Managing Design Integration

ARCHITECTURE SCIENCE, No. 4, pp.1~20, December 2011

Managing Design Integration When Architects and HVAC
Engineers Collaborate

Matthijs Prins1* Koen Kruijne2

1
Associate Professor, Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Real
Estate and Housing
P.O. Box 5043, 2600 GA Delft, the Netherlands
2
Project Manager, De Comme Bouwadviseurs- en Regisseurs
Wielkamp 6
5301 DB, Zaltbommel, the Netherlands

*
Corresponding author Email: m.prins@tudelft.nl
(Received Jun. 15, 2010; Accepted Mar. 4, 2011)

ABSTRACT
This paper reports on research into the relationship between process design and
management, and the level of integration between the design of a building and its
HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system.
To measure the level of integration, a series of projects published in architectural
journals was studied. Twelve criteria concerning integration were derived from this
study. Professionals from the field were asked to review a range of projects using these
criteria to determine the level of integration. There was substantial agreement on the
level of integration in almost all cases.
The design process of more than 50 other projects was analysed by means of interviews
focusing on the intensity of management procedures directed at process integration. The
results of these projects were measured at three levels of integration based on the twelve
criteria mentioned above. The study showed no significant correlation between
management procedures and the level of integration.

KEYWORDS ： Design Management, Value, Integration, Process Integration, Design Integration,
Management Effectiveness

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ARCHITECTURE SCIENCE, No. 4, December 2011

1 INTRODUCTION

Both in the Netherlands and elsewhere, there has been an increasing need in recent years for
integrated project delivery in construction as part of national reform programmes for the construction
industry (Nicholson, 2004; Pries, et al., 2005; Nijhof, et al., 2008). Ethics, trust, collaboration and conflict
resolution often are cited as the main factors for success in this regard, whether related to team integration
in general or to integrated contracting in particular (Gray and Hughes, 2001; Baiden, et al., 2006;
Wamelink and Heintz, 2007). Theoretical foundations concerning design and process integration are
components of management and organisational theories (Lawrence and Lorsch, 1967; Galbraight, 1973;
Handy, 1986; Mintzberg, 1991), knowledge-management theories on effective knowledge co-creation
and sharing in the case of knowledge workers (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995; Kazi, et al., 2007), design, i.e.
computation, theories (Schön, 1983; Achten, 1997; Burger, et al., 2007) and are evident in a more applied
sense in Concurrent & Collaborative engineering (Anumba, 2007) and Lean Construction (Womack and
Jones, 1996; Ballard, 2000; Alarcón, et al., 2001; Jørgensen and Emmitt, 2007, 2009).
Since a design specifies what has to be constructed, real knowledge integration starts with integrated
design, which is traditionally the architect’s specific task in terms of ‘coordinating’ the jobs assigned to
the parties involved in the process (Dutch Architects Standard Regulations SR 97, DNR 2005), as well as
in terms of integrating the various requirements, wishes and constraints into a design. Beyond this, the
increasing complexity and differentiation within the construction, i.e. design, sector, both from a technical,
functional and organisational point of view, results in an increasing number of parties acting concurrently
in the design or consulting process. This growing level of complexity has given rise to the need for a
distinct design management function in the design process, specifically with the aim of achieving greater
integration in processes and products (Gray and Hughes, 2001).
In spite of the theories that have been developed on process integration and management, relatively
few methods and instruments are formerly implemented in actual construction practice, especially not
where designers are concerned. McAdam and Canning (2001) illustrated and confirmed this in a study
that showed that the reasons cited for ISO 9000 certification and the implementation of a quality
management system among professionals surveyed in Ireland did not include a drive towards quality
improvement as a competitive business strategy, as the literature suggests it should be. Rather, the
professionals surveyed were motivated primarily by the perception that certification would improve their
market image and their firms' chances of procuring work from public sector clients. In a South African
study by Munting and Cruywagen (2008) covering nearly 100 architectural firms (of which only two
were ISO 9000 certified) it was concluded that the manner in which quality is managed by a large
majority of these firms is unstructured and unsystematic, and that they tend to be highly adverse to

