Opinions Archives | Page 2 of 3

Choosing the Right Metal Roof System for the Job

Posted on June 23, 2015March 21, 2025 by Amy Crenan

It should be no surprise that I’m a strong advocate of the outstanding benefits of metal roofing. It is extremely, durable, low maintenance, energy efficient, recyclable –yes, I could go on and on. And it’s not just functional; it’s attractive. Its versatility is a designers dream when it comes to achieving today’s architectural elements—hips, valleys, slope changes, transitions and dormers are all possible.

But as great as these roofs are, care must be taken to select the right type of metal roof system for the job at hand. In fact, the designer must specify a roof panel that can be used in each of the design elements he or she intends to incorporate into the roof project. Design, coupled with the choice of roof slopes, trim details and how the panel is to be fastened to the substructure are deciding factors in choosing the proper roof. When the roof system chosen isn’t the right one for the job, the result can be a roof that leaks and doesn’t function as designed.

Though most metal roofing manufacturers are able and willing to discuss the application parameters for each of their products, it would be wise to arm yourself with at least a general idea about the parameters of some of the most common profiles. To arm you as simply as possible, I’ll separate metal roofing into two broad categories—through fastened and standing seam.

Through-Fastened Roof Systems

Exposed, or through-fastened panels, are available in a variety of widths, usually from two to three feet wide. They also come in various rib shapes, heights and spacings. Typical gauges are 29 and 26, but they also come in 24 and 22 gauge.

There are structural and non-structural through-fastened panels. Structural panels are capable of spanning across purlins or other secondary framing members such as joists or beams. Non-structural panels must be installed over a solid deck.

Through-fastened roofs generally have two great advantages: (1) they are relatively inexpensive and (2) they are simple to install. Structural though-fastened panels have the additional advantage of providing a diaphragm, which is important in the wind bracing of metal buildings.

But most through-fastened roofs also have two big disadvantages: (1) they can leak if not fully seated to the panel or if the purlin is missed, and (2) they do not allow the roof to float during thermal movement. This can cause the roof panel to tear around the fasteners, causing leaks and possible roof blow off.

For this reason, through-fastened roofs are best suited to small- and medium-sized metal buildings and residential applications. In both instances, the panel runs are limited to shorter lengths where thermal movement is typically not a problem.

I’ll discuss the best uses for standing seal metal roofing systems in detail in my next two posts.

To support our customers’ design flexibility, MBCI offers 11 different metal roofing panels with exposed fasteners, each with its own unique profile. Most of these roof panels can also be used in wall applications and designed for both vertical and horizontal installation. Read more.

Details, Details, Details

Posted on June 18, 2015March 21, 2025 by kbuchinger

Water runs downhill. And, gravity is our friend. Yet sometimes we forget these basic concepts when installing metal panel roofing.

When it comes to metal roofing details, a contractor should always think about the flow of water.

Roofing contractors are in the business of controlling water, so let’s install details that allow water to run downhill and let’s use gravity to our advantage. A more precise way to say it: Implement drainage details that don’t buck water!

Defending Against Water Leaks

Metal roof penetration and edge details should not rely on sealant as the primary defense against water leaks. Certainly, sealant is and should be used as a secondary measure against water leaks. Consider this: A transverse panel seam is created by lapping the upper panel over the lower panel, and sealant is used as a secondary seal. Installers would never reverse the lap of a transverse seam (where the lower panel is on top of the upper panel), bucking water and relying only on sealant to keep water out. A penetration detail (e.g., a vent stack or roof curb) should use the same logic. There’s no doubt that bad details are rooted in low cost and speed of installation, but those are not details that are going to have equal service life to the metal panels on a roof. A penetration detail is as critical to the long-term success of a metal roof as a transverse seam.

Prefabricated Penetration Details

It’s best to use prefabricated penetration details that have welded or soldered weathertight seams. The prefabricated piece should be the width of a panel and include the male and female seams, and be seamed into the adjacent panels. And just like a typical transverse seam, the top edge of the prefabricated piece should be under the upper panel, and the bottom edge of the prefabricated piece should be above the lower panel. Water is not bucked and seams are fully intact. That is a long-term penetration detail.

Where proper overlap can’t happen, redundancy is necessary. A small pipe penetration detail should use a rubber roof jack with added levels of redundancy for weatherproofing. First, the roof jack should only be installed in the flat of the panel; sealant tape should be installed between the panel and the roof jack; and closely spaced, gasketed fasteners should be installed to create compression on the sealant.

