Tag: Structural Design Services

Indoor-air-quality-ventilation-by Russell and Dawson Inc
AEC Blogs

Facility Management for Indoor Air Quality

Digital Twin by Russell and Dawson

The term Facility Management is mostly associated with commercial buildings because there are various aspects that need to be looked upon. Facility managers are responsible for maintaining buildings that include different challenges and priorities. Digitalization has helped managers to achieve sustainability, the comfort of occupants, productivity, and security. But there are changes seen in the management as and when new methods are introduced. The recent pandemic is one of the major factors which has forced managers to consider new protocols. The new protocols focus on indoor air quality, space utilization, contact tracing, and people tracking. We face various risks in our everyday life and one major risk is related to our health. An increase in usage of vehicles, recreational activities, and exposing ourselves to environmental pollutants are reasons behind health issues. Some of these risks are simply unavoidable, however, some risks are controllable to an extent such as Indoor Air Quality.

The meaning of the term Indoor Air Quality is the quality of air within and around building structures which relates directly to the health and comfort of inhabitants. The surprising fact is that we usually believe pollution is connected to outdoor activities. But the truth is pollutant sources are present inside a structure which can harm the occupants. There are different factors responsible for air quality inside any building and it is also affected by outside activities near the building.

Scientific research indicates that air within houses and other structures can become more polluted than the air outdoors. People spend the maximum amount of time with family in their own homes which accelerate health issues if the indoor air quality is poor. Groups of young people, elders, and chronically ill with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases are at high risk than other groups.

Outdoor Air Entering Building

The circulation of air is a continuous and obvious process. It travels from outside to inside and vice versa. The air passing through any structure takes place through mechanical ventilation, infiltration, and natural ventilation. Mechanical ventilation helps to remove air from single spaces like washrooms periodically. Air handling systems like outdoor vented fans remove indoor air and distribute filtered outdoor air throughout the homes. Infiltration is outdoor air flowing into buildings through cracks in walls, joints, and openings. Natural ventilation is air moving through doors and windows. The process of natural ventilation and infiltration takes place when there is a difference in outdoor and indoor temperatures. I knew the rate at which indoor air is replaced by outdoor air as the air exchange rate. A low air exchange rate increases pollutant levels.

Sources of Indoor Air Quality

Common Strategies

Ventilation Improvements: The ventilation system of any structure plays a vital role in the circulation of air. As per weather conditions, opening windows and doors increase outdoor ventilation. Exhaust fans in spaces like kitchens and washrooms remove toxic air substances and outdoor ventilation goes up. The advanced structural design services includes a mechanical system that allows outdoor air into the house.

Air cleaners: There are various types of air cleaners available but the most effective is the one that collects pollutants from indoor air through a filtering element. They are not responsible for removing gas elements in the air. Air cleaner that has a good strength of pollution source is effective.

Source Control: Another basic way to improve indoor air quality is to reduce the emissions level of an individual source of pollution. Gas stoves are one good example to decrease emissions. Source control is cost-efficient in comparison with other options like ventilation.

Digital Twin

The meaning of digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical product, asset or system. In the context of commercials, the digital twin will include building, assets, people, and space. Digital twin integrates all systems into one application. Twin is formed on mainly two concepts – Data and Visualization. Data is included in the twin and it helps in the digital visualization of assets. These assets can include access control, spaces, HVAC etc. They can be connected through the Internet of Things. The sensors record all the activities and gather data which is used for simulations to produce a holistic viewpoint of space and its life cycle. The end result of data and visualization helps the facility managers to monitor the building and surrounding health. Artificial Intelligence helps to cut the unimportant noises around and catches the priority alarms to respond to priority activities in the building.

Preventive Management Models

The digital twin system has enabled the facility managers to use it as a preventive model for decision-making. Past information related to assets, present information in real-time, and predicting the future conditions of the building is derived from the digital twin. A digital twin is known to improve productivity by 20%, space utilization by 15%, optimization by 35%, and sustainability by 50%. Facility managers can hesitate at first for such investments but the digital twin is beneficial in the long run because it collects data from different assets and simulates it for use. Artificial Intelligence and IoT equipment help in connecting the assets. The outcome will not be noticed over the night. The building will function on its own once the digital twin operates on the data collected. On the other hand, facility managers will be able to focus on emergencies and different priorities.