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Managing Design Integration When Architects and HVAC Engineers Collaborate

documentation and record keeping. The dominant perception among these firms concerning the
implementation of reliable quality assurance methods might be given more credence if the more
theoretical and complex approaches to design integration, i.e. process integration, are taken into account.
Generally, we can expect process integration to result in more efficient production, less construction
waste, improved life-cycle cost performance, faster delivery or even product and sector innovation.
Winkelen and McKenzie (2007) is correct in stating that, in the case of innovation, it is difficult to
measure performance, as there are no benchmarks for the unknown. Petrucianni (2007) states that it is
essential to define and formalise success factors if one wants to measure success. However, it might be
stated that in doing so in the case of innovation, one measures to a certain extent a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Where construction projects are concerned, innovation and cost-efficiency are often assumed to result
from the multidisciplinary collaboration of the parties involved in the integrated process, more
specifically the designers and engineering consultants on the one hand, and the construction and supply-
side parties on the other (Pries, et al., 2005). In general, most literature simply assumes that enhanced
integration and solid management practices will be effective. In the literature survey carried out for this
research project, empirical evidence was rarely found in which these effects are proven, except for a
handful of case-based examples. Kazi et al. (2007) provide a series of these types of case studies, which
nevertheless do not concern the construction industry. An example of this type of study on the
construction industry is given by Spence et al. (2001). With regard to architectural design, a few
examples can be found in the proceedings of the CIB W096 commission on Architectural Management
(Emmitt and Prins, 2005) and Scheublin et al. (2006). A more specific study on cost savings by reducing
design uncertainty in construction was published by Riley and Horman (2001). The most extensive study
in this respect is likely to be the US Design Built Effectiveness Report (Civil Engineering), which showed
that integrated contracting often saves time and sometimes saves money, but no strong correlation to
quality was found (FHWA, 2006).
Other studies not specifically focussing on management and integration show similar results
(Vasters, et al., 2010). In a survey study of 131 projects, Swink (2003) found positive effects for
managerial procedures and timesavings. Similar results are also found in other industries (Yeung, et al.,
2004).
The study by Ahire and Dreyfus (2000) appears to be an exception to the rule. They found a positive
correlation between implementing managerial quality techniques in general and the resulting design
quality, although in their study, too, the primary benefits were identified in the areas of process speed,
defect rates and re-work rates. A remarkable study in this respect was conducted by Brown and Adams
(2000). Based on 15 case studies concerning the use of construction project management in the UK, they

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concluded that project management fails to perform as expected and that construction project
management provides no added value at all.
One might expect an integrated building process to result in a more qualitatively integrated product.
“Value is generated when knowledge flows” (Winkelen and McKenzie, 2007), seems to be the common
expectation. Defining integration in buildings in this respect is a completely neglected area of scientific
research. There is a pronounced lack of definitions of integration in terms of product and process, and
there is insufficient empirical evidence on how integration might result from integrated processes.
In the literature survey for this study we failed to find any evidence for what architects might
consider to be one of the most important benefits of process integration: design integration, and this in
terms of architectural expression, which is the focus of this study.
Research on these ‘soft’ architectural values seems to be an even more diffuse area (Prins, 2009).
This might be self-evident to a certain extent in view of Akin’s (1986) notion that designers, especially
where these types of ambiguous values are concerned, find themselves confronted with problems that
lack clearly defined objectives, methods and evaluation criteria. As Allison (1997) states, design has a
problem finding character by nature. Gray and Hughes (2001) state that: “If a decision could be taken
purely on objective grounds then there would be no need for professional judgement and the task could be
relegated to a technician or a computer”.
Even though there seems to be a great deal of common ground between most designers and others in
the construction industry, formal definitions on integration as part of the architectural expression of a
building are nonetheless lacking and are apparently quite difficult to formulate. This might also be partly
explained by the normative and subjective ideas one might have. Looking for instance at the famous
Centre Pompidou by Rogers and Piano, one might come to the conclusion that this is the prime example
of integration, since the HVAC system is such an essential component of the architectural expression of
the building. From an engineering perspective, however, one might argue that there are better and more
efficient solutions for the HVAC systems than affixing them to the outside of the building. So whether or
not one considers this to be an example of integration depends on one’s professional viewpoint and the
criteria applied.
Another aspect concerning design integration, which has to be taken into account might be called
‘architectural integrity’. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion features a roof, which is
supported by walls as well as columns. At some points in the building the columns are expressly used as
spatial structuring elements, suggesting the presence of load-bearing walls. In actuality, the roof is only
supported by the columns.