Roofing That Lasts

Metal roofs sell themselves because metal is long-lasting. And construction details need to be developed and installed with that in mind. Metal panels don’t leak—the joinery and fastener locations can leak. Remember to design and build details that have equivalent service life to the panels themselves. Proper laps are critical, and remember, gravity is our friend.

To learn how to design a roof system that prevents possible infiltration and allows for proper water runoff, take MBCI’s AIA-accredited course, The Devil is in the Details.

The Right Team Holds Your Standing Seam Roof System Together – Part 2

Posted on June 1, 2015March 21, 2025 by kbuchinger

Blackridge Elementary features LokSeam

In my previous post, I talked about the important process of selecting the right materials and appurtenances for your standing seam roof system and how they should be used together for the best result. There are three more parts of the standing seam roof system that, if used, must be carefully specified.

Pipe Penetrations. Plumbing vents, heater flues, exhaust fans and pipe supports for equipment racks are all typical penetrations seen on metal roofs. Always specify rubber roof jacks for these penetrations, and use high temperature silicone rubber roof jacks on pipes that will be hot. Do not allow the use of residential type roof jacks, such as those made of plastic or lead, or the EPDM roof jacks made for single ply roofs.

Use pipe instead of square tubing to penetrate the roof when designing an equipment rack for rooftop equipment. Otherwise, there will be no good way to seal it to the roof. Pipe penetrations should always penetrate the roof in the middle, or flat part, of the panel, not through the seam itself. Ignore this advice, and you’ll probably have a roof leak on your hands.

Large diameter pipes may restrict the drainage of water. A good rule of thumb is to ensure that the base of the roof jack fits completely in the pan of the roof panel. If it will not fit, install a stack flashing in the roof at the proper location and attach the roof jack in the stack flashing. Stack flashings install into a roof just like a roof curb, but they are flat in the middle and don’t have the opening a curb does. This provides a large flat area in which to install the roof jack with room for water drainage.

Crickets. The roof design may at times require a cricket be installed to divert water around a parapet wall. And if the specifications or architectural drawings are not clear as to the proper treatment of this area, the roofer will make the cricket out of sheet metal. However, crickets should always be made out of welded aluminum or stainless steel. This allows you to have a cricket that fits and leaves no pinholes or laps that are sealed with caulk. Sunlight will eventually break down exposed caulk and may cause a leak. But when properly built and installed, a welded cricket will perform throughout the lifetime of the roof.

Snow Retention Devices. When these devices are required on a standing seam roof, never use a through-fastened device. When through-fastened devices are used, they are either installed into the secondary structural, which prevents the roof from floating, or they are installed into the roof panels only, which makes for a very weak connection that will eventually work loose, leaving holes in the roof.

The best snow retention devices utilize a clamp that locks onto the panel seam and does not perforate the roof membrane.

Keep in mind that if snow conditions are severe enough to warrant retention devices at the eave, you will also need to protect pipe penetrations as well. Many unprotected plumbing vents are broken at the roof surface from moving ice and snow.

Remember, the roof system is called a system for a reason. For a successful roof installation, all rooftop accessories should be considered. Well defined specifications and details should be provided and adhered to so everyone involved in the project knows what is expected and can bid the project accordingly.

The roof installation process will be more efficient, leak problems will be avoided and the “final inspection” will be painless. Who doesn’t want that? The end result will be a total roof system that looks good and performs well for decades to come.

The Right Team Holds Your Standing Seam Roof System Together – Part 1

Posted on May 18, 2015March 21, 2025 by kbuchinger

The architect, roof manufacturer and roof construction installer are parts of a team that can work together like a well-oiled machine to get the best result – a professionally installed roof that looks beautiful and will last for decades.

I now invite you to think of your metal roofing system as a “team” in the sense that all parts must work effectively and efficiently together like pieces of a puzzle to function optimally as designed. A well-thought-out process puts the right combination of materials together in the right way to produce an optimum roofing system.

The process requires identifying a reputable manufacturer of standing seam roofs – one that meets your specific performance and aesthetic needs, and that provides the required warranties. Once chosen, the designer may think, “Voila! Mission complete,” when in fact, the process is just beginning.

Mitchelle Elementary School features BattenLok HS and LokSeam

Since metal roofs are being used in increasingly more complicated designs, the roof panels and related accessories that attach the roof to the substructure are a part of the total roof system. The added roof curbs, pipe penetrations, crickets, snow retention devices and lightning protection equipment all become part of the standing seam roof system. And it really matters how each of these items attach to the roof. Though it sounds logical to do so, don’t leave it up to the roofer or another tradesperson to decide how these items will be installed.

