{"id":178,"date":"2014-06-27T18:03:08","date_gmt":"2014-06-27T22:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=178"},"modified":"2015-09-22T11:12:38","modified_gmt":"2015-09-22T15:12:38","slug":"getting-better-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=178","title":{"rendered":"Getting Better Buildings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Henry Petroski, engineer and author, has a piece<\/a> in today\u2019s New York Times about declining quality in construction materials and workmanship. He places a lot of the blame on \u201cthe industries whose practices favor the use of inferior products and labor that drive modern construction: the developers, lenders, builders and Realtors who, to make quick money, have created a stock of domestic and commercial infrastructure that is a waste of resources and will not last. \u201c I don\u2019t disagree, but based on my professional experience, and on that of many of my friends and colleagues, I think there\u2019s room for more blame that creates a circular firing line.<\/p>\n

First in line are owners who want what they want but are unwilling to pay for it. (I have many colleagues who blame Wal-mart and their ilk for this attitude but I’m not an economist and this isn’t about that). I\u2019ve been involved in too many projects where, as the design progresses and is refined, the cost estimates go up but the budget doesn\u2019t. Nor is the developing design reigned in. Rather, the owner assumes, or is assured, that in competitive bidding the cost will somehow come back down to the original, early estimate. Rarely does the architect push back, which introduces the second problem.<\/p>\n

Architects are supposed to be the leader of the design team and the advocate for the client. Entering into the bidding phase of a project knowing that the design has exceeded the budget doesn\u2019t help anyone and creates a hostile environment for everyone once the low bid is accepted and construction begins. Which brings us to villain number three: contractors.<\/p>\n

Often, especially in publicly funded projects, I have to produce a three name specification, meaning that for every light fixture I have to specify three that I deem to be equal. If I don\u2019t I\u2019m in breach of my contract. Astonishingly, contractors are not required to supply the products that the design team has specified! The result is that contractors are often in a race to the bottom, submitting bids that are unrealistically low because they\u2019ve made assumptions about what kind of substitutions they can make. They do it because they know that their competition is doing it and the low bid wins. Swap out 100 lights that cost $300 for a $100 model and you\u2019ve just underbid your competition. Now, multiply that by hundreds of items in a building and you\u2019re looking at a huge set of conflicts. You can imagine the screaming that results when, later in the project, the designer rejects the substitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is a decent alternative, and it\u2019s what I can afford.\u201d says the contractor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is nothing like the fixture in the specifications. It won\u2019t do the job and I won\u2019t approve it.\u201d replies the designer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, it\u2019s what I bid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell then you didn\u2019t bid on this<\/em> building. What building did<\/em> you bid on?\u201d<\/p>\n

The solution, as I see it, is stricter contracts with builders. I\u2019d love to see the American Institute for Architects (AIA<\/a>), the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD<\/a>), the International Interior Design Association (IIDA<\/a>), American Society of Interior Designers (ASID<\/a>) and others work together to draft model bidding instructions and contracts for owners that set clear limits on substitutions. If the contractor can\u2019t substitute inferior materials we\u2019ve made a HUGE difference in the quality of the building.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve worked with plenty of owners, architects, and builders who aren\u2019t as I\u2019ve just described. However, they aren\u2019t the strong majority. Everyone involved can do better. Owners can accept that sometimes you get what you pay for, and that the lowest bid isn\u2019t necessarily the best bid. Architects can take a stronger stand with their clients to prevent issuing drawings for a $10 million building with an $8 million budget. Contractors can construct the building shown in the drawings, not a cheaper alternative. Contractors and unions have no reason to change, and owners don\u2019t have a real organization that can play a role. It\u2019s entirely possible, but I think that the design organizations will have to lead the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Henry Petroski, engineer and author, has a piece in today\u2019s New York Times about declining quality in construction materials and workmanship. He places a lot of the blame on \u201cthe industries whose practices favor the use of inferior products and labor that drive modern construction: the developers, lenders, builders and Realtors who, to make quick … Continue reading Getting Better Buildings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,19],"tags":[48],"class_list":["post-178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-design","category-lighting-profession","tag-contractors"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gZSw-2S","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":494,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=494","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":0},"title":"Global sea levels have risen 8cm since 1992, Nasa research shows","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"August 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Scientists say warming waters and melting ice were to blame for levels rising faster than 50 years ago and \u2018it\u2019s very likely to get worse\u2019 Source: Global sea levels have risen 8cm since 1992, Nasa research shows","rel":"","context":"In "Sustainability"","block_context":{"text":"Sustainability","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":255,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=255","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":1},"title":"Measuring the Value of Lighting Design","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently published a short video in which LRC director Mark S. Rea discusses the costs and benefits of lighting. Here it is. \u00a0 \u00a0 If you set aside the plugs for the LRC, his statements, and those in his book Value Metrics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1066,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=1066","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":2},"title":"Using TM-30 to Improve Your Lighting Designs","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"February 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Recently, ANSI\/IES TM-30 was improved with the addition of Annexes E and F. \u00a0Annex F reviews and summarized five studies that explored using TM-30 metrics to predict subjective visual outcomes. \u00a0Annex E uses that research to establish recommended specification criteria when the designer's color rendering goals are Preference, Vividness and\/or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Color"","block_context":{"text":"Color","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=12"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":951,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=951","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":3},"title":"How 3-D Printing Could Break into the Building Industry – Scientific American","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"March 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This is an interesting article about the state of 3-D printing for construction and a look at a couple of recent projects. \u00a0It's well worth the time. Source: How 3-D Printing Could Break into the Building Industry - Scientific American","rel":"","context":"In \"3-D Printing\"","block_context":{"text":"3-D Printing","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?tag=3-d-printing"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2910,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=2910","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":4},"title":"CCT Doesn’t Predict Circadian Impact","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"January 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Two of my IES Color Committee friends and colleagues, Tony Esposito and Kevin Houser, have just published a paper in Scientific Reports that looks at the common assumption that CCT can be used to assess circadian entrainment and other biological impacts of light. The assumption by many is that high\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Calculations"","block_context":{"text":"Calculations","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":933,"url":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?p=933","url_meta":{"origin":178,"position":5},"title":"CIDA Publishes New Definition of Interior Design","author":"Jason Livingston","date":"February 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a lighting design blog, but many of my students are interior designers, so I'm going to speak to them for a moment with interesting news. The Council for Interior Design Qualification has updated the definition of Interior Design. The short definition is: Interior design encompasses the analysis, planning,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Design"","block_context":{"text":"Design","link":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/?cat=18"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions\/180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/designinglight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}