First Use

The first use of a digital twin by any facility manager can be confusing in terms of priorities. They can filter it out with the help of the building and its occupant needs. Post quarantine needs to play a vital role in the priorities of a building. These priorities include ventilation, and HVAC to keep the air clean. Digital twin helps in predicting air heating, cooling, and flow of clean air which is based on space utilization in real-time through occupant counting sensors. Physical-logical security determines an employee’s presence by using their badges. The person present in one building physically should not be allowed to log in from another location because of cyber security. Possessing a digital records of people counting sensors helps to identify the spaces which are utilized and vacant. So this helps in organizing space utilization of different spaces like labs, storage, meeting room etc. The facility managers can use technology to identify which space has occupancy at what time so they can heat or cool spaces as per the trends through equipment.

Connecting Digital Fabric

There are different solutions like IoT, cloud to cloud integration, and partner ecosystem which gives strength to the digital twin system. IoT includes different sensors to provide metadata for intelligence. They receive information from sensors that monitor asset performance in the building. After the collection of data, IoT adds events received from sensors into a digital graph through a cloud component. The partner ecosystem brings solutions together. The combination of solutions helps to access the real-time data and facility managers can perform the activities effectively. A company providing system and digital solutions associates with a technology partner and 3D BIM experts to connect data flowing in the system.

Shifting from Reactive to Proactive self-healing

Facility management can be conducted smoothly through this system and smart buildings can be created which stay alert for emergencies and build data sets for self-healing structures. When the digital data is connected it results in intelligence. This intelligence can play a major role player in decision-making for accurate predictions, quick decisions, and improve efficiency. The whole facility management will become autonomous on the basic data collected and its usage by the integrated system. Digital twin allows facility managers to shift focus to critical areas. A Digital twin system produces data from the past, and present and helps to predict future alerts of a structure.

Facility managers become competent for future emergencies. A smart and sustainable future can be met through this system.

Indoor Cooling by Russell and Dawson
Warehouse Design by Russell and Dawson inc for Hampshire Companies
AEC Blogs

The rise of warehouses in North America

Extra Space Storage Design in Hartford by Russell and Dawson Inc

The goods are stored at each point of the value chain and are made available to end clients as and when required. Distribution centers can commonly be divided into three arrangements, including general warehousing, agricultural warehousing, and refrigerated warehousing. Online shopping has become common and a go-to choice for essentially all client types, intensifying the demand for warehousing spaces. America’s distribution space demand is floated by the increased speed of e-commerce businesses.

The North American warehousing and storage market is presently being driven by a few elements. The interest for warehousing outsourcing administrations has been developing from manufacturing firms catalyzed by their productional and functional extensions. This has prompted an increased logistics need for the storage of raw materials, parts, and finished products for retailers and merchants.

The North American warehousing and logistics market have kept on experiencing strong demand in 2021. Nonetheless, pandemic-related supply chain issues keep on compounding a more extensive demand and supply issue inside the North American warehouse construction sector.

Projects presently under development are encountering schedule delays while planned constructions are being affected by rising material expenses, making gaps for the acceptance of tender prices shrivel.

Labor shortages across the construction sectors, large numbers of which represented an issue before the pandemic, add a further layer of intricacy to the point of getting back to pre-pandemic levels of activity, with numerous contractors facing issues to recruit skilled workmen.

From the owner’s perspective, two approaches have arisen with investment both inside metro regions and near nodal points, where expressways and ports unite. There has likewise been a new pattern for the redevelopment of “zombie shopping centers” and box stores that have seen a significant decrease in pedestrian activity as e-commerce business keeps on acquiring pieces of the pie.

Another technique is moving distribution centers into existing metropolitan regions, utilizing brownfield land which can’t be utilized for private or corporate uses. While being found a lot closer to clients, these sites actually represent a challenge since they will be smaller and would require twofold stacking to make sufficient room for stock, increasing building costs. Dense metropolitan areas additionally make high-frequency truck traffic harder to accommodate.

