In Part I of
“ Future Shock,“ the cover
story in Viewsletter issue Winter
‘97, 3D reviewed structural issues
and HVAC systems, based on more than 15
years of retrofit experience. In this
issue, we will continue this series by
discussing electrically powered
distribution systems and voice / data
infrastructures.
Technology is
evolving faster than ever. In the
past, technologies outlived
buildings, therefore, building design
only needed to respond to fixed systems.
Today the situation is reversed.
Buildings often outlast the most current
technologies, and new consideration must
be given to make buildings and
technologies work together. Buildings
must be flexible enough to adapt to
technological changes.
Main service
entrances for electrical systems should
be flexible and sized for estimated
maximum service. Distribution systems
should also be flexible, using bus duct
pipe or wire feeders. Bus ducts can
deliver large amounts of power along its
length at a reasonable cost, and loads
can be added or subtracted easily.
However, pipe and wire feeders are more
economical than bus ducts at shorter
lengths.
Electrical
systems should be at the highest, most
practical voltage to make feeders
smaller, allowing for easier changes.
Transformation to utilization voltage
should occur as close to usage points as
possible, confining secondary cabling to
a smaller location that provides for
better accessibility.
Fire-alarm
and security systems should be designed
for the maximum number of points, with
expansion capabilities incorporated into
system architecture. Installation of a
telecommunications infrastructure should
be done with the greatest possible
bandwidth for both vertical and
horizontal cabling systems.
Current
business downsizing trends, the rising
popularity of modular furniture system,
and high initial costs are various
arguments against flexible design.
Downsizing reduces overall building loads
and the need for building flexibility. In
addition, downsizing has reduced the
staff in today’s corporations and
more people are being consolidated on
fewer floors and in smaller workstations.
Decreasing the workstation size can
increase the number of people on a floor
by twenty-five (25) to thirty (30)
percent, requiring building-system
upgrades to support these increased
loads.
Modular
workstations have also created their own
flexibility requirements. Their
portability makes it easier for
organizations to reconfigure office
plans, instead of simply moving people as
management styles change. Infrastructures
must be revised to service the
workstations as these changes occur.
Systems originally designed for five
years of use can end up lasting three
years or less.
Concentrating
on initial costs instead of overall
operating costs can be shortsighted. The
original cost consisting of construction,
architects’ fees, land, equipment
and financing is usually identified at
the beginning of the construction
process. Tight budgets can reduce or
eliminate a building’s ability to
adapt if flexibility is not perceived as
an added value.
While
flexible buildings cost more to build,
they can cost much less to operate during
their life-cycle. Changes to flexible
buildings are less expensive. This
relationship implies that life-cycle
costing, including both initial and
operational costs, might provide a better
method of evaluating flexible buildings.
Life-cycle costing looks at total
building and operating costs during a
building’s lifetime and estimates
those values in today’s
dollars.
No one
knows what the future holds, other than
change is inevitable. Engineering text
from twenty-five (25) years ago covered
the intricacies of radio vacuum tubes and
stood witness to technology’s rapid
evolution. Such changes will continue to
shape how individuals live, play and
work. If we can accept the rapidly
changing technology around us, we will
understand that our buildings must become
more flexible.
Next
Page
For more information on
3D/Group, Inc., you can contact us via
email,
regular mail, telephone, or fax as
follows:
3D/Group, Inc.
266 North Fourth Street, Suite 200
Columbus, Ohio 43215-2565
email: 3dinfo@3dgroup.com
phone: (614) 464-3600
fax: (614) 464-9331
Copyright & copy; 2005 3D/Group
Inc.
