Projects Archives - Page 4 of 5

Integrated Project Delivery: Changing the Insurance Landscape

By Lynda

With more project owners demanding the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM), project delivery is necessarily carried out through greater contributions of design input by the general contractor and the major trade subcontractors. The design professionals are no longer the sole authors of the project design. This collaborative project delivery method has been called integrated project delivery (IPD). The contribution of design input from each of the various project players using IPD is a significant break from the traditional division of responsibility recognized in the standard design-bid-build project delivery method. Players who never participated in the project design now face potential risk of professional liability. Additionally, the new, cutting-edge technologies being used for BIM expand the types of risks born by the design professional if there are errors and omissions within the computer modeling system or the improper management of the computerized data.

What is BIM?

BIM involves computerized design software tools that help create a model that reflects all of the building components’ geometric and functional qualities. The general contractor and trade subcontractors provide product-specific information for building components and that data is inputted into the model, including performance specifications, connection details and cost data. However, the model is more than a mere representation of the design in a three-dimensional computer graphic. Embedded within the design programs are rules that define each of the components’ relation to the other components. Continue reading “Integrated Project Delivery: Changing the Insurance Landscape”

South Coast Architects wins 2012 Gold Nugget Award

By Lynda

Congratulations to a/e ProNet client South Coast Architects of Newport Beach, CA on their Gold Nugget Grand Award for Best Custom Home over 10,000 sq. ft.

The winning design was the McKeever Residence (La Quinta, CA). South Coast Architects shares this acknowledgement with the Builder (Discovery), the Land Planner (SJA Landscape Architects), and the Interior Designer (McKeever & Company)

Judges’ Statement:

This home was built to evoke an ancient Roman village evolving through time. The Signature of this home is expansive courtyard that allows for interaction and indoor/ outdoor living from the majority of rooms in the home. These include the great room, dining area, kitchen, entry foyer, owner’s bedroom suite and second floor game room and guest suite. The home is uncompromising, both in its classic Italian architecture with Tuscan farmhouse influence and functional considerations to desert/golf lifestyle. A defined, three-level tower anchors the courtyard along with an inspiring, multiple-arched open air bridge flanked by two exterior stair cases linking the two distinct wings of this home. The classic designed pool becomes the central focal point of the courtyard. The result of the interaction of rooms with the courtyard creates the feeling of an ancient Italian village where the central courtyard becomes the gathering place. But this is only half the story, once you enter the home you are greeted by a breathtaking view of the golf course and picturesque desert mountains beyond the courtyard. The homes central living area is
uncompromising in its indoor/outdoor lifestyle, accentuated by a series of disappearing doors. With the drama of the courtyard, the indoor/outdoor living provided by the floor plan, the attention to uncompromising architectural detailing, this home has optimized golf/desert lifestyle living with a old world philosophy.

The 49th annual Gold Nugget Awards were handed out at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference (PCBC) late last month at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. The conference, according to the organization’s website, is a “gathering of America’s most prominent residential builders, developers, architects,” etc. The Gold Nugget Awards “honor creative achievements in architectural design and land use planning for residential, commercial and industrial projects.” You can download the full booklet of 2012 Gold Nugget Award winners at the PCBC website.

The Impact of Sub Consultants in the Design Build Process

By Lynda

The Perspective of the Fire Protection Engineer

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a collaborative alliance of people, systems, business structures and practices into a process that harnesses the talents and insights of all participants. Its aim is to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication, and construction. The most popular method of IPD is Design-Build, one of the most significant trends in design and construction in the U.S. today.

The Design-Build Team works under a single contract with the project owner to provide design and construction services: one entity, one contract, one unified flow of work from initial concept through completion. It consists of many players, including the General Contractor, Architect, Engineering Consultants, and a variety of sub contractors. Collectively, the team has the knowledge and expertise to complete a project from start to finish and each team member is equally important in the outcome of the project.

The role of the specialty sub-consultant is no different. For example, the Fire Protection Engineer (FPE) is a critical member of the Design-Build Team, and provides comprehensive input and guidance on all aspects of fire and life safety for the project. This includes, but is not limited to, building code analysis, water supply, smoke control, fire department access, exiting, and an analysis of the active and passive fire protection systems.

From an FPE’s perspective, the design-build process can be broken down into four separate and distinct phases: the teaming phase, the pre-proposal phase, post-award phase, and the construction phase.

Teaming Phase

The client should understand the value of the FPE in the teaming phase and that communicating with the key individuals responsible for selecting the team is a priority. Generally, the people responsible for selecting team members are the general contractor’s project manager, project estimator or the project architect. They may or may not be familiar with the value that the FPE provides so it is important to reaffirm the FPE’s role. Other disciplines can contribute to fire protection and life safety, but none of them take the total fire protection and life safety perspective that an FPE does. Continue reading “The Impact of Sub Consultants in the Design Build Process”

Pinterest Pride: An Homage

By Lynda

a/e ProNet has been an advocate for architects, engineers, and other design consultants for more than 20 years. This advocacy includes an abiding interest in protecting the integrity and sanctity of the products delivered by design professionals. We’re proud of what our clients can do and have done to better and beautify communities across the globe.

