DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

WMF believes in the “value added” of good design and thoroughly prepared Construction Documents. Stated simply, this means that projects have the potential to achieve more than the minimum of meeting the program requirements, additionally ENHANCING the intended function of the building. WMF also believes in the value of INTEGRATED PROJECT DELIVERY as a lean system which eliminates wasted time and cost, focusing more of the economic resources on the end project.

WMF also believes that design solutions (to be good design) must be appropriate to all of the environments affecting the project. Solutions must respect the context of the site; must respect the unique needs of the users; and must be responsive to the economic environment of the Owner / Sponsor.

WMF has a long history (represented in part by the thumbnail photos along the right margin) of striving to contribute to the project team in a way that produces projects which are deemed successful by the users, by the Owners, and by the community at large.

WMF maintains highly talented staff, all skilled in the use of cutting edge design and visualization tools, backed up by high end project management systems, technical staff, specialty consultants, and in-house construction professionals. All of these intellectual resources are employed with the expressed goal of exceeding the expectations of those we work with.

DESIGN APPROACH

For this project, EDC is looking for a professional partner to execute the vision of a relatively simple building (in terms of program and requirements). This building will need to be flexible and adaptable for the future, and should be economical to operate and maintain.

For the present, however, it is essential that the delivery of the building be expedited so that it is available for use in July of 2014. This schedule will require the ability to provide manpower and production systems which can visualize the project quickly, test the budget accurately, and then minimize the time lag until construction can be begun. Given the weather related constraints of the Erie region, getting enclosed by September 2013 is essential if this is to be accomplished. This requires that a bid date of March 2013 be targeted, leaving nine months for the design process.

WMF is a big believer in Integrated Project Delivery and involve our Construction Management professionals in every project, in order to provide Owners the most accurate scheduling and cost information possible, tailored to our unique knowledge of the Erie construction market. This is certainly the major differentiation between WMF and other local design firms. WMF is committed to providing early and accurate construction related information and delivering projects on time and on budget. WMF is comfortable teaming with construction professionals to fast track portions of the project and routinely has projects in early phases of construction while the ultimate design details are still being finalized.

Since this project has defined economic limits, accomplishing the best value for EDC will require bidding and construction documents which are thorough and which minimize unknowns so that the bidders have the confidence to apply their best pricing. The reputation of the design professionals, both in design and in Contract Administration will also provide the confidence needed for good bids.

SIMILAR PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Since 1967, WMF has been providing a full suite of Design, Engineering, and Construction Services for the region’s Authorities, Governments, and Institutions. Many of the facilities on Behrend’s campus are the result of the excellent relationship that WMF enjoys with Penn State. The photos in the right margin represent just a few of the public projects undertaken by WMF. A more complete list is available on our website.

In the interest of minimizing the bulk of the response, WMF is comfortable noting simply that there is no other AE firm in NW PA with even a fraction of the experience in public architecture. This assures EDC that WMF comes fully prepared to understand what it will take to implement this project.

DELIVERABLES

WMF utilizes a full BIM (Building Information Model) system for producing all projects, including early conceptual studies. This system produces three-dimensional models that can be utilized in a wide variety of ways at each phase with increasing detail. These models can be reviewed as interactive models at any point in the process. The end product is a three-dimensional data base, including all engineering which can be used on site in electronic format or printed in traditional two-dimensional construction drawing format.

Before being released to contractors for bidding, the entire project will undergo a “Redi-check” quality assurance review complete with interference clash analysis and build ability reviews.

Depending upon the service option selected, WMF will also provide detailed cost estimate and detailed construction schedules, as well as working with EDC to generate an overall Project Budget and an overall Project Schedule.

SCHEDULE

The Schedule for the Design Phases is attached. This schedule is specifically designed to put the project out to bid at the time known to be the most competitive bidding period and to allow lead time prior to a construction start in the Spring of 2013. This will allow more than adequate time for construction within EDC’s preferred schedule.

 

BIM Modeling Example

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