Despite these difficulties, the extra expense and exertion expected to make these strategies work are progressively turning out to be more acceptable as demand keeps on soaring.

Acceleration of e-commerce entails the rise of warehouses in North America

$1 billion increase in online business sales brings about 1.25 million square feet of distribution center space need. Subsequently, net absorption is projected to reach more than 250 million square feet in 2021. It’s intriguing to take note that this figure far surpasses the past five-year yearly normal of 211 million square feet.

This takes us to the fact that retail structures are relied upon to see a flood in adaptive reuse for industrial occupiers in a few years. The truth of the matter is that America has far overbuilt retail space. For this reason, it seems like you see “for lease” signs all over. Adaptive reuse permits developers to take a structure that no longer serves the community and adjust it to higher and better use.

Russell and Dawson – An Architecture and Engineering Design firm has also designed for adaptive reuse of existing abandoned buildings for the extension of the warehouse facility. Located on Park St, Hartford, The Extra Space Storage Units for The Hampshire Companies is a fine example of Russell and Dawson’s ability to design the historical exterior of a building, preserving the town’s aesthetic values. It consisted of 360+ storage units with a 50,300 SQFT area.

In one of the most tumultuous times in world history, the warehousing industry is progressing.

The land is valuable for the growing US economy right now.  There are 11,000 existing warehouses in North America equaling over 4.7 sq ft of industrial space as of 2020. Another 190 million sq ft of warehousing space was under construction in 2020. The U.S. will use over 1 billion square feet of storage space this year, compared to 800 million last year. And there are already 500 million square feet of storage in development. 45% of warehouses under construction are already leased. Warehouse vacancy in the country has reached 3.6%, a record low, at 3.6%, these warehouses are operating beyond their available capacity to even function properly.

Thus, an extraordinary expansion in the e-commerce business indicates requirements for new design features by Warehouse Design Firms. From heights of ceilings to mezzanine floors, a few contemplations must be calculated if the warehousing business aspires to boost net absorption aggregates in the foreseeable future.

Architectural Project Approach for Design-Bid-Build Project by Russell and Dawson
AEC Blogs

Project Approach for Design-Bid-Build Public and Private Projects

Project Approach for Design-Bid-Build Project_By Russell and Dawson

Stage 1: Interview and starting conversations

The client interviews with typically three to four individual architects or Architectural Design Firms to figure out if it’s a solid match with each other. Sometimes based on recommendations and prior work experience, the clients skip the interview round and directly start with a particular arrangement they have in their mind. Usually, this happens in privately bid projects wherein the decision lies in the sole discretion of the client. For public projects, more emphasis is given on past experience and qualification of the applicant firm or individual to win the project.

Stage 2: Information gathering (Emphasis on Analysis)

The client’s objectives, necessities, and prerequisites are discussed before the start of any project. The architects visit the site to conduct an on-site examination of the project site determining the existing condition and take as-built measurements of the existing structure. A set of as-built plans are made and duplicates are given to the client for their records. These are basic floor plans and exterior elevations–an insignificant set appearance that presently exists nearby. A surveyor is usually contacted at this stage wherein they do a site survey which is eventually incorporated in the as-built documents. The architects visit the city/county building division to audit relevant records which may consist of as-built drawings of the existing structure, previous surveys, public records, and other details of a property. The architects assemble data from state and city offices in regards to explicit land use and construction law necessities just as pre-submittal and pre-license strategies. They also carry out an assessment of building code and zoning requirements/constraints for the approved site plan and floor plan. The architects additionally make a work schedule to determine what will be done and by when.

Stage 3: Schematic Design and Feasibility (Emphasis on Design)

The modelers create 2-3 preliminary plans using the information gathered in stage 2. At this stage, the architects are likewise bringing plan ideas to the table. Perhaps there was a particular site highlight that could be upgraded with the new architecture or opportunities within the project which was not examined previously. The designers investigate the sequence of how you approach the structure and travel through the structure. The focal point of the structure is identified and worked upon. The overall areas of the functions inside the structure are thought of and graphically addressed in chart structure. The designs, outlines, and illustrations are simply charts at this stage – it’s not engineering yet. Elements like windows might be added schematically. Simple plans and elevations are sketched to address connections among spaces and to get the fundamental envelope shape. Material alternatives begin to turn out to be important for the conversation and a target spending plan is set up/affirmed for the overall project. At this stage, the number of meetings held is the maximum wherein the owner/client has a discussion with the architect to finalize one plan from different schematic alternatives.

