Course Description:

An investigation into basic career planning issues including an understanding of interior design as a career field; familiarization with the professional registration process and to understand simple career planning strategies and the range of career opportunities.  Open forum and discussion of professional development, life learning and goal obtainment.

My specific focus was to engage the students in roundtable discussions on various weekly topics. Students were encouraged to address their choice of career specialty. They are encouraged to study and evaluate literature on a continuing basis to understand the practice of architecture and issues that will affect their customers (drivers that influence change). Students should develop a specialty either in function (programmer, designer, space planner, draftsman) or a facility type (school architecture, hospital design, residential housing).

Example of a weekly topic:

Components of a standard proposal to consider, plan and discuss

Company introduction (overview, company organization and depth and list of clients)

Design team organization

Commitment

Project Purpose

Project Approach

Project Understanding

Project Description

Goals and Objectives

Existing Knowledge

Issues to be address (people, space and time)

Scope of services (written and diagrammed) each includes a summary description and deliverables

Planning and Orientation

Kick off, team building work session to:

Determine decision makers, review organizational charts, current staff and departmental organization, standards (space, image, materials), space allocation (charge backs, usf, nsf, rsf, gsf), efficiency ratios and expectations, historical personnel projections, occupancy costs, CAD drawings, business plans, finalize work plan and define deliverables, refine critical path schedule, establish goals and objectives, evaluation criteria (what will make the project a success), communication strategy, select interview, focus group, work session and survey participants, define approval process, plan filing, city reviews that may impact schedule

Data Collection

organizational requirements (people)

Survey, interview, focus groups, or work sessions (determine buy in opportunities) to evaluate the following: business directions, mission, values, goals, personal projections, growth, flexibility, and change, measurable and performance criteria, productivity measures, user satisfaction, management style, organizational structure versus productivity. operational relationships, adjacency requirements, communication relationships, technology versus face to face, culture, image, evaluation of existing space compared to support space requirements and workstation requirements, special needs

facility resources (space)

walk through of existing real estate, field verification of drawings, interviews with building personnel (building planning opportunities and constraints, system capabilities, workstation standards, other resources. image work session (does the existing facility affect the customers and employees image of the company), review floor plans, engineering specifications, building code compliance review., review computer information available

Initial findings presentation

identify links, conflicts, incomplete information, drivers of change, personnel forecasts, space requirements, initial planning scenarios, occupancy costs, cost/benefit, detailed follow up, communication strategy development

Data analysis, strategy development

compare personnel projects to achievable densities, department to department requirements to facility capabilities, benchmarking, compare support space requirements to facility capabilities, compare technical requirements to facility capabilities

Develop strategies, initial space plans ( support space strategy and organization)

image presentation, direction and basis and opportunity including spatial zones/circulation, ambient conditions, finishes, standards and guidelines

Decision making work session

Sign-off

Communication strategy

Documentation including image plans, space plans, departmental, team or activity layout with support spaces identified, number and location of workstations.

Mock up

Construction documents including floor plans, details, specifications, phasing plans, bid documents

Final cost estimate

Review and value engineering

Documentation modification (how many revisions accommodated in proposal)

Bidding/ negotiations/. contracts

Permit filing and city review

Identify long lead items and purchasing critical path

Review submittals, shop drawings, product data, samples and substitutions

On site visits to observe construction

Punch lists

Installation sequencing plan

Observe furnishing installation

F,F and E punch lists

Move activities

Follow up

Project assumptions (the company will provide these items)

Project management (team overview and responsibilities)

Project schedule (diagrammed, detailing critical points and meetings)

Cost/ compensation ($/hr of each team member, hours/team member/phase, hourly, lump sum or other divided by phase and totaled, cost of consultants, reimbursable, invoicing procedures

Summary

Appendix (experience and team resumes)