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The columns appear to be solid, but actually they consist of four connected L-shaped steel profiles
covered by a chromium plated finishing. The horizontal roofing also seems to be constructed of solid
plates, but it is in fact a covered steel structure. Although one might be inclined to say that this Miesian
example of architecture is unique in terms of integrity between its spatial and structural elements, what
one actually perceives is different from reality.

2 RESEARCH DESIGN

Often design integration is seen as a positive quality in a building. It largely depends on either the
architect’s ability to integrate the work of the engineers and consultants or/and their talents for adapting
and adding to the architectural concept, or it is the result of an integrated process characterised by
collaboration, trust and mutual understanding (Nijhof, et al., 2008).
It is often stated that in the latter case, process complexity demands better design management.
Although there are many handbooks available on how to manage architectural design (Allinson 1997;
Gray and Hughes, 2001; Boyle, 2003), as stated previously literature is lacking that empirically proves
the effectiveness of managerial procedures in these instances with regard to the resulting architectural
value, more specifically when ‘soft values’ are taken into account. Much literature of more recent date
addresses the issue of integration in the design process from the perspective of developments in IT such
as feature-based modelling, extranets, parametric modelling, Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and
connected developments in Building Information Modelling (Prins and Owen, 2010). Other authors
address the application of specific methodologies such as value management, lean construction and
supply chain management (Austin, et al., 2001; Jørgensen and Emmitt, 2009) more specifically directed
at process and product efficiency. Finally, there is a range of literature on the application of rather
specific tools such as DQI and CABE (Gann, et al., 2003; Prins, 2009), which addresses the topic of
architectural value, but often with little or no focus on empirical evidence for their effectiveness when
implemented.
The focus here is on the more classical management interventions and their effects on architectural
value. We have not researched the literature further since we were unable to find any research literature
on this topic, specifically with regard to product and process integration in construction and the resulting
architectural value.
The aim of the present study was to discover whether or not a correlation could be found between
management efforts aimed at process integration and resulting product or design integration, especially
with regard to ‘soft’ architectural values.

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Due to limited resources for this project, we chose to restrict the research to the design integration of
the architectural expression of a building and its HVAC system. Our aim was to formulate a normative
definition of design integration by means of a literature survey and interviews, in such a way that
integration could be measured in levels. All of what we found in the literature was of a general, abstract
and/or philosophical nature, and was based in the domain of architectural theory and history. We did not
find any basis for establishing an operational definition derived from the literature that could be used
within the context of our specific aim, namely architectural expression related to engineering in general
and HVAC systems in particular. Since the literature survey did not lead to a workable definition, the
research strategy was altered. Thirty projects were selected from architectural journals. These projects
vary in terms of integration level, according to the researchers. The projects were ranked into three
categories based on integration level (almost none, average or good integration) by 15 respondents (4
architects, 8 project leaders and 3 HVAC engineers from a total of 5 different companies (2 architectural
firms and 3 HVAC engineering consultancies). These were selected since they all could be considered to
be so called ‘strong service offices’ (Coxe and Maister, 1987), involved in similar types of complex (in
terms of HVAC and functionality) projects in the healthcare sector, thus keeping our case environment
homogeneous. Each project was documented by a series of pictures, which were taken from the journals
and presented on one A4 sheet of paper. Afterwards the respondents were asked to explain their ranking.
Based on these explanations, criteria were developed and design integration was defined in levels based
on these criteria. The validity of this approach was tested by asking some of the same respondents to use
the criteria to rank 9 different projects according to the defined levels. Again, these projects were selected
by the researchers based on their opinion that they fell into the categories mentioned. We reduced the
number of projects in this round to save time. We found a rather high consistency between the responses.
After having formulated an operational definition of design integration with sufficient validity, we
proceeded to define some indicators based on interviews with professionals from the field and a brief,
limited literature survey to measure the effect of management intensity on integration. Not surprisingly
given the limited results of our literature survey, we failed to find projects in which we could measure the
effectiveness of different project management approaches specifically directed at integration. We
therefore decided to work with relatively simple indicators mostly influencing the collaboration between
the architect and engineer.
We used the following hypotheses:
A higher level of design integration might be reached by:
1. Early involvement of the HVAC engineers in the process.
2. The existence and implementation of an information plan.