Taking that pride one step further, we’ve created a Pinterest board dedicated to showcasing the fantastic designs of our ProNet Members’ clients!

Buildings, bridge, amphitheaters, parks, homes, aqueducts, highways, theme parks, wineries, storefronts, and resorts surround and inspire us daily. But as Peter W. Jones, AIA, President of AIA Florida recently reminded us, “Behind every magnificent structure is an architect who helped create it.” In fact, behind every magnificent structure is a team of imaginative, experienced professionals who worked together to meet that goal. And we’re proud to say that many of those professionals are the clients of our members.

If you love design, follow our Pinterest board today!

Right of Set-off on Unrelated Projects

By Lynda

The following is an excerpt for the most recent ProNet Guest Essay by Frank L. Pohl, Esq. and James C. Washburn, Esq.:

“Frequently, general contractors will work with the same subcontractor or supplier on two separate, unrelated projects. When that happens, the situation may arise that on the first project (Project A), the subcontractor defaults on its contract, resulting in a back-charge that exceeds the subcontractor’s contract balance, i.e. the subcontractor owes the general contractor money. On the second project (Project B), the subcontractor satisfactorily completed its work and is due money from the general contractor. It may seem obvious that the general contractor would have a right of set-off, allowing the general contractor to deduct the amount due from the subcontractor on Project A from the amount that the general contractor otherwise owes the subcontractor on Project B. Seemingly, the general contractor should only have to pay the net difference or be able to avoid paying the subcontractor anything if the back-charge on Project A exceeds the amount due on Project B. However, as outlined in this article, that seemingly straight-forward right to “net out” the competing claims might not always be available.

“There are several different factors that can frustrate the general contractor’s right of set-off. In some jurisdictions, state statutes may prohibit the general contractor from withholding from the subcontractor the amounts received from the owner for the subcontractor’s work, such statutes holding that those funds are held in trust for the benefit of the subcontractor. Some states might even find the withholding of funds received by the owner for the subcontractor’s work to be statutorily criminal. On projects covered by a payment bond, courts in some jurisdictions have held that even if the general contractor has a contractual right to set-off, the Surety may not. As a result, in those jurisdictions, notwithstanding the contractor’s contractual right of set-off, the subcontractor may be entitled to recover the full amount on Project B (from our scenario above) from the Surety without any deduction of the amounts the subcontractor owes on Project A. Given that the general contractor must almost always indemnify the Surety, such a result has the practical effect of eliminating the contractual benefit of a right of set-off. Additionally, in certain circumstances, by the discretion afforded to judges under the rules of civil procedure, courts have required the two competing claims to be handled by separate lawsuits independently and without regard to the general contractor’s claim of set-off. This article discusses these scenarios and others that impact the right of set-off.”

To continue reading, download a the full PDF version of this article at our website.

About the Authors:

Frank L. Pohl, Esq. and James C. Washburn, Esq. are partners in the law firm of Pohl & Short, P.A. in Winter Park, Florida. Pohl & Short, P.A. is a business boutique law firm concentrating in four main areas of business law: commercial litigation, real estate law, corporate law and trusts and estates. Mr. Pohl has been advising clients involved in all aspects of real estate development for over 30 years. Mr. Washburn practices construction law and is Board Certified in Construction Law by The Florida Bar.

This article is intended for general discussion of the subject, and should not be mistaken for legal advice. Readers are cautioned to consult appropriate advisors for advice applicable to their individual circumstances.

ProNet Client Project Profile: SkyVue Observation Wheel – Las Vegas, NV

By Lynda

There’s something happening in Vegas, and we’re happy to break the rules and share the event here. Construction began in earnest yesterday on the new 500-foot SkyVue observation wheel across from Mandalay Bay, a project for which ProNet client Wallace Morris Surveying, Inc. is providing engineering services.

More than 100 concrete trucks rumbled in before dawn on Thursday, March 1 to pour the foundation. Per the Las Vegas Sun:

The five-hour process, which began at 2 a.m., sets the stage for building the $200 million project that will change the landscape of the southern Las Vegas Strip.

Developer Howard Bulloch said passersby would see the wheel take shape this summer but the venue won’t open until July 2013.

“We have to build the wheel first before we build the retail building below,” he said.

The retail portion will include seven food-court options, five sit-down restaurants and a dozen stores ranging from clothing outfitters to electronics, Bulloch said. Developers declined to identify the establishments but said they would be recognizable names.

A 30-minute ride will take visitors 50 feet higher than Mandalay Bay with views facing north on the Strip.

The construction climate in Las Vegas has been notoriously sketchy since the global economic downturn in 2008, but Bulloch is pledging to see this project through to completion. Certainly, the SkyVue Observation Wheel will be a flashy ornament to the legendary city’s skyline, including 32 gondolas, each seating 24 people, and a 50,000-square-foot LED sign which will project from the wheel’s center. But better still, the wheel will ultimately employ a full-time staff of 500. Click here to see renderings of the envisioned project.

Congratulations, WMS!

