Crafting Community Through Art: A Murals Update

Detail view, north mural of the Lane Community College Health Professions Building by Jessilyn Brinkerhoff (photos by me unless otherwise noted).

Last year, I shared my experience serving on the jury tasked with selecting an artist to create murals for Lane Community College’s new Health Professions Building. I’m pleased to report that the project has come to life in vibrant and meaningful ways.

The jury selected LCC alumna Jessilyn Brinkerhoff, whose proposal (titled Networks of Knowledge) stood out for its thoughtful integration of natural forms, human connection, and educational themes.

Drawing inspiration from her studies in biology and art at LCC and the University of Oregon, Jessilyn’s work weaves together rivers, roots, wings, and fingerprints into a visual language that speaks to growth, movement, and community. 

Mural panels at the Northeast corner and entry portico.

West elevation.

Mural panels at south entry portico.

Now nearing completion, the murals span multiple walls, both interior and exterior, using a complementary palette that harmonizes with the building’s architecture. The result is a series of compositions that are both grounded in place and expansive in meaning.

In-progress view of one of the interior mural panels at the building's Main Stair (photo by Lane Community College). 

As I mentioned in my initial piece about the artist selection process, the architectural team (Robertson/Sherwood/Architects with Mahlum Architects) always envisioned the murals as conceived for, dependent upon, and inseparable from the building and its context. That context includes the Health Professions Building’s function as a campus “gateway.” The north-facing mural catches your attention as you drive along 30^th Avenue. As intended, it and the other panels further reward closer inspection, revealing increased levels of detail while drawing visitors and students toward and through the building. 

I took the opportunity this past week to photograph the nearly complete murals. The images here offer a glimpse into how public art can enrich a campus environment and reflect the values of the institution it serves. 

Crafting Community Through Art

Lane Community College Health Professions Building nearing completion. The violet-blue stucco panels are where the intended murals will be located.

It is my privilege to be a member of the selection jury tasked with identifying the artist or team of artists who will create large-scale murals for the new Lane Community College Health Professions Building (HPB). The selection process, now underway, is both exhilarating and challenging. Fundamentally, the process for selecting the right muralist(s) for the building is about choosing work that will resonate with both the college and the greater community, tell a story, and enhance the campus in a meaningful way.

The 11-member jury includes representatives from the Health Professions Division, the Visual Arts Department, the Performing Arts Department, and the Facilities Management & Planning office, bringing together a wealth of perspectives to the table.

For my part, as the project manager for the building’s design team I will help ensure the architectural concept is fully realized. From the very beginning, the incorporation of large murals has been central to our design—integrated art that is both site-specific and holistic. Particularly for the exterior installations, which will be up to 30 feet tall, we envision work that will captivate viewers from a distance (such as drivers on 30th Avenue) and invite closer inspection. We want the future murals to serve both spatial and symbolic roles, inseparable from the building’s architecture and drawing people into their narrative. Unlike "plop art," which is often autonomous and detached from its surroundings, the murals will be conceived for, dependent upon, and inseparable from the building and its context. They will engage viewers, drawing them into the building's spatial narrative and creating a dialogue between the artwork and the architecture. The murals will be essential components of the building and a vital part of the structure’s identity.

Rendering of the building depicting the concept of mural art in the north portico.

The call for applications, detailing a $110,000 budget inclusive of all costs, emphasized the need for unity, a sense of welcome to the campus, and a representation of diversity, equity, and inclusion. These criteria ensure that the selected murals will not only beautify the HPB but also embody the values of Lane Community College.

The jury’s task began with a flood of creativity: 139 artists (or teams of artists) submitted portfolios through the art call management tool, CaFÉ. Despite its occasional clunkiness, CaFÉ is invaluable for its consistency and fairness, ensuring that every artist has an equal opportunity to present their work and that our reviews are standardized.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this process has been seeing the diversity and quality of the submitted portfolios. Each is a window into an artist’s world, showcasing their unique style, vision, and interpretation of what the murals could bring to the LCC campus. The initial review stage, in which we scored each submission with a simple “yes,” “no,” or “maybe,” allowed us to sift through this vast array of talent and creativity. Each "yes" or "maybe" represents a piece of art that could potentially transform the building and impact the community.

