The Changing Shape of Practice

Integrating Research and Design in Architecture

Michael U. Hensel, Fredrik Nilsson, Michael U. Hensel, Fredrik Nilsson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781317504825
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture General

Architectural practices worldwide have to deal with increasingly complex design requirements. How do practices acquire the ability to do so?

The Changing Shape of Practice provides a handbook of examples for practices that wish to integrate more research into their work and a reference book for students that seek to prepare themselves for the changing shape of practice in architecture.

It addresses the increasing integration of research undertaken in architectural practices of different sizes ranging from small to very large practices from the UK, USA, Europe and Asia. The book is organized according to the size of the practices which is significant in that it addresses the different structures and resourcing requirements that are enabled by specific practice sizes, as this determines and constrains the type, scope and modes of research available to a given practice. The practices covered include:

Woods Bagot
Perkins + Will
White
AECOM
UN Studio
Shop Architects
PLP Architecture
Kieran Timberlake
3XN
ONL
AZPML
Thomas Herzog + Partners
Herreros Arquitectos
Spacescape
OCEAN Design Research Association

By taking stock of the current shape of practice, the book provides essential information for professional architects who are integrating research into their practice.

Part 1

700+ employees

1 AECOM

2 Perkins+Will

3 White

4 Woods Bagot

Chapter 1

AECOM

AECOM global sports: Rio Olympic Games Barra Park

Pavel Hladik

AECOM Global Sports

With nearly 100,000 employees – including architects, engineers, designers, planners, scientists and management and construction services professionals – serving clients in more than 150 countries around the world following the acquisition of URS, AECOM is a premier, fully integrated infrastructure and support services firm. The firm provides a blend of global reach, local knowledge, innovation and technical excellence in delivering solutions that create, enhance and sustain the world’s built, natural and social environments.

The global sports team within AECOM is a collaborative community of professionals and leading experts in the field, including urban designers, engineers, economists, planners, cost consultants, project managers and architects. The team works across the whole life cycle of major event planning and delivery and sports facility development – from the bidding stage of major event hosting through to delivery, and pre-concept for the design of standalone stadiums and arenas through to delivery and operation of major venues. The core architectural team – the work of which this chapter details – based in London, is about 20-strong and works closely with the wider global team, leading on international projects and connecting with AECOM’s in-country offices for delivery of national stadiums and arenas.

As described below, research within the global sports team is a combination of individual academic study and specific project experience and research, and the development of technical design tools. Working on some high-profile industry-changing sports-led projects, AECOM’s global team is continually working on new schemes that challenge existing practices, initiate new designs, create opportunities for sports developers and owners and inherently demand research and study to create high-quality, innovative solutions.

One of the most significant changes for sports development over the past 20 years is its integration into the wider masterplanning and urban regeneration and renewal of cities. Indeed in some respects – particularly for major event planning such as the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup^TM – sports is a catalyst to renewal and is as much about place-making – creating a destination – as it is about fan and athlete experiences. As a result, AECOM’s responsibility and technical and professional expertise is wide and all-encompassing; managing multiple stakeholders, from government and sporting bodies to the local community. It also means that the design team for sports developments includes not only architects, engineers, project and cost managers, but also, and not exclusively, related professionals including transportation, security and crowd modelling engineers.

Global Sports Research

The architectural design team within AECOM’s global sports team delivers innovative sport projects that are a product of extensive experience as well as its design research knowledge. As a group of specialists they are consistently abreast of cutting-edge design tools and theory of sport planning and developing bespoke technical tools. This is supported by day-to-day project management and close collaboration with sporting federations and bodies, government policy-makers, city masterplanners and fellow professionals. From the collaboration the team constantly collect data and use them as inputs into the design, which is primarily conducted in parametric software. The team also regularly contributes to articles, takes speaking positions at conferences to share knowledge and is active in the membership of not-for-profit research organizations, including Smartgeometry and OCEAN Design Research Association.

Sport venues are buildings of great dimensions with a significant impact on their surroundings. The competitive delivery of complex products requires a smooth and coordinated flow of design information, a challenge that has encouraged engineers and architects to discuss common problems. A company such as AECOM benefits from the knowledge of established specialists in the fields of architecture and building engineering, and forms multidisciplinary teams. This team most often consists of masterplanners, landscape architects and venue design architects, structural and service engineers and cost, project and programme managers. Dependent on the client’s requirements, the scope of works is often expanded to encompass other disciplines such as façade designers, transportation and infrastructure engineering and security.