Stage 4: Design Development and Permit Documents (Emphasis on Decision Making)

As choices keep on being made, the architects form the schematic drawings into permit documents. The designs develop from graphs to real engineering at this progression. The drawings are refined with respect to subtleties and methods. Materials are settled on and the modelers sort out how everything fits together (how does the floor meet the wall: base trim, flush trim, no trim). Window openings are additionally characterized by mullions and opening areas. Data from different specialists like a structural engineer, MEP engineers, is created and facilitated with the plan drawings. Determinations for materials, installations/machines, gathering subtleties, and significant code data are incorporated into the project. Recommendations from suppliers, subcontractors, and manufacturers are added to the drawing set. The client keeps on settling on choices at a more explicit degree of detail.

After approval and acceptance of the schematic design, develop the design in greater detail. Create detailed plans for building elevations, material selections, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical / control systems. Prepare a final design plan based on the input received from the owner(s), stakeholders, and any applicable government agencies responsible for the project approvals. In this phase, usually, the following plans are delivered; floor plans with a proposed basis of design openings and plumbing fixtures; overall dimensions; structural grid dimensions; interior wall dimensions; exterior elevations with a proposed basis of design openings and finishes; additional building sections; wall sections at all typical conditions; additional details to establish basis of design products.

Stage 5: Construction Documents and Permit Acquisition

A bunch of permit drawings is a simplified version of the construction set. The permit documents are utilized to submit, arrange, and get the building permit from the city or region. The city/county/town doesn’t normally audit every single detail of a structure however they simply need to ensure your meeting state, city, and local codes and standards. It is normally an effective utilization of time to turn in a permit document set, covering the prerequisites, to get the ball rolling with the city while the architects keep on working at a more intensive drawing set needed for construction. These drawings keep on creating down to the absolute last subtleties.

Stage 6: Bidding and Selecting a Subcontractor

This stage is typical for a public project wherein after the architectural plans are made, the designers prepare the bidding documents and run background checks for the proposals received. The general contractors are interviewed and a good fit is established. However, for private projects, the clients usually have few subcontractors in mind to execute the plan.

Stage 7: Construction Administration

The documents and drawings for the projects are complete and construction begins. The architect is usually retained during the construction phase to answer the questions raised by the contractors. Architects are able to give clarifications and administer the revisions if necessary. The architect also reviews the costing and overall scheduling of the project.

The construction administration services includes the following activities such as observe construction, inform the progress of work to the owner(s); ensure that all contractor(s) have obtained necessary construction permits; guard the owner against defects and deficiencies; review and approve shop drawings, mockups, and other submittals; prepare change orders, if required; assure technical compliance of construction in accordance with design documents and specifications; review correspondence between the owner and the contractor and take action if required; assure conformance to project construction schedule; prepare certificates of payment; inspect construction punch list at the project completion; and review and handover all the construction documents to owner at the project completion.

Latest Commercial Design Trend_by Russell and Dawson
AEC Infographics

Latest Commercial Design Trends

2020-2021 has been a storm for essentially everybody and each industry, however particularly for workplaces, retail locations, cafés, and real estate. As health directions and guidelines changed consistently, a large number of us moved to better approaches for working, shopping, eating out, and living. Numerous working environments are vacant — or near it — and some retail stores and cafés have shut down altogether.

So in case you’re considering what 2021 has available for commercial design, you’re not the only one. Will it be unique? In any case, the uplifting news is, we’ve progressed significantly. As we become familiar with how the infection spreads, organizations can more readily adjust and change into a protected climate for clients and workers. Architectural Design Firms are continuously upgrading their designs for commercial and buildings types as per the government guidelines to make any building a better place to live in.

Latest-Commercial-Design-Trends-By Russell and Dawson