Examples from the submitted artists' portfolios:

As of this writing, we have successfully winnowed down the number of candidates from 139 to twenty-two. Discriminating between higher and lower-ranked submissions among the semi-finalists will require plenty of deliberation. The subjective nature of art means that what resonates with me might not with my fellow jurors. This is where the scoring system, now ranging from one to seven (seven being the most preferred), comes into play. While it will help in quantifying our preferences, it will also bring to light the nuanced differences in our perceptions and priorities.

We are meeting again next week to further reduce the list to three or four finalists, who we will then ask to present site-specific design proposals. This next phase is particularly exciting because it will involve seeing the artists’ visions come to life in the context of our building’s design. To support this, LCC will provide stipends to the shortlisted candidates, recognizing the time and effort required to develop their concepts. Our schedule will require delivery of the finalists’ proposals for our review sometime in September. If all goes to plan, the installation of the murals will occur a year from now during the 2025 summer break.

The final choice of the project’s muralist(s) will be a culmination of thorough review and collective deliberation. Personally, I find it incredibly rewarding to further contribute to a project that will leave a lasting mark on the LCC campus and beyond to the broader community. The murals that will eventually grace the HPB will be a testament to the diverse voices and visions that came together to make the building possible.

The goal of LCC’s public art selection process has been clear from the get-go: to use a credible methodology that emphasizes inclusion, community development, and consensus building. This is not just about choosing a muralist; it’s about engaging the community in a meaningful dialogue about art and its role in public spaces. It is a journey of discovery, collaboration, and celebration. It’s about finding art that will not only enhance the Health Professions Building but also enrich the lives of those who encounter it. As a member of the jury, I’m proud to be part of this journey.

Construction Site Tour

 
The Robertson/Sherwood/Architects team during our construction tour of the new Lane Community College Health Professions Building.

The Robertson/Sherwood/Architects staff recently toured the new Health Professions Building (HPB) project under construction on the Lane Community College main campus. As the design team’s project manager, I led the tour, helping to explain what is now coming together very quickly.
 
For emerging design professionals, the opportunity to visit projects under construction—particularly those they were involved with during the design phase—is of immeasurable benefit. Seeing construction in progress provides them with a tangible link between what they do in the office and its practical application. Construction site tours help them understand why coordination, communication and teamwork are so important, why mastering fundamental building technology principles is critical, and why even relatively modest jobs are more complex than they may seem at first blush.  

 

Kyle Stucky of Fortis Construction (right center) demonstrating the in-field use of OpenSpace AI to compare actual construction progress with the coordinated BIM model.

Joining us on our tour were Kyle Stucky, superintendent for Fortis Construction, and Mike Zimmerman, project coordinator for Lane Community College. The two provided invaluable insights into the project’s challenges, nuances, and opportunities from the Contractor’s and Owner’s perspective, respectively. They mentioned how the entire HPB team has been able to adapt and find solutions to unforeseen issues as they arose—real-world examples of the inevitable challenges posed by construction projects. Having Kyle and Mike on hand helped stress the importance of our relationships with all members of the project team.
 
Office site tours certainly provide a beneficial feedback loop between the design and construction phases. Every design decision directly impacts the construction outcome, so seeing actual construction in progress (ideally at key intervals), provides an iterative process that contributes to a holistic understanding of the entire project lifecycle. The fact so many different building systems are currently being installed in the HPB project was especially helpful.

 

Me explaining details of the exterior envelope mockup.

If anything, given how much there is to learn from each tour, we fail to conduct as many of them as we should. The value inherent in the practical insights gained strongly favor them. Visiting construction sites provides our team members with not only an education, but also a sense of accomplishment as they see their designs come to life. This firsthand experience contributes to personal and professional satisfaction, motivating our staff to continually strive for excellence in their work.