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3. Frequent face-to-face meetings.
4. A domain-bound specialist, for example an architect, as the project leader.
A series of 55 ex-post case studies was conducted in which the above indicators were used to rank
the management intensity based on document analyses and interviews with 7 different project leaders.
Again, we used the same companies mentioned above, but this time we used their own projects, as this
was the only way to obtain reliable process information.
Next, the experts ranked the buildings involved in these case studies based on their level of design
integration. Finally we attempted to establish correlations between the indicators of management intensity
and the level of design integration.

3 TOWARDS DEFINING A CONCEPT OF DESIGN INTEGRATION

As illustrated through a few examples in the introduction, it proved difficult to define a systematic,
unambiguous definition of design integration that can be shared by all parties involved in the building
design process. This is because the concept of integration in architecture involves subjective and
normative as well as domain-specific elements.
This is why this study limits the approach to just a part of the set of elements constituting integration
in design. More specifically we looked at the level of integration reached between architectural design
and HVAC system design.
To arrive at a set of criteria for assessing this type of design integration, a large series of pictures of
30 different projects taken from architectural journals was presented to 15 professionals (4 architects, 8
project leaders and 3 HVAC engineers from a total of 5 different companies (2 architectural firms and 3
HVAC engineering consultancies). They were asked to rank all buildings into three categories based on
the level of integration (almost none, average or good integration), specifically with regard to the
integration of HVAC systems and architectural expression. They were then asked to explain their
decision as explicitly as they could. All of these assessments were recorded by the researcher who, based
on the explanations offered, found 12 more-or-less generic criteria constituting integration between
architectural expression and HVAC systems. These criteria are summarised below:
1. The HVAC system is in harmony with the architectural concept.
2. The HVAC system contributes to the quality of the architectural concept.
3. The HVAC system itself incorporates elements that are aesthetically pleasing.
4. The HVAC system contributes to the functioning of the building.
5. A design vision can be elicited based on both the HVAC system as well as from the architecture.
6. The HVAC system is designed to be explicitly visible or hidden.

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7. The HVAC system fits in with the architectural style of the building (from a historical
perspective).
8. The design of the HVAC system is consistent throughout the entire building.
9. Aesthetic clashes between the HVAC system and other parts of the building were designed for
this specific purpose.
10. No evident mistakes or jury-rigged solutions are apparent.
11. There are no unfortunate solutions concerning HVAC system and building design.
12. There is unity in the expression of the materials chosen for the HVAC system and the rest of the
building.

In general the idea behind the criteria is that they cannot be weighted, because each depends on the
type of architectural design. The more criteria that are positively assessed for a given design, the higher
the degree of integration for that design. Using these 12 criteria, the three main categories of integration
were redefined. The following descriptions were used to categorise three levels of integration between
HVAC systems and architectural expression:
1. High: The HVAC system contributes to a significant extent to the architectural quality of the
building. The HVAC system has aesthetic qualities of its own, as well as in relation to the
architectural concept of which they are an intrinsic part.
2. Average: The HVAC system is designed to fit in with the building. While not being a dominant
visual aspect, it is integrated in a proper way in the building with elegant technical solutions.
3. None: The HVAC system has a purely functional design; it does not directly contribute to the
architectural, i.e. visual, quality of the building.

To test the criteria for integration and the categories listed above, we selected a range of different
projects. We settled on 9 projects that were documented in architectural journals. We asked 12
professional architects (all from the same firm) to assess the level of integration by putting each of the
projects into one of the three defined categories based on our twelve criteria.
The assessments were remarkably consistent for most projects. One project was categorised as level
1 (high integration) at 82%.
Two projects were categorised as level 3 (no integration) at 91% and 73%.
The level-2 projects (average) scored 73%, 55%, 73%, 55%, 55%, and 55%.

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Table 1 provides a detailed overview.

Table 1 Results of the quick scan concerning the validity of the three categories of integration.

While making their assessments, the architects were observed by the researcher, who also
interviewed them afterward. All respondents reacted very positively to the three categories we had
defined.
Remarkably, most of the respondents made their assessment first and only then explained their
assessments using the 12 criteria, and not the other way around as they were requested and expected to do.
Respondents were asked if they felt that criteria were missing or poorly defined, but all agreed that this
was not the case.
The researcher observed that aesthetically displeasing projects received a lower ranking for
integration than projects of higher quality, which might indicate a more critical assessment.
These samples have helped us to develop a reasonably workable concept for design integration of
architectural expression and HVAC systems.

