Future of the Construction Industry
AIA 3xPT Transformation
Biomimicry
I received you phone message about Biomimcry. I just returned from Costa Rica and spent a week with Janine Benyus (author of the book Biomimcry) and twenty other people from around the world that are interested in Biomimcry. It was quite the trip, which I will share with you next time we chat.
As far as getting into Biomimcry, Janine's book is a great start, and since you are interested, I have attached an annotated recommended reading (
Biomimicry.pdf) list I received from the Biomimicry Guild for your use.)
After sending this e-mail to you, I am going to forward to you an e-mail I received this week from AIA on a conference in December in DC on the practice of architecture. We are intending to submit something for consideration.
Take Care - Ray
Raymond Lucchesi, AIA, LEED AP
Lucchesi Galati
lucchesi@lgainc.com
702-263-7111
702-263-8111 (fax)
www.lgainc.com
The Strategic Workplace
The Strategic Workplace.published version.8-05.pdf
Here is a report from a government study on the impact of space on productivity. The conclusions are on pages 334-335.
Real Estate makes up about 10% of a companies costs – where people costs range 70% plus.
The bottom line from the study is that:
- Conventional design programming will provide individual requirements but will often miss the larger group dynamic. That group dynamic provides valuable insight for designing the space for group effectiveness.
- New survey tools are now available to discover work process, culture and social networks within offices. These tools provide the ability to visualize previously hidden practices and relationships. It can also identify “work around” practices because of existing constraints.
- The new survey tools can compare beliefs about existing behavior to actual behavior.
- Space does make a difference on productivity and these new tools collect information about work process, social interaction and personal productivity to inform the layout and function of a space.
Kevin Kampschroer, Research & Expert Services
Office of Applied Science--Public Buildings Service
U.S. General Services Administration (Room 4015)
1800 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405-0002
Phone: 202-501-4411
1031 TIC Properties
Dear Rex:
In 2002 there was a major financial instrument introduction that is still steam rolled through large corporations and is still getting traction in middle sized corporations. IBM, Peabody Energy and many other large companies have sold their buildings in private placements that are regulated by the SEC and lease them back. 1031 TIC’s are a means in which the buyer of the property can purchase as little as 1/30th of the property with funds they are sheltering from capital gains from some other sale and receive their proportion of the rent. The owner of the TIC can trade in and out of 1031 TIC properties. It you had $10 million from a real estate transaction and wanted to avoid state and federal taxes of $2.6 million would you buy a single property or several TIC’s or buy a income property with a a rated credit risk tenant. The choice is obvious.
I will check out the website. I think the 1031 TIC has a lot of application reinventing the commercial real estate market. Think about this, what if business owner can expand his business having the security of 50 or 100 year lease without the burden of capital expenditures for real estate eating up all the debt capacity of the company to finance growth in a market where IPO’s are dead. We have helped a winery with a market cap of $40 million buy $300 million of vineyards while making 2% of the purchase price while buying properties versus going into debt beyond their capacity to finance. It is a complex transaction but it is an elegant solution. You will love it.
Sincerely;
Joe
www.financialexitplanning.com
Joe Wisneiwski - President
Patrick MacLeamy is singing the song. This is another highly credible voice for transformation.
At the Construction Specifications Institute annual show and conference in Chicago, keynote speaker Patrick MacLeamy, CEO of HOK, told CSI attendees that "people are paying too much for their buildings, and the buildings are just not that good."
MacLeamy directed his complaint against design, construction, and engineering firms that fail to work together to deliver optimal results to the owner. His solution, advocated at HOK: All elements of a project must work together as a building team.
Construction needs to be more like manufacturing to control costs, said MacLeamy, and if industry members don't learn that soon, the reality will be thrust upon them by their clients. "This is a 'lead, follow, or get out of the way' situation," he said. "It's inevitable."
MacLeamy believes the construction industry is fragmented, and the divisions are driving up costs and forcing clients to find cheaper ways to get the buildings they need. To see his point, look no further than the nearest strip mall's cookie-cutter stores and fast food joints.
MacLeamy said he used to overlook the similarities between manufacturing and construction because he'd been taught to emphasize the differences between designers, specifiers, owners, contractors, and product representatives.
"We have these structurally built-in problems that are preventing us from building better buildings," he said. "There are partners who have been left out. I've been taught to see them as the enemy. They're not.
"The fact that we're fragmented is costing more. That 'faster-better-cheaper' that is embedded in the manufacturing industry hasn't hit construction yet, even though we're about the same size in the economy."
Source: "CSI Show Report: HOK's MacLeamy Pushes Building Team Integration," BD&C Magazine Special Report from 48th Annual CSI Show and Convention, April 22, 2004.
HB 477 - Texas Legislation to allow better integration
HB 447, a bill supported by the Texas Society of Architects, the Council of Engineering Companies, and the Associated General Contractors, if passed, will consolidate all of the project delivery methods for the design and construction of buildings into one code for all governmental entities. By doing this consolidation, the process will be easier to follow and more understandable among governmental entities and those in the industry. The bill, if passed, would also eliminate some of the abuses that currently occur with the job order contracting method.
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A Facility Based on Uncertainty
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