 

Another shot of the RSA team, this time in front of the new LCC Health Professions Building under construction.

The HPB project is on its home stretch now, with completion targeted for this May. The RSA staff will likely visit it together one more time, perhaps just prior to the building’s occupancy, to see how everything has come together. Again, there will be lessons to be learned as we’ll be able to gauge how well the design has achieved its goal of being an exemplary facility for the LCC Health Professions Division.

LCC Health Professions Building

Sunrise over the Lane Community College campus.

I have enjoyed the opportunity to work on a variety of significant projects throughout my career. The latest is the new Health Professions Building (HPB) for Lane Community College. Now under construction, it has proven to be one of the most rewarding assignments I have ever had the pleasure to be involved with.

Lane County voters passed a general obligation bond in May 2020 to fund the project, as well as an assortment of campus-wide improvements addressing classroom needs, safety and accessibility deficiencies, workforce retraining, and Career Technical Education. The HPB will provide space for the college’s Dental Assisting and Dental Hygiene programs, Medical Assistant program, and Emergency Medical Technician program, in addition to the administrative offices for the Health Professions Division. Beyond providing the programs with state-of-the-art teaching facilities, the key project goals include prominently showcasing the LCC health & wellness community and improving visual and physical connections with the overall campus.

My office, Robertson/Sherwood/Architects pc (RSA) teamed with our frequent collaborators at Mahlum Architects to secure the project. RSA is serving the role of executive architect/architect-of-record, providing project oversight, technical expertise, and leadership to ensure an integrated project process, while Mahlum provided the design muscle. As with our previous collaborations, the split of project duties and our associated fees shifted from greater involvement by Mahlum during programming, Conceptual Design, and Schematic Design, through a more equal division of labor during Design Development and Construction Documents, to heavier responsibilities for RSA during the permitting and Construction Contract Administration phases. For all intents and purposes, we have functioned as a single office on the Health Professions Building project rather than as two separate firms.

Our team additionally includes the following consultants:

• CAPITALEngineering (civil)
• Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture & Planning (landscape)
• Catena Consulting Engineers (structural)
• Interface Engineering (mechanical/plumbing)
• Stantec (electrical)
• Brightworks (sustainability)
• Studio Pacifica (accessibility)
• Rider Levett Bucknall (costs)

The first phase of the project involved site selection, extensive stakeholder engagement, confirmation of the functional program, and conceptual design. LCC formed a Steering Committee—comprised of college and Health Professions Division administrators and Facilities & Maintenance staff—to function as the decision makers. The entire project team developed a mission statement, which reads as follows:

“The new Health Professions Building will be a center for excellence, supporting Lane County in the responsible stewardship of our investment to co-locate critical applied learning programs, to train the health professionals of tomorrow, and to center equity and inclusion as a core value in the process.”

A touchstone throughout this initial phase was LCC’s metrics for success. These metrics were:

• The degree to which the new building succeeds as a tool for teaching and learning.
• Whether the project effectively reflects LCC’s core values.
• The project’s visibility and accessibility; and
• Whether the community’s bond dollars were spent efficiently and wisely.

Campus map showing the various sites considered during the site selection process.

The site selection process proved eye-opening. We studied several candidate sites, but the Steering Committee ultimately chose one that wasn’t initially on anyone’s radar screen. While more challenging to work with than the others, Site N.3 (as we dubbed it) offered the potential of being “transformational” for LCC. Its potential as a highly visible and symbolic gateway on the north side of the core campus, while providing clear circulation and visual connections to it, proved most compelling. Constructing the building there would reinforce and more clearly reveal the existing campus open space framework. Site N.3’s limitations (which included its constrained area, narrow proportions, and web of existing buried utilities) were not so onerous as to outweigh its considerable promise.

Mahlum’s resultant design concept is largely shaped by the selection of Site N.3. Circulation to and through the building from all directions is a primary form-giver, with both north- and south-facing main entry porches linked by a central lobby. The scale of the north porch is grand, a two-story tall portico providing a vast canvas for a future mural that will be prominently visible from 30th Avenue. The south entrance leads to a new campus plaza and a soon-to-be-installed pedestrian bridge connecting to Bristow Square in the heart of the campus.

