Renovation and Restoration of Existing Buildings (And the Importance of Teamwork) – Ep 091

In this episode, we talk to Geoff Smith, PE, LEED AP, a Senior Associate at Silman, about the process of existing buildings renovations, and how teamwork plays a major role in these types of projects. Engineering Quotes: Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Geoff: What is meant by the words "existing building" and how can an existing building be sustainable? Retrofitting an existing building can oftentimes be more cost-effective than building a new facility. How do you determine if the investment is worthwhile? What is a probe campaign and how does it affect the renovation process? Why are reviews of existing documents important when retrofitting a building? What about the existing building history? Do you also have to review that? What were some of the pros and cons of working with government agencies? What makes a good collaborative team and how does it affect the projects they work on? When working on renovations over a long time, how do you manage and improve team dynamics? Do you have any career advice for structural engineers when working on building projects? Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About Renovation and Restoration of Existing Buildings: An existing building is a building that is already there and has already been built. Existing buildings are sustainable and are worked with to reduce greenhouse gasses and carbon footprints. If the bones of a building can hold up to what the program is for the structure, it is better and more cost-effective to renovate the building instead of tearing it down and building a new one. You will help the environment and help the owner achieve what they are looking for. Tearing down a building, and then constructing a new one is hitting the carbon footprint twice. The old materials must be removed and then the new materials must be manufactured and constructed in their place. Probe campaigning is taking down a building’s finishes until you are left with the structure. It is the best way to confirm if the building drawings are still correct or if there have been modifications to the building and the plans have not been updated accordingly. They are a good way to reduce the risk of a project and understand what work will need to be done to bring it up to standard. When a building was built and where it was built gives a good indication of how it was built. It will help in doing probe campaigning in the correct areas of the building. Understanding the construction methodology at the time it was built has great value. Without knowing the history of the building, you will not know where to start working on it. All drawings of renovations must be submitted to the government departments for review. The reviews can take some time to be done because they have very specific requirements that must be on the drawings. It is to ensure that you are not putting too much load onto the structures that are already quite old. Buy-in from both the design team and the construction team makes a good collaborative team. If you have project teams that work together on a project and are not combatant, it makes the project go a lot smoother and faster. To manage and improve team dynamics over a long time, you must have many face-to-face meetings to iron out any conflicts that may arise. Face-to-face meetings help to let each party see that the emails they send and receive involve other people. Having out-of-work events with your teams helps to boost collaboration because everyone is seen how they are in personal time instead of just being a structural engineer. You must always be willing to learn because between materiality and technology, everything is always changing. If you learn something well, do not be afraid to learn something else well too.