∂ 2014 ¥ 7/8
Diskussion
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How does the development process for such specialised facade and ceiling elements – which are not only functional but also highly aesthetic – work? We didn’t divide up the work and separately develop a facade and a suspended ceiling. Instead the two were treated in parallel. And we worked with firms whose specialists understood that it’s not a matter limited to each separate trade, but a common effort whose result will have considerable impact on how the building functions, as well as on its appearance. The fact that the persons involved only concentrate on their own trade instead of communicating with each other and cooperating has always bothered me.
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Which means do you use to foster communication among the different persons involved in constructing a building? Many colleagues believe that computer programs such as Building Information Modelling are sufficient for good coordination. But problems can only be solved when there is a different type of thinking from the very start. For example, all of those involved must first understand the basic idea of the design and identify with it. Only in this manner can the different building components, which are made up of so many accrued layers, form a coherent whole in the end. Even buildings that look very simple are made up of a highly complex interplay of individual layers.
How do you convince consultants and firms to internalise this fundamental idea? We can only achieve something new if we continuously pull each other out of the “comfort zone” of our routines. In other words: the building services consultants should not limit themselves to their field. Instead they should feel that they are also part of the architecture of the structural engineering. We live in a time in which multi-tasking is as much a part of our daily lives as hybrid thinking is. Tell us more about the development of the closed-cavity facade. Many options were available to us at the beginning of the design process. The integrated-