Rendering of the north-facing elevation. Note the proposed mural within the portico.

The second phase of design developed this concept in detail. Our team went to great lengths to optimize the program areas, while being attentive to budget limitations exacerbated by cost escalation within the construction industry (the project’s current Guaranteed Maximum Price is $26,588,920). We organized the building’s layout, structural system, and exterior expression in accordance with the 40' grid that overlays the entire campus, an artifact of the mid-century planning principles that governed its initial form. Mahlum further broke the 40' grid down to three sections of 13’-4”. This smaller module presents a more human-centered scale, further subdivided into 4' segments that better align with typical building product dimensions and construction practices. The overall design effect is at once unique but also consonant with the new building’s campus neighbors.

Inside, the design further emphasizes connections and crossovers between the Dental Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Medical Assistant, and EMT programs, which are arrayed across 31,280 square feet on three floors. Space for breakout groups and chance interactions between students will be available throughout the building. The second phase of the design process afforded the Steering Committee the opportunity to reassess and refine programmatic needs considering budget factors, departmental relationships, scale, and the appropriate sizing of spaces.

LCC set a goal of LEED certification at the Gold level, utilizing design strategies that are practical, cost-effective, and low maintenance. Toward this end, our design emphasizes indoor air quality and thermal comfort, optimizes use of materials with limited life-cycle impacts, takes advantage of daylight and quality views, and maximizes energy performance. The HVAC design consists of a Dedicated Outside Air System (DOAS) with energy recovery and fan-coil units for zone heating and cooling. Interface Engineering used computer software to model the performance of the mechanical system, which is projected to provide annual energy savings of 22 percent compared to a comparable multi-zone variable air volume system. Overall, the project is on track to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Rendering of the proposed multipurpose classroom.

Rendering of the future dental clinic.

Fortis Construction is the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) for the project. From the outset of their involvement at the beginning of Phase 2, the company provided invaluable cost estimating, value engineering, constructability review, and design coordination assistance. They’ve been tremendous and exemplary team members; I cannot commend them highly enough. Their technical savvy is second to none: Fortis exploits the benefits of digital coordination and collaboration tools, including clash detection software, reality capture on the construction jobsite, and customizable markup, measurement, and document management processes.

Construction progress - December 2023 

Thanks to Fortis’ diligence, the HPB is on schedule for completion in May of this year, coinciding with my planned departure from professional practice. Once in use, I am confident it will long and beneficially serve the Health Professions’ students, faculty, and the broader Lane County community, fulfilling the vision outlined by LCC. Because this is the last substantial project I will have a major hand in, I am especially grateful to have been part of its genesis and realization. The LCC Health Professions Building is a design truly marked by collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to excellence.

The Challenge of Budget Constraints

Cost limitations are an almost universal challenge in construction projects. Owners typically have a predetermined budget for their project, so the realities of construction costs force them to make difficult decisions about project scope, quality, or even whether the project can proceed. To address cost limitations, owners may need to work closely with their architects and contractors to identify effective solutions.
 
While architects like to boast that creativity thrives within constraints and need not be compromised, my experience has taught me that successful cost management usually demands more than the architect alone can deliver. Open communication and collaboration between the owner, architect, and contractor from the project’s inception are clearly effective strategies for maximizing the value of construction projects. Consequently, the choice of project delivery method may be the single most impactful consideration influencing the outcome of a building project, particularly in terms of cost.
 
There are various project delivery methods in common usage today, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The architect typically works closely with the owner to select the one that best aligns with the project budget and expectations.
 
Design-Bid-Build (DBB): In this traditional method, the architect completes the design before the project goes out for bid. While it provides a clear picture of the final design, it can be challenging to control costs once construction begins. The use of bid alternates—optional elements that can be added to or removed from the project—is a common practice for providing flexibility in the project pricing and decision-making processes. Including bid alternates means that some elements of the design are inherently uncertain until after bidding is complete.
 
