The great thing about metal panels is the huge variety of ways they can be used to clad buildings. With new software technologies and a greater emphasis on contemporary design aesthetics, that variety is leading to highly sophisticated façades that demand equally sophisticated fabrication and installation techniques. Add to that mix the mandate for improved building performance, and you have created a witch’s brew of difficulties that can create conflict and misunderstanding between architects who want to express a design intent and fabricators who have to put that intent into reality.
The smooth coordination of work between architects and metal fabricators helps realize design intent
Photos courtesy of Henry Inc.
Making sure a project runs smoothly, meets owner’s requirements and fulfills its intent requires a coordination of effort between architects and fabricators that often doesn’t exist. And the effort begins with proper communication.
Burden of Communications
Every project requires good communication, but since the scope of work for façades is often one of the largest scopes of work and critical to the performance of the building (a failed cladding system can render a building unusable), understanding the needs of fabricators can help architects achieve their goals.
“At the beginning of the project, I would say the burden of communication falls more on the architect,” says Gretchen Wagner, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, senior associate, GWWO Architects, Baltimore. “It is the architect’s responsibility to convey the design/detailing intent, to ensure technical support from the fabricator is received and incorporated into the construction documents. As the project progresses into construction, the burden shifts to the fabricator.”
Mark Haab agrees with that. He’s vice president of operations for Shaffner Heaney Associates, South Bend, Ind., which fabricates and installs metal composite material panels nationwide. “At the design/development stage,” he says, “designers should be reaching out to fabricators to ensure that their intent can be reached. As the project begins, the fabricator is responsible for creating a detailed set of shop drawings that clearly explain how the system will install and perform.”
Getting involved early often depends on the scope of work and the architect. If the project has a huge scope of work, bringing the fabricator in early can help resolve not only technical and design issues, but offer solutions that may be more cost effective. “Communication is a two-way street,” says Joshua Wolfe, vice president of development for Henry Inc., Decatur, Ga. His firm provides fabricating and installation services for façades (including themed projects), signage and branding, sculptural elements and bridge treatments. “The initial burden is on the architect, of course, to reach out to us, but as they work through a project and identify elements they need help with, we can smooth things along.”
For architects, one of the big questions is when to reach out to a fabricator. Wolfe says that depends on the scope of work. Larger scopes of work require involvement earlier, but early involvement is also important when architects are working on scopes of work where they have a lower level of expertise. “That might be attachment details or other technical information that’s required for them to complete the set of drawings they’re working on,” says Wolfe. “We get engaged early from some architects because the scope they’re working on, they just don’t know enough about it and are looking for some budget information on it, to find out about the feasibility of the materials they’re using, just so they’re not going off into left field too early.”
When communicating about façade work between architects and fabricators, there often is a third side to the triangle: building enclosure consultants. Wagner points out that building enclosure consultants can “provide a level of assurance on top of the standard level provided by the architect.” Haab adds, “In many cases this leads to a more in-depth review of installation practices such as step-by-step membrane lapping around fenestrations or confirming compatibility between various products being provided by multiple trades.”
William O’Brien Jr., REWC, is a senior associate at Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc., Chicago. He was involved in the renovation of the façade of the United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel. “I find it’s important to have buy-in from all the team parties to have success,” he says. “The general contractors, other trades, the owner, the architect.” When consultants step in, though, it can push the discussion about solutions to the different level. “Sometimes our questions can get really nitty gritty,” he says. “It seems like we’re getting too detailed early, but we sometimes foresee a problem down the road.”
Haab appreciates that detailed approach early on. “The good thing is they get down to the nitty gritty of how something is going to go together,” he says. “It can be pretty enlightening, and they tend to have more believability than the fabricator.”
It is essentially the responsibility of the building enclosure consultant to foresee problems, and ask detailed questions while there is still time to make adjustments. In the middle of a focus on design intent and general fabrication issues, that detail-oriented approach can seem distracting. But just as fabricators getting involved early in the design process can forfend difficulties if not failures, the same is true of building enclosure consultants.
In short, the key to communication is getting everyone together early.
Price versus Quality
Early involvement of fabricators can lead to improved price controls while maintaining quality and design intent. A large part of that involvement also includes communication. “Managing expectations is important,” says O’Brien. “If the budget is tight, then more off-the-shelf assemblies and designs are needed to satisfy the project requirements. With more customizations comes a higher price.”
Wagner agrees and tells architects, “Where possible, start with standard sizes and details. Concentrate custom fabrications in the more specialized areas of the design. Fabricators often have great recommendations on how to simplify and still meet the design intent.”
Haab expands on both the early involvement of fabricators and the efficiencies (read: price control) they bring to the table. “Fabricators are geared toward finding efficiencies in panel sizes and standardized production,” he says. “Some are also installers, who can then provide further advice on getting the most for the money. Working with a trusted fabricator during design development can tune a project into the most competitive form pre-bid.”
In addition to those basic efficiencies, there is another element that requires involving fabricators early. “Fabricating metal composite materials is a tough job,” says Haab. “Many projects require the fabricator to revise virtually every individual panel on the job. This occurs during the fabricators manufacturing lead time, so every day is critical.”
Getting fabricators involved during the design phase allows them to provide estimating information, though Wolfe worries that this has become too much part of the job. “We do a ton of estimating,” he says. “We understand that is part of the job, but the ratio to closed jobs used to be better. Developers and owners are more involved in the buy-out process and that has made things challenging.” In short, fabricators want to be in the fabricating business, not the estimating business.
Budget control extends beyond just material selection, though. “The design and submittal process shouldn’t be skimped on,” says O’Brien. “Cutting costs there can hurt. Moving forward with just general data sheets or not producing shop drawings saves costs but can be related to more issues.”
Where Things Go Wrong
Architects, fabricators and consultants all agree that the place where things break down and create problems is when information is incomplete. New technologies such as CADD and BIM make sharing information easier and more effective as long as everyone is working on the same program and understands the requirements.
It’s easy to point fingers, though, when a problem does arise, but more often than not, those problems crop up because of poor communication or unreasonable expectations. Fabricators can’t deliver 10,000 unique MCM panels at 25 cents/panel, and architects can’t write specifications that are so airtight and complete that fabricators don’t need to do any problem-solving themselves.
If architects could change one thing to improve the relationship, it would probably be to be more knowledgeable about material requirements. “Troubles arise when project requirements aren’t clear up front,” says O’Brien. “Sometimes requirements aren’t possible or are not buildable; fabricators can convey that before it goes too far down the road.”
“Writing a clear specification,” says Haab, “seems simple but can easily go wrong. The nomenclature of paint types, standard finishes versus specialty finishes, even—in the past—calling for PE [polyethylene] or FR [fire-rated] core material can cause contradictions that lead to issues later in the project. Working with a fabricator to ensure that the specification is written clearly can solve these issues before occurring.”
On the other side of the equation, there probably isn’t a fabricator in the world that wouldn’t like to run a job without any changes. “Some fabricators can be resistant to variations from standard details,” says Wagner. “In almost any project there will be details that need to deviate from the standard. This may occur because of design intent or project conditions, but either way, improved technical support for customized details is desirable.”
The final conclusion is actually pretty simple. Earlier engagement of fabricators in the design process can help keep costs down, achieve design intent, build trust and deliver the kind of exciting, metal-clad exteriors we see in today’s built environment.