Owner Involvement:
SND has actively practiced a consistent policy of owner involvement in the design of Healthcare facilities. This involvement includes the exchange of ideas between department heads, staff, administration, user groups, and the project architect.
Code and Agency Review:
A hospital is a complex building type with regard to the agency review process. In addition to normal building and site permits, a hospital is subject to agency reviews based on requirements of OSSA, EPA and City, County and State health and safety agencies with regard to hazardous materials storage, handling, disposition, accessibility, and safety.
SND has the experience, expertise and extensive knowledge and understanding of the proper process to obtain agency approvals in a timely manner. The proper knowledge of the codes is critical even in the architectural programming phase of a project to determine the correct amount of square footage to assign by room type. This level of verification will result in a Project Budget that is maintained throughout the remaining phases of work.
Handicapped Accessibility:
Projects within the State of California must meet the Administrative Code requirements of Title 24. Healthcare facility projects require handicapped accessibility within every department for both public and staff. The firms principal serve as a in-house specialist in barrier free design ensuring accessibility through the selective use of elevators, handicapped ramps and lifts, and appropriate finish materials. These specialists are involved from the very start of design to ensure that the above choices are both cost effective and in harmony with the overall project design concept. With the growing concern and legalities surrounding accessibility issues, an architect who is extremely knowledgeable on the subject is almost a necessity.
Facility Maintenance:
Reducing facility maintenance starts with an efficient plan that fulfills the building program in the smallest possible building area and volume. A well planned building configuration will minimize the exterior surface area thereby providing for an energy efficient configuration that will reduce maintenance cost on mechanical equipment and exterior finish material. The exterior finish materials will be selected based on initial cost as well as long term maintenance costs. Interior materials will be chosen based on the architects experience, the facility maintenance staff experience and preference, and the design of facilities with similar user requirements. Review of materials to be used is important because some materials have a slightly higher initial cost which is quickly offset by minimal maintenance needs reducing long-term operating cost. Maintenance can also be minimized through careful selection of mechanical and electric equipment and fixtures.
Design Management:
Our team has developed a management methodology, which at the end of the project will provide complete decision making documentation. Our team works with the Healthcare client to establish a regular schedule of project meetings. SND will defer to the wishes of the client as to the appropriate user group composition of these meetings. SND will accept responsibility for attendance of appropriate in-house team members as required.
Cost Control:
Our approach to cost control is a continuous proactive process that is monitored rather than a reactive cost estimate prepared after the design is completed. The objectives are to keep expenditures within budget, give the best value for the dollar and achieve balanced expenditures between the various aspects of the project.
As the project design proceeds systematic cost checking occurs. The developing design is studied to ensure that the budget is respected. Comparative cost benefits of alternative design solutions (value engineering) are addressed. During the process, the SND team and the owner may experience unforeseen circumstances that lead to cost overruns. As these items occur, SND will determine strategies for maintaining the original budget estimate level.
These situations will be documented along with options to maintain the budget level and presented to the owner for review and commentary.
Success depends on specialized skills and experience. The SND
team has the experience to guide this project to a successful completion within budget.
Schedule Control:
The project will be analyzed in detail, identifying critical and sub-critical activities, relationships and interfaces. This analysis is a team effort including SND, our consultants and the Healthcare client. The schedule is designed to satisfy four basic functions of management;
- Planing establishes the who, what when, where, and how to set objectives that are attainable and realistic for all parties.
- Organization provides a structure that establishes relationships between the personnel and the product.
- Coordination integrates all details, necessary orders and instructions to the team and others to indicate what is to be done and when to do it.
- Control of the established standards, analysis of actual results, and taking action on variances from the standards.
To insure that schedules are being met, issues will be updated regularly in weekly meeting minutes and items requiring action, decisions, or direction will be identified and distributed to all parties concerned. The fundamental keys to keeping a project on schedule are:
Timely accurate feedback: Accomplished with SND's management skills and attention to the smallest of all details. With good communications, and timely follow through, the project flows more smoothly.
Direct Action: Management directs toward the appropriate issues resulting in timely, corrective action. All portions of the scheduling system are directed toward the effective utilization of time and monies. The system will focus on potential delays, force them to the attention of all team members, and assist in practical and immediate solutions.
Value Engineering: The SND approach to value engineering involves the formation of an interdisciplinary team of professionals not otherwise involved in the project. This team conducts value engineering exercises at three project stages - Schematic Design, Design Development and at the 35% Construction stages. At the schematic stage, project requirements are reviewed, alternatives developed, analyzed and costed, and recommendations made in the Schematic Design package. During Design Development, the team reviews more detailed items and refines the cost recommendations. The final seminar, at the 35% Construction Document phase, reviews construction details for ease of construction, practicality and life cycle costs.
Creative Design Solutions: Creativity is the substance which motivates architects, engineers, owners to strive for excellence in the design and operation of facilities. An abundance of experience is the best additive to the design process to avoid the pitfalls inherent in the creative process while obtaining the ultimate in scope conformance, performance, usability and afford ability for the client. SND utilizes it=s experience in many building types to derive and create the design solution which meets the aesthetic and functional needs of the space as well as the budget.
SUMMARY OF APPROACH
Spiegel Nance Design believes in proper planning and management by task to assure that a Healthcare client's goals and objectives are met. The following is an example of typical steps that are taken to implement a project. This checklist of activities would be customized to a particular Healthcare client.