4 MANAGING DESIGN PROCESS INTEGRATION, DOES IT WORK?

The idea of managing design has long been considered oxymoronic (Nelson, 2006). The prevailing
view among designers has been that tampering with the mystical, sacred design process through
management would rob it of its vitality if not destroy it altogether. Despite all the research and work done
in recent decades, this view has not exactly disappeared. Although forward-looking practices now call for
management of the design process more and more. The best way to manage the design process often
resembles the old question about how porcupines make love: very carefully. The opinion in the academic
world especially is that architectural design needs domain-specific managerial approaches (Prins, 2002).
Nevertheless, in practice one observes at best generally straightforward applications of organisational,
project and entrepreneurial management as was observed in this research.

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For this study, we attempted to define easily observable indicators of management efforts and
intensity, directed at the collaboration between HVAC engineers and architects. Given the limited
resources available for this study, we opted to conduct ex-post case studies for which data could be
retrieved by means of document analysis and interviews.
We evaluated a total of 55 projects from 2 architectural firms (20 and 19 projects respectively) and
one HVAC engineering office (16 projects).

4.1 Early involvement of engineers in the design process

In the case of integrated design, it is assumed that all parties collaborate during the entire design
process to greater or lesser degrees. In traditional procurement types, too, the client - or his project
manager - and the architect may opt for early involvement of the HVAC engineers. ‘Within the design
team engineers have to play a more important role. Due to the high specialisation grade, early
involvement of specialist designers is a necessity’ (Kohnstamm and Regterschot, 1994). The first
indicator of management intensity on design process integration that we chose was the moment of
involvement of the HVAC engineer in the design process. The most common standardised phasing of
building design processes in the Netherlands consists of three main phases:
a. Sketch design phase;
b. Preliminary design phase;
c. Definite design phase.
These phases are highly similar to the British RIBA stages D, E and F.

Of the 55 projects, which were chosen for this study, the HVAC engineer was involved in 22
projects starting in the sketch design phase. In 24 projects this was the case starting in the preliminary
design phase, and in 9 projects starting in the definite design phase. For each project the respondent who
provided the case was asked to rank the integration level reached according to our definitions as listed
above. (1 high, 2 average, 3 none). See table 2 at the end of this section.
No significant correlation was found between the level of integration reached, and the moment of
involvement of the HVAC engineer in the process. Although figures differ depending on the firm
providing the cases, no significant trends can be identified in these cases.
In the subsequent interviews, some professionals made remarkable statements, which might partly
explain these results:
“HVAC engineers are insufficiently knowledgeable about the development of architectural
design to be involved in the early phases.”

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“Practice differs from theory when the early involvement of the HVAC engineer is taken into
consideration. The HVAC engineer lacks the creativity and abstract thinking ability needed to
join in the process successfully.”
“HVAC engineers’ fees are hardly excessive. This, plus the fact that the bulk of their fees are
invoiced in latter phases of the process, is no real encouragement for them to get involved in the
process at an earlier stage.”
“Since the design often changes drastically several times in the early phases, the HVAC
engineer’s fee cannot cover the cost of constantly producing new drawings, which would be the
case if he were actively engaged as a co-designer in the process.”
“In the early phases, an HVAC engineer only provides added value if the architect is facing
complex technical requirements which he cannot deal with on his own.”
“Most HVAC engineers have a passive attitude towards the design rather than a pro-active
stance.”
“Architects often cannot comprehend the drawings produced by HVAC engineers, so they have
no insight into the quality potential of the HVAC system and what this can mean for the overall
design.”

4.2 Information plan

Design can be defined as an information-generating and information-specifying process (from brief
to detailed design and production information). When multiple designers are involved in a project, a solid
and reliable exchange of information is vital (Gray and Huges, 2001; Otter, 2005). In this respect, efforts
to formalise the exchange of information between design participants might be considered to be an
indicator for the intensity of management on design process integration. One indicator in these case
studies that was easy to detect is whether or not a formal information exchange plan is in place
established and is actually used.
Four levels of management intensity concerning the information plan were distinguished. These are:
a. An information plan is formulated at project start and is actively implemented.
b. An information plan is formulated at project start but is not actively implemented, according to the
respondents.
c. The need for an information plan arises later in the process. It is then formulated and implemented as
necessary.
d. No information plan formulated.

