Building Enclosure: Exploring Design Assist’s Impact on the Whole Building Enclosure (Hybrid)

This presentation will explore how the design-assist process can help project teams collaborate on the design of façade, structural, envelope, and other building systems to achieve the design aesthetic and performance goals for the project.

We will explore two project case studies to illustrate the benefits of design assist. We will discuss the design assist process for the new Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Klarman Building, which involved collaboration to achieve the desired design aesthetics, determine the various façade systems and their performance requirements, and the façade integration with adjacent systems.

The second case study will look at the Amherst College, New Science Center project, completed in 2018. The design prominently features a multi-story curtain wall system hung from a cantilevered roof structure. Coordinating the two highly dynamic systems necessitated a highly collaborative D-A process with a particular focus on the structural interaction between the two systems.

The presenting team includes Jeff Abramson AIA, LEED AP (Payette), Jensen Ying AIA, LEED AP BD+C (Payette), Adam Blanchard, PE (LeMessurier), and Mary Arntzen, PE (SGH).