ROSENWASSER / GROSSMAN CONSULTING ENGINEERS
RGCE HIGH-RISE CONCRETE ENGINEERING
COORDINATION OF HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS
A BUILDING DOESN'T KNOW WHERE ONE CONSULTANT'S SCOPE ENDS AND ANOTHER'S BEGINS.
There are few things more expensive on a construction project than a set of design drawings issued before they have been properly coordinated.
An uncoordinated design does not eliminate unresolved questions—it simply pushes them downstream, where they become progressively more expensive to answer. Conflicts discovered after drawings are issued can result in redesign, additional services, delayed bidding, RFIs, change orders and construction delays. If they are not discovered until the work is in the field, they can become expensive mistakes that require demolition and reconstruction to correct.
Coordination is not simply about producing cleaner drawings. It is about resolving problems when they are still inexpensive to solve.
The structural system, architecture, façade, elevators, mechanical systems, plumbing and electrical systems ultimately have to occupy the same building. A conflict in the field does not become less of a problem because it occurred between two consultants' scopes.
At RGCE, we believe good coordination begins with understanding what the other members of the design team are trying to accomplish—not simply waiting for someone to identify a conflict with the structure.
Our engineers are expected to understand the building, not just the structural drawings.
COORDINATION STARTS BEFORE THERE IS ANYTHING TO COORDINATE
The best time to resolve a coordination problem is before it becomes one.
Core configuration, column locations, slab thickness, transfers and structural depth all affect the architecture and building systems. RGCE works with the design team while these decisions are still fluid, when moving a column, changing a span or reconsidering a structural system may require little more than a conversation.
Once drawings are developed, models are coordinated and other disciplines have designed around those decisions, even a seemingly minor structural change can ripple through the project.
Early coordination isn't about finding conflicts. It's about designing the building so fewer conflicts are created in the first place.
BIM IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR COORDINATION
Building Information Modeling has transformed the way buildings are designed and documented. RGCE uses Revit and BIM extensively, and we recognize the enormous value of having the various building systems represented within a common three-dimensional environment.
But a coordinated model does not necessarily mean a coordinated building.
BIM is exceptionally good at identifying physical conflicts. A duct running through a beam can be detected. A pipe intersecting a column can be flagged. A penetration can be located and tracked.
Those tools are valuable, but they are not a substitute for good old-fashioned coordination between architects and engineers who understand what they are looking at.
A CLASH ISN'T THE SAME THING AS A PROBLEM
Some of the most consequential coordination issues may never generate a clash.
A column can fit perfectly inside a partition and still compromise the room layout. A penetration can pass cleanly through a slab while substantially reducing the punching shear capacity of a nearby column connection. A shear wall can occupy exactly the space allocated to it and still unnecessarily restrict the architecture. A mechanical system can clear the structure and still produce an unacceptable ceiling condition.
Conversely, BIM can identify thousands of geometric clashes that experienced members of the design team immediately recognize as inconsequential.
Clash detection asks whether two objects occupy the same space. Coordination asks whether the building works.
SOMETIMES THE BEST COORDINATION TOOL IS A CONVERSATION
Models, overlays and automated clash reports are powerful tools. But sometimes the fastest way to solve a complicated coordination problem is still to put the architect, structural engineer and MEP engineer together, look at the same condition and ask:
What are we actually trying to accomplish here?
Technology can make that conversation better informed. It cannot replace it.
RGCE believes successful coordination comes from engineers who understand the building, communicate with the other disciplines and are willing to question conditions that do not make sense—even when those conditions fall outside the traditional boundaries of structural engineering.
SOMETIMES THE STRUCTURE SHOULD MOVE
Structural engineers can become protective of their structural solution. But the objective is not to produce the building that is easiest for the structural engineer to design.
If moving a column complicates the structure slightly but substantially improves an apartment layout, façade, mechanical system or another important aspect of the building, that may be the right decision for the project.
Conversely, a relatively minor architectural adjustment can sometimes eliminate a transfer, simplify reinforcing or resolve a significant structural problem.
Good coordination isn't about defending your discipline. It's about finding the best solution for the building.
COORDINATE IT ON PAPER, NOT IN CONCRETE
A coordination problem discovered during design may require a conversation and a drawing revision. The same problem discovered after reinforcing has been placed—or concrete has been poured—can become expensive, disruptive and difficult to correct.
That is why RGCE places so much emphasis on resolving penetrations, dimensions, slab edges, façade conditions, MEP requirements and other interdisciplinary conditions in the construction documents.
The earlier a conflict is identified, the more options the design team has to solve it.
The goal of coordination isn't a clash-free model. It's a better building.