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The same 55 projects were evaluated using the same methodology as described above. In 20
projects an information plan was formulated and actively implemented from the beginning. 22 projects
fell into the second category (a plan is formulated, but it is not actively implemented). In 7 projects an
information plan was formulated during the process. For 6 projects no information plan was formulated or
implemented at all. For each project the respondent who provided the case was asked to rank the
integration level reached (1 high, 2 average, 3 none).
A weak correlation was found between the level of integration and the availability and
implementation of an information plan. All projects with no information plan were categorised in level 3
(no integration). For all projects, the highest percentage of level-2 integration was reached in those cases
where an information plan was implemented from the beginning. See table 2 at the end of this section.
It should to be noted that this study did not evaluate the information plans themselves based on their
content and quality. The researchers were surprised to find that an information plan was implemented in
76% of the cases studied.
In the subsequent interviews held as part of this study, some respondents stated rather remarkably
that they did not expect an information plan to be of any real influence, while the results show this in fact
to be the most significant correlation. From the range of requirements for the information plan found in
the project management manuals, respondents stressed aspects of timeliness and information reliability
the most. Another remarkable statement was made by an HVAC engineer, who stated that architects often
provide too much information on all the various design changes. Also, some respondents stated that
information exchange is less important than easily readable drawings.

4.3 Meeting frequency

Meeting frequency might be an indicator of conflicts, or of project complexity, but it could also be
an indicator of the level of collaboration. Collaboration is considered to be an intrinsic property, if not a
synonym, of process integration. With regard to collaboration between architects and HVAC engineers,
we assumed that meeting frequency is one of the indicators for the level of commitment to collaborate
and to achieve an integrated project result.
In the case study based on archived meeting minutes, we measured the number of face-to-face
meetings in which architects as well as HVAC engineers were present. A quick scan resulted in three
categories:
a. Meetings held more frequently than every 2 weeks on average;
b. Meetings held on average every 2 weeks;
c. Meetings held on average every 3-4 weeks;

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We did not measure informal or formal communication by fax, telephone, e-mail and so on,
because these data could not be retrieved for this study.
Again, the same 55 projects were studied as described earlier. Only 2 projects had meetings with a
higher frequency than once every two weeks on average. Neither of them reached integration level 1. For
24 projects we measured meetings with an average frequency of every two weeks; none of these reached
integration level 1, 9 reached level 2 and 15 level 3 (no integration). 29 projects had meetings every 3-4
weeks on average, with a nearly equal distribution between integration levels 2 and 3. We may conclude
that there is no correlation between meeting frequency and the resulting level of integration. The only
mild trend that was observed, if there is one at all, is that less frequent meetings lead to more integration.
The results are summarised in table 2.
Respondents remarked on this part of the study as follows:
“A bad project cannot be turned into a good one through good communication. On the other
hand, bad communication can be highly detrimental to a good project.”
“It’s not the frequency, but the quality of communication that counts”.
“Really essential communication takes the form of informal dialogue”.

4.4 Who is in charge?

In accordance with the most commonly applied professional standards in the Netherlands, the
coordination and integration of an architectural design process is the domain of the architect. It is a
widespread conviction that managing architectural design processes requires domain-specific skills and
experience at the designer’s level. This might explain why so many architects still prefer to take charge of
projects themselves and why they eschew professional project managers. This is in line with the bulk of
the comments made by the professionals involved in this case study. Since the topic of who is best at
managing a project is closely related to the issue of integrated design, we also looked at this aspect in the
study. The following categories were distinguished:
a. The project is managed by the architect.
b. The project is managed by a professional construction project manager.
c. The project is managed by someone else (client).

Again, the same 55 projects were used. Of the 55 projects studied, 36 projects were managed by an
architect, 13 by a professional project manager, and 6 by others.

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In those cases where professional project managers were in charge of the projects, they are equally
distributed in integration levels 2 and 3. Remarkably, 40% of the projects managed by architects resulted
in level 3 integration (lowest level). Table 2 summarises the results.