Take control and make sure the following are adhered to when specifying a standing seam metal roof system:

Do not use dissimilar materials.

Copper, lead and graphite can all cause galvanic corrosion. Even water dripping from these materials onto the roof can cause it to corrode. And manufacturers’ warranties are often void if this situation exists.

Some examples: Copper lightning arresting equipment is a typical use of dissimilar material found on Galvalume roots. Use aluminum instead. Lead hats are often found on Galvalume roots. Rubber jacks can be substituted.

Compile a qualified list of acceptable curb manufacturers. Choose only those that use aluminum or stainless steel. Many curb companies use Galvalume, which seems reasonable since most standing seam panels are made from this material. But when Galvalume-coated steel is welded, the Galvalume-coating melts at the weld. Even when a coating of corrosion inhibitor is used, it will never be as good as the uncontaminated Galvalume coating.

You also want a curb manufacturer that offers a weathertightness warranty if required for the roof. Roof manufacturers will generally warrant the attachment of the roof curb to their roof panels, but it’s up to the roof curb manufacturer to warrant the construction and performance of their product.

Be careful with roof curbs. First off, they should be “shingled” into the roof. This way, all laps shed water as it drains from the roof. Curbs that lap on top of the roof panels on the upslope side will cause problems.

Roof curbs must allow plenty of room for water to drain around them without building up a waterhead at the upslope end. Provide clearance on both sides of the curb and a long flange on the upslope end so the roof panels can lap onto the flange and maintain a 12” upslope from the top of the water diverter built into the curb.

Finally, if AC units will be placed on the roof, include PVC condensate lines to carry the water off of the roof. Never allow the condensate to drain directly onto the roof. The dissolved copper ions which will cause galvanic corrosion of the roof panels.

This is a lot to consider, possibly more than you thought was involved. Well friends, there’s even more. I’ll explore this even further in my next post.

In the meantime, learn more about MBCI’s rigorously-tested, standing seam metal roof systems and how it’s one of the most durable and weathertight roof systems available in the industry.

When It Comes to Roofing Expertise, It Doesn’t Hurt to Diversify

Posted on May 5, 2015March 21, 2025 by Amy Crenan

As is often the case when it comes to your investments, it’s always a good idea to diversify. This also applies to the investment of your construction expertise as a roofing contractor. Even with the mild uptick in new construction activity of late, contractors are smart to explore the additional revenue stream that can come from roof renovations and retrofits.

Most metal roof retrofit work entails adding slope to an existing flat- or low-sloped roof. According to a 2013 article in Metal Construction News, about 25 percent of U.S. commercial, institutional and public buildings are 55 years old or older and consist of flat-roof stock that has reached the end of its service life. Two years later, that percentage is surely higher.

To transition from a flat roof to a sloped roof is a good move, because it will result in lower energy and maintenance costs for years to come. It is also environmentally smart, because metal is one of the most recycled materials used in construction, and metal roofing is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its service life. A metal roofing system provides for additional insulation, as well as the installation of solar panels that reduce reliance on electricity. And in most circumstances, a new metal roof can be installed without having to remove the existing flat roof. A metal retrofit may carry a higher initial cost, but when total life-cycle cost is considered, a metal retrofit will end up being the lowest cost alternative.

A large number of buildings with flat membrane or built-up roofs require a framing system to produce an adequate slope. But this particular type of retrofit can be challenging. In general, the retrofit market is more specialized and much more technical than what roofing contractors are likely used to in the existing metal building market. At the same time, the retrofit market can be very profitable and is worth getting up to speed on.

Whether you’re doing a small retrofit project or a complete renovation, MBCI can assist you with developing a preliminary budget, estimating, engineering, as well as providing a complete set of shop drawings for your retrofit project.

Stay tuned for future posts where we’ll provide some guidelines on how to successfully navigate the design process of retrofitting a flat or inadequately sloped built-up or membrane roof. Adding this diversity to your portfolio of roofing skills will likely net a high return on investment.

Part II – Transparency in Building Products

Posted on April 28, 2015March 21, 2025 by MBCI

A huge buzzword in the building products industry these days is transparency. The green building movement, which has previously focused on high-performing buildings with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and fossil fuel use reduction, has increasingly put its cross hairs on occupant exposure risk in the last few years. Although that change alone is probably enough to start some controversy, how this new emphasis is being implemented is really fueling the fire for new arguments. If you read our last blog, Part I – The importance of consensus in building standards, then you should be familiar with how building codes are developed in a consensus-based forum in which all affected parties have some say. However, many of the movers and shakers of the green building movement have bypassed that forum by folding the requirements they want to emphasize into voluntary programs of their own creation. At the same time, they lobby owners and building officials to carry some level of compliance to these programs, offering a benefit of being able to say their buildings or communities are “green” by displaying plaques on the façade or being listed on a website.

