Design for Discovery

Discovery Elementary School in Arlington, Va. by VMDO Architects is a 2017 COTE® Top Ten recipient.

Framework for Design Excellence: Design for Discovery

Every project presents a unique opportunity to apply lessons learned from previous projects and gather information to refine the design and construction process.

How can the design process foster a long-term relationship between designers, users, and operators to ensure design intentions are realized and the building project performance can improve over time?
How are performance data and experiential stories shared, even if the findings fall short of the vision?
How are lessons learned through construction administration shared to project teams?
What strategies promote a sense of discovery and delight?

Focus topics

knowledge sharing and lessons learned
occupant engagement
post-occupancy evaluations
discovery that influences behavior

High impact

Best practices

Resources

Projects

If you can do only one (or a few) thing(s):

Assist in the development and recording of the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR) during design as a means of recording performance expectations and owner direction.
Benchmarking: Review the goals and metrics selected from each Framework Principle utilized on the project. Were they carried through the design process, construction process, and into occupancy?
Assess what worked and what could have been done better. Record and share that information with project team members, the office, and the profession.
After the project has been occupied for 6-12 months, ask the owner if the project is meeting their expectations. Have they made any changes? Are the occupants using spaces as planned? Do the occupants have feedback?

One of the most impactful ways to stay engaged with a completed project is to ask for utility bills. Calibrating the energy model for a specific year of actual weather data, 12 months of energy and water use will allow project teams to compare a building’s resource consumption against both benchmarks and predicted values, providing clues about how the project is actually performing. Inconsistencies can then be explored more deeply and strategies for improvement can be developed.

Additional information

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