Construction Site Tour

 
The Robertson/Sherwood/Architects team during our construction tour of the new Lane Community College Health Professions Building.

The Robertson/Sherwood/Architects staff recently toured the new Health Professions Building (HPB) project under construction on the Lane Community College main campus. As the design team’s project manager, I led the tour, helping to explain what is now coming together very quickly.
 
For emerging design professionals, the opportunity to visit projects under construction—particularly those they were involved with during the design phase—is of immeasurable benefit. Seeing construction in progress provides them with a tangible link between what they do in the office and its practical application. Construction site tours help them understand why coordination, communication and teamwork are so important, why mastering fundamental building technology principles is critical, and why even relatively modest jobs are more complex than they may seem at first blush.  

 

Kyle Stucky of Fortis Construction (right center) demonstrating the in-field use of OpenSpace AI to compare actual construction progress with the coordinated BIM model.

Joining us on our tour were Kyle Stucky, superintendent for Fortis Construction, and Mike Zimmerman, project coordinator for Lane Community College. The two provided invaluable insights into the project’s challenges, nuances, and opportunities from the Contractor’s and Owner’s perspective, respectively. They mentioned how the entire HPB team has been able to adapt and find solutions to unforeseen issues as they arose—real-world examples of the inevitable challenges posed by construction projects. Having Kyle and Mike on hand helped stress the importance of our relationships with all members of the project team.
 
Office site tours certainly provide a beneficial feedback loop between the design and construction phases. Every design decision directly impacts the construction outcome, so seeing actual construction in progress (ideally at key intervals), provides an iterative process that contributes to a holistic understanding of the entire project lifecycle. The fact so many different building systems are currently being installed in the HPB project was especially helpful.

 

Me explaining details of the exterior envelope mockup.

If anything, given how much there is to learn from each tour, we fail to conduct as many of them as we should. The value inherent in the practical insights gained strongly favor them. Visiting construction sites provides our team members with not only an education, but also a sense of accomplishment as they see their designs come to life. This firsthand experience contributes to personal and professional satisfaction, motivating our staff to continually strive for excellence in their work.

 

Another shot of the RSA team, this time in front of the new LCC Health Professions Building under construction.

The HPB project is on its home stretch now, with completion targeted for this May. The RSA staff will likely visit it together one more time, perhaps just prior to the building’s occupancy, to see how everything has come together. Again, there will be lessons to be learned as we’ll be able to gauge how well the design has achieved its goal of being an exemplary facility for the LCC Health Professions Division.