February 18, 2009

Design Build for Green Buildings - Integrated Delivery of an Integrated Idea

Green design and construction is leading the charge of new design approaches in almost every section of the building industry. The successful execution of a green building project, or more specifically a LEED certified project, entails a more integrated approach throughout both the design and construction processes.

A key component of green design is the merging of the architectural and engineering design effort to yield a more holistic design. The better the team coordination, the greater the opportunities to deliver a high-performance building. Another movement in the industry is in project delivery. Design\Build and partnering have become much more commonplace project execution techniques even in public sector projects. Design\build seeks to gain time and cost efficiencies by merging the lines between design and construction. Given that both philosophies - green buildings and design\build - have the integration of services at their core, it is only natural that the two would also merge in the delivery of projects. This program will highlight some of the key ideas, elements and issues that are inherent in both approaches and where and how they interface on a project.

Speaker: E. Mitchell Swann, P.E.
MDC Systems, LLC
Berwyn, PA (Philadelphia)

Mr. Swann has over 20 years of experience in the areas of management, engineering and construction for a wide array of clients in diverse industries in the USA and abroad. Mr. Swann's career has included dispute resolution, consultation, forensic analysis, engineering design, construction, commissioning, validation and troubleshooting for complex mechanical, instrumentation, electrical and control systems for high-tech industrial, institutional and commercial clients. Mr. Swann's experience has included system design from concept development through construction, operations troubleshooting, master planning and expert witness consulting. He has served as liaison between the design and construction team during multiple projects and has been responsible for the successful field execution of the design intent, the start-up of critical building systems. He is well versed in the various types of project execution approaches from traditional bid\spec to design\build and has prepared proposals and scope documents for all types of projects.

Mr. Swann has authored several articles on issues in professional practice including the "Standard of Care and Consequential Damages" and is a co-author of the "ASHRAE Survival Guide to Design\Build." Mr. Swann is active in several Technical Committees within ASHARE, including TC 1.7-General Business, Management and Legal Education, TC 2.8-Sustainable Design, TC 9.10-Laboratory Systems and TC 9.11-Clean Spaces where he served as Chair for two terms. He is also a member of ISPE and the ABA where he is vice-chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section Committee on Construction.