Designing in Uncertain Times

Roller-coaster material costs. Global turmoil. Massive technology disruptions. LPA designers come together to discuss the ability of an integrated, research-driven design process to help clients navigate through the fog.

Tumultuous periods are nothing new in the design and construction industry. And yet it seems different now, with every type of project facing a long list of unknowns, from the price of steel in six months to the effect of artificial intelligence on life as we know it.

Every LPA practice is engaged in talks with clients, exploring short- and long-term strategies for resiliency, programming and lasting value. LPA’s integrated design approach, bringing architects, engineers, interior designers and researchers to the table, is uniquely positioned to help organizations take a data-driven approach to ensuring every project is well-timed and meets immediate and future needs.

A group of LPA leaders recently came together to discuss the ability of design to help clients find creative alternatives to manage for change and plan for the unpredictable, budgets and goals intact.

Nick (Director of Commercial): In the commercial space, companies are uncertain about their real estate on many levels. They’re uncertain about their infrastructure. And they’re uncertain about property values. We have some clients who are forward thinking. Today their assets are performing from a financial sense, but they’re worried about being obsolete 30 years from now.

Kari (Director of Landscape Architecture): Uncertainty isn’t new, but it feels different today. Nick, how are your clients responding?

Nick: They’re very interested in the flexibility of their buildings and sites. How do we activate properties with features that add value and that people are willing to pay money for — like restaurants and event spaces? There’s a lot of things that were “nice to haves.” These things sounded good on a property tour, but people didn’t really utilize them. Now people are focused on what is really being used and what’s really providing value by bringing people together and providing employee conveniences. How are we really solving people’s problems?

Bryan (Director of Structural Engineering): I see people rethinking how to use the buildings they already have — or the campuses they already have — in different ways. I’ve been in plenty of meetings with clients thinking about how to repurpose something that was designed for one use into a totally different use, just to meet the changing way that our world works today.

Matthew (Design Director): In San Diego, we’re working with Family Health Centers of San Diego on multiple projects where we are trying to understand the healthcare marketplace. Projects in real time are looking to increase flexibility and absorb all the types of potential future offerings that they need to be able to provide their communities.

Nick: One of our clients is trying to understand the flexibility of multiple buildings in their portfolio. Can I take out floors? Can I replace the skin of the building? Is the building and site infrastructure functionally challenged or even obsolete? Our structural and landscape teams are involved. It’s really interesting for us to look at it from a portfolio level and be involved in the owner’s strategic path forward.

Kari: We need to bring all perspectives to the table. We can look at alternatives for outdoor spaces, building structure, long-term planning. As an integrated firm, looking at all of the things that would typically affect our clients, that’s our regular process.

Matthew: When we look at things comprehensively or holistically, we can make those bigger impacts, which is an interesting position as a strategic partner. Instead of looking at one site and one problem, we start with a deeper understanding of the client and set clear goals.

Kate (Director of K-12): We shift the conversation from “What do you want to build?” to “What matters most here?” It’s about what makes each community distinct and designing around that purpose.

Bryan: In times of uncertainty, you need good information to make quick decisions. I think the reason our clients come to us at the level they do is because of all these decisions that go into a project. You need good information, and it’s not just information that comes from one perspective. An inclusive process with all the disciplines represented brings value in a way that’s a lot more nimble, a lot more flexible, a lot more real-time than maybe a traditional practice.

Kate: Preparing for uncertainty, you have to work that muscle of asking different questions, challenging assumptions about what’s “standard” in the industry.

Matthew: We can’t rely on the old assumptions anymore. We have to break free and really look at things in a fresh light. As an integrated practice we have visibility to so many different approaches in promoting positive impacts. Together we can uncover what’s essential and what can evolve.

Nick: We’re engaging in a different level of decision making with several corporate users, their data management, to unlock answers to their real estate footprint. Can we do more with less? Our applied research team is an important part of the process. They ask questions that most designers don’t immediately think of.

Kari: There really is a new discussion of resiliency. Do they have to build everywhere? Is that the right approach? We can find value in those spaces where you don’t build.

Kate: What doesn’t change is what makes us uniquely human. It’s always going to be important to design places that connect people to each other and to nature.

Kate: Designing for uncertainty means tapping into your emotional intelligence and not shying away from the scary questions. If the budget forces us to remove something, we look at what we can gain. What if we need to build 10% less? What if this program changes? We need to have those conversations and not just try to say “well, this works.”

Nick: What’s really exciting to me is how our different practice areas can potentially collaborate. Schools are feeding into graduate studies programs, and those are going to become the future entrepreneurs. Cities and developers are trying to create this ecosystem where companies can grow, creating jobs and housing and then better schools. Can we convert existing buildings and sites to create the necessary infrastructure for these ecosystems, do we need to build new, or both? It’s exciting to be engaged with clients who are thinking at that level. It’s all connected — and design has a role in every link.

Kari: One of the things we learned from COVID is that many of the design responses five years ago were long overdue. Wellness centers, social spaces, outdoor learning — what started as a reaction became regenerative and necessary.

Bryan: Helping clients move forward starts with understanding their goals and how we can help them reach those goals. Maybe it’s a new campus or buildings. Or maybe it’s about using existing spaces better or more efficiently, getting more out of what they already have.

Kari: It’s not about convincing them to go forward, more about helping them move with intention.

Nick: It starts with a good goal-setting process to prioritize intended outcomes.

Kate: We have to unpack the fear that comes with uncertainty. What’s holding them back if they’re not moving forward?

Bryan: Most of our clients are used to making decisions with some level of risk. There’s always been uncertainty. What we do is we help to define that. We help to contain it, compartmentalize it, give it some boundaries so that they can understand the extent and what the level of risk might be based on the uncertainty that exists.

Matthew: As creative thinkers and thought leaders, we can bring clarity and simplify some of the issues. Every project has a unique set of issues and constraints. How do you create that value? How do you really create confidence in the design solution? Our role is to simplify, clarify and build confidence in the design path forward.

Nothing is ever certain for Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD), a nonprofit committed to providing affordable, high-quality healthcare and supportive services to anyone in need. Funding sources are never a sure thing. Community needs shift. Every possible dollar must go to services.

From the start of the design process for the group’s new Integrative Medicine and Wellness Center facility, the emphasis was on reducing exposure to material and construction costs, creating flexibility and freeing resources for bigger priorities. Designers worked to cut the material palette, and structural engineers developed options that led to a concrete frame, which reduced the need for steel and its potential impacts from tariffs found in today’s economy. The concrete shear wall system, with exposed concrete as a finish, decreased the exterior façade by about 30% with the exposed slab edges. Floor-to-floor heights were reduced, with the use of the mild reinforced-concrete flat slabs providing flexibility to allow future modifications as health services evolve. These design approaches had a direct positive impact in optimizing the facade materials, managing the budget and reducing embodied carbon with less materials. These strategic design approaches allowed for an extra floor of healthcare space on the site, which was constrained with a 50-foot coastal height limit, and increased the building size by 33%.

The result allowed FHCSD to increase the square footage to provide new preventive medicine services and invest in high-performance systems that helped the building achieve net-zero energy, reducing future operation costs and operational carbon.