Good teamwork

Kirksey - Houston, Texas, U.S.

What began as a small commercial architecture firm 31 years ago has evolved into a diverse organization of more than 100 design professionals belonging to 10 architectural teams, each focusing on a particular business segment- Commercial, Education, Government, Healthcare, Hospitality, Interior Architecture, Renovation, Residential, Retail, and Special Use. With this team-based approach, every project benefits from individual expertise while leveraging the collective knowledge of the entire firm.

Having rapidly expanded in the national and global marketplaces, Kirksey has designed over 40 million square feet, won 48 awards, and planted nearly 5,000 trees as an ongoing commitment to the community. Notable projects include Ballpark Place, Texas A&M University's E.L. Wehner Building Expansion, the Houston News Channel, and the expansion and renovation of the Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa. Kirksey is headquartered in Houston, Texas on their own corporate campus.

Implementation

To meet the dynamic needs of this growing company, Kirksey initiated a test pilot of CAD software in 1998 to evaluate what their research showed them to be the top choices-ArchiCAD® , AutoCAD® and Bentley® . The 5-site ArchiCAD network set up in this pilot proved best able to meet Kirksey's goals. "The short learning curve and ability to produce quick 3D models enabled us to quickly and effectively communicate design concepts to our clients," explained David Larrew, Senior Associate and Director of Architectural Technology at Kirksey. "These were the key benefits of using ArchiCAD that influenced the management's decision to purchase an additional 65 sites in the spring of 1999-a decision that forever changed our design and documentation processes."

With the support of management, Larrew quickly began the full implementation of ArchiCAD. As can be expected with any major change, staff were initially resistant to leaving behind their familiar software in lieu of this unknown tool that was fundamentally different in almost every aspect. "It took one or two team leaders to support the switch and get their team to use the software before I really got the other teams on board," explained Larrew.

Kirksey also had some initial concerns about employee productivity and ArchiCAD's ability to match the quality of the current output. In an effort to facilitate implementation and buy-in from still reluctant teams, local reseller CADeshack and Graphisoft USA teamed up to provide an off-site 2-day training session specifically for Kirksey employees. Graphisoft USA provided additional in-house follow-up sessions to further Larrew's training efforts.

Productivity concerns were quickly overcome. Acceptance increased as employees learned the software and became more comfortable with the tools. Within the first 6 months of implementation, all but a handful of reluctant staff came to welcome the change, feeling that the new tool increased their productivity and efficiency. "ArchiCAD provided a sense of relief for designers and technical staff, freeing their time to concentrate on design and communication, rather than getting held up by CAD problems and conversions from 2D to 3D," Larrew explained.

"The implementation of ArchiCAD changed the way we communicated with clients. We were able to give our clients a more realistic view of their project much more quickly and easily than with our previous software," Larrew relayed. "This ease of communication ensures that the design follows the client's intent from the onset of the project. We can solve problems in the preliminary phases rather than towards the end of the project, when changes to the project can cost thousands. ArchiCAD enables us to keep our clients up-to-date on their design on a real-time basis because of its ease of use."

"We use ArchiCAD as a means to tout our collaborative design process as an excellent communication tool. This collaboration saves our clients time and money, and that means satisfied clients," explained Kathleen Irwin, Public Relations Manager at Kirksey. ArchiCAD also serves as a marketing tool promoting Kirksey as one of the most technologically advanced architectural firms.

ArchiCAD at work

Kirksey also took advantage of the new ArchiCAD TeamWork functionality that more effectively matched their workflow team structure. Using TeamWork, Kirksey's design teams allocate workspace using a combination of stories and layers. A satellite of the project is created on an individual's computer, eliminating dependence on a live network. At any time-by network or by modem-team members can send changes to the master project and receive changes that others have made, viewing the progress of other team members.

Kirksey's teams are power users of TeamWork, exploiting its advantages and sometimes pushing the envelope of its current capabilities. When Kirksey found itself up against the limitations of TeamWork in 7.0 r1, Graphisoft responded with a temporary workaround to keep teams working and productive. Then, working directly with Kirksey, Graphisoft developers created an improved solution in the recently released r3/v3 maintenance update.

In a recent project, Larrew described how ArchiCAD has been a success at Kirksey. Six designers from the Education Team worked together to design a 72,000-sq. ft. Advanced Technology Center for Lee College in Baytown, Texas that included a state-of-the-art library containing over 100,000 volumes, and a classroom building that accommodated computer technology, business technology, health information technology, and continuing education programs. Kirksey also used ArchiCAD in designing the College's Sports and Wellness Complex that included a 1500-seat basketball arena and fitness center. In addition to the two new buildings, Kirksey developed a campus master plan for overall site development, infrastructure expansion, and campus landscaping.

Kirksey also uses ArchiCAD as a tool in procuring new work. One of only three firms invited to interview for the Lee College project, Kirksey clearly had the advantage with ArchiCAD's 3D visualization capabilities. "We were able to model and animate our design proposal so that the client really understood our concept," Larrew explained.

"As a bond program, the development was slated with a conservative budget. The College had a demand for more classrooms than budgetary floor plates would allow. "We used 3D furniture layouts to help the client envision how spatial constraints would feel with furniture," Larrew said. The design was further constrained by the inability of existing campus infrastructure to heat, cool and supply energy to the new buildings. "ArchiCAD allowed us to model the complicated duct runs of the HVAC system to ensure compatibility of the mechanical systems with the structure prior to construction. We were able to prevent some potential structural and MEP clearance issues prior to the design development phase by modeling the structural members and HVAC system."

Modeled by only one person, the project's structural and design development took just three weeks to complete. Construction already underway, the project is expected to be complete this August.