Design-Build (DB): In the design-build approach, a single entity handles both design and construction, providing a “turnkey” service for the owner. This method can streamline the process but may limit the architect's control over the project's budget and design.
 
Construction Management (CM): Construction management involves hiring a construction manager to oversee the project. It can provide more control over costs and scheduling but requires architects to work closely with multiple parties. The CM often additionally functions as the General Contractor, in which instances the method is referred to as the CM/GC project delivery method.
 
Integrated Project Delivery (IPD): IPD promotes collaboration between all project stakeholders from the beginning and in its characteristic usage is applied on particularly large and complex projects with high sustainability goals. It can lead to better cost control and design outcomes but requires a high level of coordination.
 
According to a 2018 article in Construction Dive, design-bid-build remains the most widely used construction model; however, my anecdotal accounting suggests DB, CM, IPD and other alternative project delivery methods are since rapidly usurping the dominance of DBB.
 
The choice of which delivery method is best depends on a project’s specific needs and goals and requires a thorough understanding of the key attributes of the various methods. That said, design and construction are notoriously complex undertakings, more so with each passing year. Even seemingly modest projects can benefit from using DB, CM, or IPD instead of the conventional Design-Bid-Build process. This is particularly true when budget considerations are paramount.
 
Effective value engineering, risk assessment, regular cost monitoring, contingency planning, and transparency in financial matters and decisions likewise flourish when open communication and collaboration between owners, architects, and contractors exist. Regular and timely evaluation of a project’s scope and design help identify areas where cost savings can be achieved without compromising quality or safety. While not always effortless, such evaluations during the design process are far less painful than ones conducted only after a building’s plans are complete and the bid results are an unwelcome surprise.  
 
Value engineering is a systematic and creative approach to improving the value of a project by optimizing its design, materials, and construction methods. One of the challenges of value engineering is striking the right balance between cost savings and design integrity. Careful assessment of which elements of the design can be modified or substituted without compromising the project's overall vision is necessary. This can be a delicate and often frustrating process as it requires letting go of some design elements that may be personally meaningful or artistically important. Value engineering should not be a one-time event and it should allow for adjustments as new information becomes available or project circumstances change.
 
By working collaboratively, project teams mutually share their expertise. I have a tremendous amount of respect for what contractors bring to the table. Their knowledge and experience are invaluable to the design process, bolstering the argument in favor of one of the delivery methods that is inherently collaborative in nature. Architects (and many owners) tend to be dreamers and visionaries, so bringing contractors—as well as the owner’s facility manager and maintenance team—on board from the beginning injects an often sobering and necessary dose of reality into the design or value engineering processes.  

 

LCC Health Professions Building under construction (my photo)

A useful case study of a collaborative process is the new Lane Community College Health Professions Building, currently under construction. My firm, Robertson/Sherwood/Architects, is the executive architect, while Mahlum Architects is the lead design firm. Fortis Construction is the Construction Manager/General Contractor. From the outset, the 31,280 SF, 3-story project has been strapped by a tight budget. Addressing the cost limitation challenges has truly been a team effort. Fortis provided critical cost evaluation and constructability input throughout the design phase, which ultimately resulted in a solution that is necessarily lean yet fulfills all programmatic requirements. Once complete, the Health Professions Building will provide LCC with the facility it originally envisioned, a new campus gateway centered on equity and inclusion as core values for the college’s Medical Assistant, Dental Assisting, Dental Hygiene, and Emergency Medical Services programs.
 
The disappointments and design compromises that do result from budget constraints can be disheartening, but they are an inevitable part of the design and construction process. Ultimately, the goal is to strike a balance between creativity and fiscal responsibility. While cost limitations may necessitate concessions, they also present opportunities for innovative and collaborative problem-solving in the creation of designs that are both functional and budget friendly.   

Reality Capture on the Construction Jobsite

 
July 5, 2023 construction progress screenshot from OpenAI of the LCC Health Professions Building comparing a photo capture with the corresponding view of the BIM model in Navisworks.