Wallace Morris Surveying, Inc. (WMS) is dedicated to delivering professional land surveying services throughout Nevada and Arizona with a highly skilled professional team working together. It is also our mission to exceed your needs by dedicating to you a Professional Land Surveyor with years of surveying experience, respecting your need for timely services and by having the expert you hire be the actual person working on your survey. (Excerpted from the firm’s bio on the WMS website.)

Professional Liability Insurance Survey – Engineering, Inc.

By Lynda

For architects, engineers and other design consultants, Professional Liability insurance (Errors & Omissions insurance) can seem like an annual headache. Once a year the app gets dropped in your lap; thus begins a process that, at times, seems fairly–er–intimate.

Cue the bright lights.

Report your billings! Tell us how many jobs you’ve completed! What kinds of projects did you do? What percentage of your billings went to subcontractors? How many employees left your firm? Describe your loss history!

Contracts require the coverage, so there’s no getting around the process, but does it really need to feel like you’re getting the third degree? Is the requested information that important?

According to the 2011 ACEC/AIA/NSPE annual Professional Liability insurance survey of carriers, Professional Liability insurance premium “rates depend largely on four main characteristics:”

Annual Billings
Type of Practice
Claims History
Project Types

So, yes. Your application matters every year. Your insurance broker will take this year’s application and place it side by side with last year’s. This can provide the kind of overarching perspective needed to secure fair renewal terms for your firm, both from your current insurance company and from other companies for your comparison. It’s a drill, certainly, but it can save you money and ensure that your firm is appropriately covered based on its unique practice.

Insurance premiums are often a major part of a design firm’s overhead, and the most commonly asked question at renewal time is usually, “Will my professional liability premium be going up this year?”

For an accurate answer, it’s best to go to the source. Sixteen Professional Liability insurance providers responded to the survey mentioned earlier; among them are several of a/e ProNet’s sponsors, including:

RLI, Travelers, Victor O. Schinnerer, Liberty, Beazley, Catlin, HCC

The results of the survey are broken down and explained in the most recent issue of Engineering, Inc. (an ACEC publication); these include some interesting projections about the future of Professional Liability insurance, its underwriting parameters and its premiums.

Though experts do not expect the long-sustained “soft market” to change dramatically, “about half of the carriers that responded… anticipate a slight increase this year. Seventy-five percent of respondents expect price hikes in 2013.”

The full article is available along with the rest of the Engineering, Inc. Jan/Feb 2012 issue here. It goes on to address several more important insurance renewal questions, including:

How do I pick a Professional Liability insurance provider?
What limits should I purchase? How high should my deductible be?
If my business is down, why should I continue to carry Professional Liability insurance?
What steps can I take to keep my premium down as the design and construction industries continue to recover?

The full results of the 2011 ACEC/AIA/NSPE annual Professional Liability Insurance survey of carriers will soon also be available at the ACEC website.

ProNet Client Project Profile: A Dramatic SF Luxury Apt. Redo

By Lynda

a/e ProNet client Andrew Skurman Architects recently handled the interior redesign of a five-bedroom apartment in one of San Francisco’s loveliest buildings. The following is an excerpt from the article in the February 2012 issue of Architectural Digest:

“Skurman began by gutting the five-bedroom space, carving out a new master wing with his-and-her studies, dressing rooms, and baths, as well as a single sizable bedroom. He also softened the apartment’s straight lines by designing an oval entrance hall with a ceiling dome, adding another dome in the master bedroom, and constructing a graceful apse in the library. Like many classic Beaux Arts apartments, the Shansbys’ home now has gently curved crown moldings and elegant plasterwork, with fluted pilasters surrounding the doors and windows. (The dining room’s etched-mirror moldings, inlay, and door panels are the only details that survive from the preexisting interiors, which were designed by Valerian Rybar and Jean-François Daigre.)”

You can read the rest of the Architectural Digest article here.

Andrew Skurman Architects, an award-winning residential architectual design firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area, designs some of the most striking, sophisticated and architecturally appealing custom houses and interiors being built today. The firm specializes in residences inspired by the classical architectural traditions of French châteaux, Mediterranean villas and Georgian country houses. We draw from our extensive architectural library of European & American design and work closely with our clients to identify historical precedents that meet their needs, tastes and lifestyle. (Excerpted from the firm’s bio on the Andrew Skurman Architects website.)

Green Projects

By Lynda

By now, most architects and engineers know that green projects are special. They require close attention to a different set of details, further education regarding materials and relevant research, and possibly an enhanced caution when it comes to contracts. You know this. But does your insurance broker?

The following is an excerpt from a newsletter authored by a/e ProNet member Meade Collinsworth of Collinsworth, Alter, Fowler & French, LLC in Miami Lakes, Florida.

“The more I read and research this topic, the more concerned I become with the potential for uninsured claims that can arise out of these projects. In fact, a “green project” is not just another project! I think the very first place that you should begin to review the exposures that arise from green projects would be your client contracts. It is absolutely essential that all contractors review their contracts prior to signing them in order to understand their rights and responsibilities in order to mitigate misunderstandings. This is the reason I am going to concentrate on the contract review process in this articles as I believe this will assist you in meeting your due diligence needs on green projects.”

The full-length PDF version of the article can be found at our website, here.