Table 2 Overview of research findings
Integration level
High Average Low
Management intensity
Moment of involvement
Sketch design 1 10 11
Preliminary design 10 14
Definite design 4 5
Information plan
Actively implemented from start 13 7
Not actively implemented 1 7 14
Formulated later in the process 4 3
No info. plan formulated 6
Frequency of meetings
Greater than every two weeks 1 1
Average every two weeks 9 15
Average 3-4 weeks 1 14 14
Project manager
Architect 14 22
Professional project manager 1 6 6
Other 4 2

Some remarkable statements made by the professionals involved in this part of the study include:
“Regardless of who the project manager is, we are the managers during the design phase.” (an
architect).
“The real influence of a project manager starts at the end of the process. Fortunately, most
project managers realise that they must play second fiddle during the early phases of the design
process.”

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5 CONCLUSIONS AND REFLECTIONS

The main research question in this study focused on whether or not good management leads to
better-integrated products in construction. More specifically, we wanted to know whether this holds true
when ‘soft’ architectural values are considered. Since soft architectural values are hard to quantify and
measure, we specifically limited the study on design integration to the level of integration reached
between the architectural expression of the building and its HVAC systems.
The study defined three levels of integration between the architectural expression of the building and
its HVAC systems, loosely based on twelve corresponding criteria. We observed a remarkable level of
agreement among professionals when asked to classify buildings into one of three categories of
integration as defined. We also observed that the majority classified first, and only consulted the
corresponding criteria when asked to explain their choices.
A number of management intensity indicators that are easy to detect and measure were defined.
These indicators are based on very straightforward hypotheses. They are:
A higher level of design integration might be reached by:
1. Early involvement of the HVAC engineers in the process.
2. The existence and implementation of an information plan.
3. Frequent face-to-face meetings.
4. A domain-bound specialist, for example an architect, as the project leader.

As mentioned before we did not find any literature specifically dealing with the effects of
management intensity on collaboration and architectural expression with regard to HVAC system
integration, nor with engineering in general.
We studied 55 projects provided by two large architectural firms and one HVAC engineering
consultancy. In this study no significant correlation could be found between our managerial indicators
and the level of integration reached. This generally contradicts all project management handbooks and
literature in which it is commonly assumed that project management, when implemented properly, will
result in better finished projects. There are several potential explanations for this, of which the most
important are:
 Management intensity was measured, and not managerial quality.
 Of the three architectural firms involved, none had a reputation for architecture with high integration
levels as referred to in this study.
 The case study projects were evaluated by those who provided them and who were involved in the
projects themselves; the evaluations were therefore not unbiased.

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 The study results might had been different if more projects from different firms had been evaluated,
or if projects had been chosen in which integration was an explicit ambition of the design team.

The methodology and data used do not support the ultimate conclusion that a significant empirical
correlation is lacking. The researchers nevertheless consider it to be rather remarkable that not even the
slightest trend could be observed that supports what would seem to be a common-sense hypothesis on the
correlation between management processes (aimed at enhanced collaboration) and resulting ‘soft’
architectural value in terms of design integration.

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19


建築師與冷凍空調工程師合作時之設計整合管理

馬瑅斯‧普林思 1* 寇恩‧庫魯伊那 2

1
荷蘭台夫特科技大學建築學院不動產與住宅學系副教授
荷蘭台夫特 2600 GA 郵政信箱 5043

2
荷蘭 Comme 建築經理及顧問公司專案經理
荷蘭扎爾特博莫爾 5301 DB

*
通訊作者 Email：m.prins@tudelft.nl
（2010 年 6 月 15 日投稿，2011 年 3 月 4 日通過)

摘要
本文報告關於程序設計與程序管理之間相互關係，及建築設計和其空調系統設計
（含冷暖氣和通風設備）整合程度的研究。
整合程度的測量方法乃是經由審視建築雜誌刊載的一系列建案，歸納出十二項衡
量整合程度的標準，再要求業界專業人士以此標準檢視不同建案的整合程度。結
果在絕大部份的案例裡對於整合程度都獲得大致相同的結論。
另外透過訪談的方式分析其它逾五十項建案，訪談內容主要是判別針對程序整合
所訂定的管理流程的強度高低。再以上述十二項標準分為三級測量這些建案的整
合程度。研究結果顯示管理流程和整合程度並無顯著關聯。

關鍵字：設計管理，價值，整合，程序管理，設計整合，管理效能

20

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