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MARCH 2017 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 35
ELEMENTS Structural Design
in the design process. Most now
provide behind-the-scenes, hid-
den technology to support an
architectural concept, but with-
out any significant challenge
to achieve anything difficult or
novel. As a result, most structural
offerings have become a matter of
sizing, selecting and specifying, as
opposed to “designing” in the broad-
er sense of the word. In contrast, at
our firm we believe in true integra-
tion of architecture and engineering
as engineering can deliver a level of
elegance that helps elevate an archi-
tect's building design.
Q: While it’s easy to understand how
creative structural input would be critical
to iconic buildings with bold architectural
features and new approaches to
construction, how can a smaller or more
humble project benefit?
A: Not every project is a museum. Many of
our projects do not aspire to be an icon. Rath-
er, their purpose is to be a solid building that
serves their user’s needs and performs well over time. Of-
ten these projects are encumbered by less glamorous pa-
rameters such as lower budgets or challenging schedules,
but that does not diminish the building’s need to service
the user well. Interestingly, the tricks we use to create dy-
namic structures with cantilevers actually find their roots
in warehouses and big-box retail. While sometimes con-
sidered to be devoid of design, these buildings actually
employ the same conceptual moves as iconic structures,
but for the purpose of efficiency, and to save cost.
While our industry’s best designers are frequently
brought in for the large, glamorous projects rather than
the low-budget ones (such as low-income housing or K-12
schools), our firm’s best design is often found on the latter.
Indeed, projects where we are asked to do more with less
offer the greatest challenges, thus are the most reward-
ing to us. Despite the broad range of projects across our
portfolio, we believe our best design work has occurred
on the net-zero low-income housing we developed with
Pyatt Studio on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Da-
kota. These dignified homes that embrace the culture of
their inhabitants were designed to allow the envelope and
structure work as one to limit the loads on the mechanical
systems, which make them both high performance and
cost competitive with doublewides.
Q: But aren’t standard structural approaches good
enough? What is the benefit of taking the engineering
solutions to another level on projects constrained by
budget?
A: If, by good enough, you mean that they meet code
and will not fail or fall down, then perhaps they are good
enough. But if there are architectural or performance
goals that will be eliminated because of budget, then
every dollar we save in the structure can help preserve
other design elements. Even better, when the structure is
designed efficiently, it achieves an elegant beauty and en-
hances the aesthetics and the architecture. A holistical-
ly designed structure can also help improve the thermal
performance of the building envelope, or the mass can
help minimize mechanical needs. As well, lighter, more
elegant structures can actually become the aesthetic, or
offer opportunities for more daylight through their great-
er transparency. A structure designed integrally with the
architecture may not reduce the structural budget, but it
may make the cladding or some other element of the ar-
chitecture cheaper.
Unfortunately, too often our engineers are asked to
achieve the bare minimum – take what is drawn and as-
sure that it will not fall down – yet that is just the begin-
ning of what could and should be achieved when design-
ing great architecture.
Q: Is there any risk to applying new these approaches to
structure on smaller, more humble projects?
A: None, other than asking more from your structural
designers. Making a high-budget project great is not near-
ly as challenging as elevating a humble, low-budget one.
As a result, our most modest projects require more design
rigor. Too often, however, the structural design effort be-
comes proportional to the budget, and the projects and
users who have the highest need for a great building miss
out in the end. Unfortunately, this is typically true for all
disciplines.
Q: Are these innovative approaches you mention more
expensive?
A: Not when done right. When the architect and struc-
tural engineer work collaboratively to create a holistic de-
sign early on in a project, great design will result. \\
Pine Ridge Reservation’s Net Zero low-income housing integrates simple,
elegant detailing to create dignified, higher-performance homes for com-
parable costs of doublewides and FEMA trailers.