Thesis Proposal
Breadth Analyses
Analysis I – Structural Breadth
Analysis I looks at substituting a precast footings system in place of the current cast in place design. The breadth will focus on a structural issue associated with switching the two systems. One possibly will be investigating is how the soil bearing capacity will be affected by the installation of precast footings over the original cast in place system. This breadth will ensure that the soil has the bearing capacity to support the footing by this alternative method.
Deliverables for Soil Bearing Capacity
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Calculations for the bearing capacity of the soil.
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Support for or against whether or not the backfilled soil could support the footings.
Analysis II – Lighting Breadth
Analysis II focuses on an alternative method for installing the exterior façade system. The façade design was modified several times in design iterations before arriving at the current design. Much of the glazing was value engineered out and replaced by brick veneer to reduce cost. This breadth will conduct daylighting studies for both the schematic design and construction documents version of the façade design. The goal of this study is determine if the daylighting benefits of addition glazing is worth the added cost or if the redesign was the right value engineering decision.
Deliverables for Daylighting Study
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Calculations from AGI daylighting study.
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Recommendations for which design provides the best daylighting solution.
Thesis Proposal
Community Healthcare is a medical office facility under construction in the Mid-Atlantic region. The design intent is to create a three story healthcare project to extend the network of care to the local community. The goal is to create a space where the specialists come to the patients and not the other way around. The primary tenant of this facility has a long standing history of providing exceptional healthcare to this community and has teamed up with Frauenshuh HealthCare Real Estate Solutions, one of the leading developers of medical office and ambulatory care facilities, to create this building.
The flat site in this suburban neighborhood drew attention from other corporations interested in developing the site as well. Fortunately, the primary tenant of this facility was warmly welcomed by the community and is expected to complete construction in January 2016, just 15 months after the issuance of the notice to proceed.
Frauenshuh brought Perkins +Will on as the architect of record and DPR Construction as the construction manager. This project was split into the core and shell (C&S) as one GMP package and the tenant interiors (TI) as another, of which both have the same project partners. While Frauenshuh holds both the C&S and TI contracts through their LLC, Frauenshuh is most interested in the C&S and the primary tenant in the TI. This medical office building is set to open in the spring of 2016.
This report will outline the four depth analyses that will be investigated for the Community Healthcare project. Three of these analyses will focus on issues or opportunities that could be explored for the construction of this facility that could improve constructability, accelerate the schedule, reduce costs, or value engineer the process. The final analysis will be a critical research issue that will be further investigated for this thesis.
Analysis I | Precast Footings
A schedule delay, followed by several weather days proved to be a major challenge for the project team. The foundations and structure all had to be completed under cold weather conditions which significantly extended the duration of these activities. This analysis will look into the potential schedule savings that could be found by using precast footings in place of the cast in place design since construction occurs during winter months.
Analysis II | Prefabricate or Preassemble the Building Envelope
This project is currently utilizing temporary weather protection in order to complete the interior drywall and maintain the tight schedule. The exterior framing and skin are being installed through traditional means and methods. This analysis will focus on altering the construction means and methods to accelerate the installation of the skin and get the building watertight sooner. By either utilizing prefabrication or preassembly techniques, this analysis will determine if a less traditional method could provide added value or benefits to the project.
Analysis III | Masonry LINAC Vault
The linear accelerator (LINAC) vault was added to the core and shell GMP package fairly late in during design. The system that was selected was a standard concrete wall and ceiling assembly. By selecting this system, the vault had to follow the completion of the building structure versus being tied in. In the healthcare industry, many owners and medical suite designers are opting for masonry LINAC vaults over concrete. Due to the benefits masonry LINAC vaults can provide in cost savings and constructability, this analysis will evaluate which assembly, masonry or concrete, would provide the best value for this project.
Analysis IV | Virtual Mockups
This project has experienced several change orders due to late design changes. The change orders reflected the distinct wishes of the primary tenant, who understood the value these changes would provide to the operation of their facility. However, this analysis will look at potential technologies and specialty tools for creating virtual mockups that could help assist in discovering the design changes earlier.
MAE Integrated Thesis
In order to integrate MAE studies into this thesis, concepts from AE 570 Production Management in Construction will be incorporated into these analyses. Specifically, the two analyses that have the most potential to benefit from these concepts are Analysis II and Analysis IV. Analysis II studying prefabrication or preassembly of the building envelope could utilize production tracking techniques from AE 570 to determine the system that would improve productivity. Some of these tracking techniques taught in AE 570 that could be used to analyze Analysis II include Spaghetti Diagrams, Gemba walks, Big Picture Mapping, and Ohno Circles. Additionally, Analysis IV looks at selecting the best tools for virtual mockups. Using lean decision making tools from AE 570 could assist in making this selection. Tools including A3 Thinking, House of Quality, and Choosing by Advantages could help to select the virtual mockup technologies that provide the most added value. Ultimately, MAE concepts will appear throughout this technical report as all of the concepts learned in these courses helped to stimulate the analyses investigated. However, AE 570 lean concepts provide benefits in investigating problems and determining the best methods for solving them. As this is the primary goal of thesis, these concepts should translate most effectively.