UT School of Nursing and Student Center

Photo credit: BNIM Architects

Team & Process

Predesign

An open, integrated process was the key element that transformed the design from an idea into the building that exists today. To fully comprehend what was possible, an unusually high level of participation from the client and users was required; 17 firms and an equally large client group worked in collaboration from the beginning. At every level, preconceptions and concepts for what a building like this should be were rigorously tested to insure that the strategies were consistent with the vision for constructing a building that would last at least 100 years.

The project began with a series of goals set by the University for creating a building and landscape that would be a model for integrating building purpose, program, and academics. The underlying principle was to realize financial savings that would make it possible to redirect money otherwise required for infrastructure to the core mission of the University, the cultivation of knowledge. Based on these principles, the building was designed and constructed with a number of goals:

• To endure for more than 100 years, therefore facilitating adaptive reuse.
• To lift the spirit of the dwellers with interior spaces that capitalize on daylighting, radiate simple elegance, reflect timeless design, and are welcoming and comfortable.
• To respect its surrounding and thus create an academic climate that inspires creativity, collaboration, collegiality, and learning.
• To minimize the negative effect of the structure on its natural site.
• To incorporate the best workmanship by partnering with companies that use only proven, state-of-the-art equipment and materials.
• To sustain economic efficiencies by mandating that utility costs be 70% lower than those of the School of Public Health and, concurrently, by targeting actual construction costs not to exceed 105% of the costs of a conventionally constructed building.
• To incorporate all natural opportunities presented by the physical site and to design economy into long-term maintenance and operational costs.
• To extol the indigenous environment by landscaping exterior spaces with plants and trees that are natural to the Houston area and require minimal care, chemical treatment, and water.
• To focus on nontoxic materials and to take advantage of renewable energy sources wherever health and economy are concerns, and to apply life-cycle costing to arrive at these decisions.
• To use, to the fullest extent possible, natural, recycled, and reclaimed materials from sources and manufacturers in Texas.
• To incorporate into the infrastructure systems that ensure efficient use of resources and drive recycling.

The team understood that various building systems and their components contribute individually and collectively to the project’s overall sustainability and, thus, the design became deeply rooted in this interconnectivity.

Design

The design of the building itself was an inclusive process that utilized a holistic design methodology. The initial kickoff meeting included more than 50 participants—each necessary for the evaluation of the program or the representation of a specific discipline. The formulation of the design concept began in that initial session.

Each major building system was considered, and potential solutions brainstormed, by an integrated team of users, facilities staff, construction managers, engineers, and architects. This rigorous process continued through the life of the design with the constant intention of achieving the idea as efficiently and elegantly as possible. Throughout this process, the team made a conscientious effort to design to the budget.

Commissioning

The project team conducted baseline commissioning, ensuring that all building systems performed according to project requirements and operational needs. The team documented project requirements beginning in the design phase and continuing through construction.

The client is procuring ongoing building commissioning in order to verify performance for submittal to the U.S. Green Building Council for LEED(r) certification.

Primary Design Team Members

previous topic: Overview

next topic: Finance

Our thanks to the ENERGY STAR program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and to the U.S. Department of Energy, and to BuildingGreen, Inc. for hosting the submission and judging forms.

For more information about the AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects, contact AIA/COTE. For help on how to use this Web site, contact .