"It is important to note that the greatest opportunities for project success rest in the initial stages of team building and goal setting."
- Pennsylvania Guidelines

Integrated Building Project Teams
Brown cannot expect to build significantly better buildings without improving its project delivery process. Although Brown's current approach is better than traditional design processes, where the building owner, architects, engineers, consultants and contractors interact on a distant "need to know" basis high performance building design (HPBD) is best achieved through fully integrated design strategies where all project stakeholders are involved in the design process and project delivery. To further improve, Brown must facilitate a truly collaborative process where all stakeholders understand the project's performance goals and work to make sure the building meets or exceeds these targets. By promoting integrated design, Brown will be better able to achieve its high performance goals.

Integrated design involves a more collaborative, inclusive team working closely together at all stages of the design process. This is significantly different from current Brown design projects. All stakeholders (representatives of Brown's values, budget, planning and operations, the architect, engineers, specialized consultants, maintenance staff, potential building occupants, and if already known, the contractor) must understand the intent and performance goals of every building project and be included in the design phase.

Stanford's design process manual provides a good example of the organization for a project team. To increase the performance of the entire building, design team members must meet to consider the summative impact of their individual contributions. When more players are involved on the design team, the following positive results are possible:

•  Optimize Systems: For example, the engineer can design the most appropriate air handling system if he or she knows what the spaces will be used for, Brown's performance goals (e.g. 25% more energy efficient then code, LEED Silver, and/or ASHRAE's Green Guide), where the operable windows are to be placed, interior building materials (toxicity level) etc.

•  Improved Efficiency: If the contractor has been included in the design phase and understands the goals of the project, challenges to specified construction methods and requests for substitutions can be reduced in the construction phase because the overall design strategies are better understood.

•  Increased donations: If the volunteers soliciting contributions can effective communicate HPBD benefits, capital fundraising will be more lucrative. Brown wants to appeal to the donors' mutual sense of economic, environmental, and socially responsibility.

Working Together: The Design Team and the Building Systems

Communication between different stakeholders is essential. An integrated design approach requires thinking about the building and its site as interdependent; a single design refinement might simultaneously improve the performance of several building systems. Rather than divide responsibility, the integrated design team works together to make sure the building systems work together as well. Through this system, a single design refinement might simultaneously improve the performance of several building systems. For example, if day lighting, electrical lighting, window size and placement, ventilation systems, and materials (less toxic) are considered together rather than as separate parts of the project, the overall indoor air quality and physical comfort of the building can be enhance and energy consumption reduced. These multiple benefits, however, are wholly contingent on the ability of Brown's administrators, architects, engineers, consultants, and interior designers to work together to design these components of the system.

Although in the pre-design and design phases, the coordination of integrated design is more human energy intensive than in a traditional building design process, the extra energy invested up front in an integrated design process will be rewarded throughout the life cycle of a resource efficient building.

The first step in assembling successful HPBD teams is for Brown to determine its performance goals in terms of operating costs, energy efficiency, environmental quality, and systems and materials durability. Once these goals have been clearly established, a project team can be assembled that will make design decisions based on the goal of achieving and maintaining high performance over the entire life of the building. Workshops to educate the group on environmental issues should be held along with distribution of Brown's environmental building guidelines and efforts should be made to encourage input from all stakeholders throughout the design process. Synergistic opportunities should be identified whenever possible.

Commissioning is a systematic process for ensuring that all building systems interact together as a system; it guarantees a building and its system perform as expected and as promised. Commissioning is part of the integrated design process and ideally begins early in design and continues through construction, approval, and the warranty phases. Brown should require commissioning as part of its integrated design process to ensure each project meets its performance goals. The project's intent, capital budget and contract documents should include comprehensive commissioning requirements.

Simple Techniques and Innovative Products
In addition to the sensible practice of involving all stakeholders in the design process, integrated design promotes selection of the simplest and maintenance-free equipment whenever possible. "High performance" has high tech connotations, but this is not necessarily true. High performance integrated design relies on using site features, building form, and exterior materials to manage the indoor climate, requiring teams to take advantage of these inherent features before involving electrical and mechanical assistance. Integrated design opts for natural ventilation and lighting before selecting energy-driven heating, cooling, and lighting systems. Thus, integrated design can reduce adverse environmental impacts while respecting Brown's limited budget.

In addition to utilizing natural elements, high performance integrated design also combines innovative technologies and less toxic materials to enhance building performance. Computer energy and daylight modeling allow designers to preview the performance of interdependent building systems. Site orientation, daylighting, building envelope, and mechanical systems can all be entered into simulation software to determine cost-effective feature combinations. Frances Halsband, FAIA, adds, "It's important to always have the numbers on hand." The "numbers" assist designers select the optimal systems for ultimate user satisfaction. For example, energy modeling enables more accurate cost forecasting within a chosen thermal comfort range.

Creating Whole Greater than the Sum of it Parts
Integrated building design is in the best interest of Brown and it is an important component of HPBD. Brown Trustees and Administration should support integrated design in addition to design guidelines, life cycle cost accounting, qualified professionals, and creation of an energy manager position.

For the design process to achieve integrated design, all team members must understand and commit to the project's high performance goals. This is possible if goals are set early. For details, please see "How this will fit into Brown's Design Process."