The pace at which innovative technologies are transforming the AEC industry continues to accelerate. I have seen many advancements throughout the course of my career, and several of these have become second nature to how I do my work. The latest high-tech widget I am benefiting from is a 360-degree reality capture tool developed by a company called OpenSpace AI.
 
OpenSpace AI’s Capture tool works by mapping construction jobsite photos to BIM models automatically. The closest analogue I can think of is Google’s Streetview. Like Streetview, operators use 360-degree digital cameras (mounted on top of their hardhats) and simply walk around the project under construction. The technology relies on computer vision to automatically align the images into a single integrated scene, recognize and label key features, and map them to floor plans, for a rich, visual understanding of the captured environment. The result is a comprehensive, time-stamped digital record of the construction site. The app generates a capture coverage “heatmap” to show the path taken and the areas previously documented, helping to plan the next capture path.
 
These digital models can be beneficial as they enable project teams to have a comprehensive understanding of the site, aid in planning and design processes, support clash detection, improve communication among stakeholders, and facilitate progress tracking and documentation.

 

Rendering of the future Lane Community College Health Professions Building

Fortis Construction is using OpenSpace to document as-built conditions throughout the construction of the Lane Community College Health Professions Building, a project designed by a team led by Robertson/Sherwood/Architects with Mahlum Architects. I am serving as principal-in-charge for the $32.8 million project, which will provide new teaching spaces for the college’s Medical Assistant, Dental Hygiene & Dental Assistant, and Emergency Medical Services programs. The new building will open its doors in May of 2024.

What access to OpenSpace means for me is that I can stay on top of the building’s progress from anywhere by virtually touring the worksite as if I were physically present. Next to being there in person, the OpenSpace technology is my method of choice for checking a project’s progress, or for defining or solving problems. No matter how many static photographs are available, it is inevitable the one photo you really need will not be among them. OpenSpace largely eliminates that problem, especially if the most recent capture depicts current imagery. At a time when accountability is paramount, OpenSpace provides a superior solution for thorough documentation of construction progress.
 
A key benefit OpenSpace provides is the ability for multiple members of the project team to see the same things at once, while simultaneously comparing them to the BIM model or 2-D plans, sections, or elevations. The software also includes tools that enable anyone to create field notes or flag issues from anywhere, pinning these notes to the floor plan or syncing the imagery with a construction management software platform, such as Procore and its RFI tool. In turn, the app can automatically email RFI notifications to appropriate team members so that responses can be as timely as possible.
 
OpenSpace Track is another function that uses computer vision and machine-learning to recognize, track, and quantify the work in place. I haven’t yet seen this function in use, but OpenSpace claims it makes it easy to compare work completed against a construction schedule with live status dashboards, details views, and the ability to export data to analytics tools. For general contractors, this can help reduce delays and increase productivity.

 

OpenSpace AI’s Vision Engine has potential applications beyond construction projects. Its ability to automatically align images and map them to plans makes it a powerful tool for any industry that requires visual understanding of an environment. For example, it could be used in manufacturing, logistics, or even in the film industry to help with set design and construction.
 
There are alternatives to OpenSpace. Competing platforms include HoloBuilder, Matterport, and StructionSite. I am not familiar with these competing products, so I cannot comment on their features, ease of use, or how truly similar they are to OpenSpace, but a quick glance at their respective websites suggest they are.
 
No, OpenSpace is not sponsoring this blog post. Honestly, I have simply been impressed with the technology, hence my enthusiasm. The bottom line is that a tool as powerful as OpenSpace AI’s Capture helps teams manage construction projects more efficiently, with less risk and greater accuracy. Its ability to provide a complete, as-built record of a building from the time the first shovel of dirt is turned to project handover and operation is a game changer.

Clash Detection

Screenshot of the coordinated Navisworks model for the Lane Community College Health Professions Building, now under construction.