Smartgeometry

Smartgeometry, which was founded in 2001, is a partnership between practice, research and academia, and was formed by members of the world’s leading architectural and engineering professions. One of the founders is J.R.J. Parrish, a principal at AECOM and global architectural leader of the sports group. Smartgeometry focuses on architectural design using computational tools – where mathematics and algorithms are becoming as natural to architects today as the pen and paper of yesterday. It promotes the emergence of this new paradigm in which digital designers and craftsmen are able to intelligently exploit the combination of digital and physical media to take projects from design right through to production. The group also influenced a new parametric design tool called Generative Components through its advice, user feedback and annual conferences. J.R.J. Parrish pioneered the use of this technology to support innovation and enhance the design process and its results; one of the tools developed by him is bespoke software for parametric stadium and arena design. During his time working at Arup Sport, Parrish used this tool on a variety of stadium-design projects, including: the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sydney (2000) and Beijing (2008); Shakhtar Donetsk in Ukraine; Valencia Football Club in Spain; Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany; and the recently completed Singapore Sports Hub in Singapore.

Figure 1.1 Grasshopper definition of a seating bowl.

Credit: AECOM

Parametric Design Tools in Practice

As a sports group, AECOM is also continually developing bespoke parametric tools in parallel with design. Grasshopper for Rhinoceros is often used within the group. Peter Llewellyn, a director, Chris Dunn, Andrea Cunsolo and Pavel Hladik, all associate directors within the sports group, translated their stadium knowledge into sets of parameters which govern parametric definitions of stadium design.

Figure 1.2 Analysis of a specific visibility field.

Credit: AECOM

The team also explores design tools and customizes widely used parametric software packages, which are used for concept sketches or for building information modelling (BIM). Among these are Revit and Digital Project. Digital Project is used for form generation and bespoke use; it is based on the program CATIA, which was first used on the Beijing Olympic Stadium and later on Singapore Sports Hub (both projects led by ArupSport). Revit has been adopted to hold design information for BIM for AECOM’s work on Al Wakhrah Stadium and Precinct in Qatar, the first stadiums to be developed as part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup^TM. A dedicated BIM team was built around this project, focused on creating a fully coordinated information model.

The global sports team also has links with OCEAN Design Research Association through Pavel Hladik, who collaborates on various projects within this interdisciplinary design group. OCEAN was founded in 1994 as a network of collaborating architects interested in approaching architectural design as an interdisciplinary knowledge field and to undertake research by design. Since 2008, OCEAN has been registered in Norway as a not-for-profit association conducting interdisciplinary research in design.

Academic Links

AECOM and the global sports team maintain close contact with academic institutions and collaborate as lecturers and visiting tutors, and take active roles in symposia, workshops and exhibitions. Cooperating institutions include the Architectural Association and the University of Brighton in the UK; the Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic; Rome University, Rome, Italy; and the Italian Olympic Committee. Angelo Spampinato, an associate director in the sports team, is also a co-founder and author of the encyclopaedic internet site worldstadiums.com. A not-for-profit organization mapping existing and past stadiums around the world in electronic and hardcopy publications, the website started from Angelo’s personal interest and his collaboration with a web designer and economist traveller. The site is actively updated, attracts sponsorship and is considered a reliable source of important stadium information. For many companies, working with academic institutions is often undertaken through live projects with complex design issues. These research projects are invaluable to the design process. The results of one led by Loughborough University to test bowl cooling design showed that when designing a stadium like Al Wakrah, accommodating extreme temperatures is crucial to the success of the project.

Project-LED Knowledge Development and Research

With experience working on international major events, not only in an architectural role but providing a whole multidisciplinary team incorporating engineering, programme, cost and project management, economics and feasibility planning, transportation, infrastructure, security and event overlay, AECOM’s project-led experience is constantly developing.

Projects see the team working on facilities for a variety of sports, including swimming, football, rugby, handball and cycling, with work demanding extensive coordination with sporting federations and institutions (IOC, FIFA, FINA, UEFA, IRB, etc.) and local and nation...