SEPTEMBER 2021CONSTRUCTIONBUSINESSREVIEW.COM9introduced are not right for the project. The designer must educate and inform, while simultaneously listening and learning.Due to the future speed of generating solutions, the ability of a designer to efficiently interact with an owner on the front end of the project will be of increased importance. The designer will use technology as a tool to quickly provide the owner with the understanding needed to make informed decisions. With the owner's project requirements defined, we move to solution generation. The optimal solution definition is not a trivial matter. Early in my career, I was determined to understand the best way to layout ductwork to a basic problem, six equally spaced air diffusers. I provided a blank layout to five highly experienced engineers. To my dismay, I received five different solutions. Optimization criteria varied from frequent downsizing of ductwork, thus minimizing pounds of sheet metal, to keeping the duct full size to be produced in a single spiral machine run, thusminimizing labor. More recently, I was providing quality control of a completed plumbing design. The building was on a site with expansive soils requiring costly expansion devices in the sanitary sewer at each crossing of the building expansion joint. As I reviewed, I marked up simple changes that while moderately increasing the linear footage of the pipe, reduced the quantity of expansion devices by two thirds. That is when it struck me that this was not a failure of the plumbing designer. This was a failure of the team to define the qualities of the optimal design before we started layout. In the coming years, our definition of the optimal design will evolve. There will be increased emphasis on Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA) and sustainably. Additionally, even with more powerful computers and more robust data-driven feedback loops, there will always be a role for the designer to use intuition and risk evaluation to guide the solution. Computers excel at processing hard data. Soft data has uncertainties, contradictions, and situational nuances. Soft data includes reliability of the supply chain with geopolitical uncertainty, performance of unproven new materials and methods, code and regulatory requirement interpretation, assessment of crew capabilities (whether human or robotic) in a novel situation, and weather conditions. Lastly, buildings are spaces that humans interact with. Human end users can be irrational and unpredictable. There will always be an art to design. I aspire to be the curator of the first generative HVAC design that goes viral in the AEC community.The way teams collaborate is evolving. At my firm, we estimate, design, and coordinate for fabrication. Historically, these functions were performed by separate teams with separate software platforms: Estimating, Engineering, and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), respectively. Today we use a common platform with a single model. The lines between the teams are blurred, creating opportunities for new workflows and efficiencies. Furthermore, as computers generate cross discipline optimizations and incorporate productized building components (i.e. building envelope products with set design rule), the lines between design specialists and companies will also blur. Accurate costing and constructability input during the design process will emphasize the benefits of the Design-Build project delivery model.As I continue my journey to understand the Designer of the Future, it is apparent that technology will allow us to focus on more of the human factors which influence design as we curate technical solutions. Understanding owner value, defining optimal solutions, and collaborating effectively as teams are the skills needed now and in the future. This industry will continue to be a great place for intelligent and creative people. I choose to embrace the change, do you? A designer must probe, question, and challenge what he or she is toldJustin Bowker
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