In the parlance of the construction industry a “clash” is the result of two elements in the design of a building unintentionally occupying the same space. An example may be a conflict between a duct and a beam, which both optimally would occur where their respective designers initially intend them to be but cannot. Clash detection is the process of identifying where such conflicts occur and how the systems interfere with one another. Ideally, the project team resolves these clashes before they become an issue in the field.

According to a McKinsey report, almost 30% of the overall construction cost on a typical project is attributable to inefficiencies in productivity and the need to resolve conflicts between the myriad systems that comprise a building. The design and construction processes are inherently complex undertakings, ever more so with each passing year. The probability of conflicts between building systems is only increasing as their complexity grows. Clash detection tools like Navisworks have thus become invaluable: the ability to compile data in a single platform greatly enhances overall coordination of a building’s design, reducing costs in the long run by flagging errors before they become an issue in the field.   

The Sheffield, UK company Lightwork Design Ltd. developed Navisworks back in 1997, eventually selling it to industry giant AutoDesk in 2007. Since then, Navisworks has become a de facto standard in the construction industry. AutoDesk’s Revit software has likewise dominated the Building Information Modeling (BIM) marketplace; the seamless interoperability of Navisworks and Revit has mutually enhanced their wholesale adoption by all members of the project team. I fully expect the two platforms will further converge into a single offering, additionally streamlining already available cloud-based, QA/QC, design collaboration, and integration processes.

In the past, clash detection too often occurred during construction rather than during the design or pre-construction processes. The result was the urgent need for design changes on the spot, inevitably leading to cessation and sometime scrapping of the involved work, with concomitant schedule delays. As you can imagine, such an occurrence comes with significant expense.

There are “hard” clashes and “soft” clashes. A hard clash occurs when two or more components are occupying the same space or otherwise interfering with one another. A soft clash indicates that an object lacks sufficient geometric tolerances; an example is an absence of sufficient space for maintenance purposes around an above-ceiling fan-coil unit. If the building design lacks such space, it triggers a soft clash. Geometry- and rule-based algorithms embedded with the BIM object provide the basis for detecting hard and soft clashes.

 

Clashes also occur in time. For example, failing to coordinate the required installation sequence of various building systems can lead to unnecessary removal and reinstallation of components, consequent wastage, and inevitable delays and cost overruns. Clash detection of this type relies upon the time data project stakeholders embed within the shared model (i.e., when deliveries of critical systems and components to the jobsite will occur).

Clash detection tools work by combining and coordinating many independently generated BIM models, such as those created by the architect, the structural engineer, the mechanical and electrical engineers, and the contractor’s design partners. In my experience, it is primarily the general contractor who coordinates and manages the combined model. Because of this, its use often occurs after the initial design work is complete but before shovels hit the ground. Ideally, all the members of a project team would share a single, federated BIM model as soon as detailed design begins; however, this remains more the exception than the rule (again, in my experience). With the increased proliferation of “non-traditional” project delivery methods (such as Design-Build, Construction Manager/General Contractor, and Integrated Project Delivery), this is changing, and quickly. The upshot is reliance on electronic collaboration and coordination tools, of which clash detection software is prominent, is increasing by leaps and bounds.

Another screenshot from a construction coordination session for the LCC Health Professions Building project. Note the large number of meeting participants. 

As I touched on earlier this year, the future of clash detection will inextricably be tied to developments in artificial intelligence. AI will lead to generative design tools that automatically route ductwork and piping to avoid conflicts with the building structure and other MEP elements. The AI algorithms will save enormous amounts of time. Though Navisworks presently allows stakeholders to comprehensively visualize project data in a coordinated 3D model, they still must resolve any identified conflicts manually. AI will largely obviate this burden by avoiding clashes from the get-go, while optimizing cost, embodied energy, energy performance, code compliance, etc. in the form of immediate and actionable feedback during all stages of design.

My point in writing this post is to offer readers not involved in design and construction a glimpse into one of the activities critical to the success of a building project today. In a nutshell, clash detection is essential to more efficient and error-free construction processes. Clash detection is synonymous with the prompt and seamless transfer of knowledge, design coordination, and team collaboration.