Although that tact seems fair on the surface, it really puts a lot of power into the hands of self-proclaimed experts to decide on the definition of “green” they want to use for their program. As we discussed in Part I, the ANSI consensus process requires policy-making organizations to transparently prove their competence in subjects they affect with their policy. Furthermore, they also have to publicly announce the formation of a committee (called a “Call for Committee”) they designate to create and maintain this policy. They must also allow members of the public to submit curricula vitae for consideration to join the committee without necessarily being a member of the organization. This introduces a mechanism to balance the power the committee is usurping by having control of the policy going forward. Unfortunately, no such mechanism exists for many of the authors of voluntary green building programs and the negative aspects of this are particularly pronounced in the area of building product transparency.

One of the most common ways green building programs administer transparency is through the use of a “red list,” which is essentially a list of banned substances. Using California Proposition 65 or Europe’s RoHS as a model, many of the NGO-based programs related to buildings have some type of requirement that aims to reduce or eliminate the use of ingredients that could possibly be harmful to building occupants. In many instances, these same NGOs offer third-party listing programs that a building manufacturer can join and have their products declared as meeting the requirements. Many people see this as a conflict of interest since an NGO, typically funded through donations, is in a position to act as a gatekeeper, allowing in only those companies or industries that support the NGO financially or align themselves with the NGO’s agenda.

But there is a deeper, more disturbing aspect: Although the list itself may start out as a publicly accepted and scientifically based enumeration of toxic ingredients, NGOs often add other substances that are not known, or in some cases, even suspected, to be toxic in order to dissuade architects from specifying certain products or deploying certain construction methods. Quite often, the NGO will develop the red list in closed discussion forums where manufacturers have no ability to provide evidence to substantiate that their products are indeed safe. At best, a manufacturer can ask the NGO to consider exceptions or modifications. But ultimately, a manufacturer has no assurance that their case has been adequately considered because they are not allowed to attend the forum. Sadly, this is what passes for transparency in green construction more often than not lately.

This lack of due process came to a head in 2013, when members of congress began to express concern that LEED, the green building program used by the military and the General Services Administration, was not an ANSI-based standard. In response, the GSA formally announced that they would take public comment on the subject and decided nine months later that they would continue to specify LEED but other ANSI-based programs would be considered going forward as well. Meanwhile, the military announced that they were developing their own standard, distancing themselves from LEED. This quelled the discussion for a while and allowed other, even hotter subjects like healthcare to take the spotlight. But concern lives on that the lack of transparency in the development of LEED and similar programs is leading the public down a dangerous, politics-as-usual road.

However, the news is not all bad. There are several organizations that use an ANSI-based process to develop and maintain their programs so that the requirements can readily be incorporated into public policy. ASHRAE, ICC, and a newcomer in the U.S., The Green Building Initiative, have all invested the tremendous amount of time and effort it takes to develop their standards in an ANSI-based public forum, and their respective programs offer a building owner or code official a great alternative to vague voluntary programs subject to interpretation by self-proclaimed experts. We will explore several of those options in our next blog.

Do Metal Roofs Attract Lightning Strikes?

Posted on March 27, 2015March 21, 2025 by kbuchinger

Building owners and managers fortunate enough to have a metal roof know personally its durability, resiliency and reliability, not unlike that contributed to the U.S. Postal Service of yore: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night …”—nor fire, nor hail nor the like—will prevent it from fulfilling its function. Those natural elements conspire to knock on the good reputation of a metal roof, to no avail. But how does a metal roof hold up against a more ominous threat… lightning?

The Myth of Metal Roofs & Lightning

Metal conducts electricity, so it’s not unreasonable to have concerns about whether a metal roof is the best material with which to build a roof to avoid damage from lightning.

According to the Metal Construction Association’s technical bulletin on Lightning and Metal Roofing, the probability of a lightning strike is determined by several factors:

Topography in the area of the structure: The probability of a strike is higher if a structure is situated on a mountaintop or hilltop as opposed to a field.
Size and height of the subject structure. A tall building or a facility covering a large ground area is more likely to be struck than a short or small building. A tall, thin structure, such as a tower, a tree or utility pole, is also a more likely target for a lightning strike.
Relative location of the structure with respect to nearby larger and taller structures. A very tall structure located near a small, short one will tend to further reduce the likelihood of a strike to the smaller one.
Frequency and severity of thunderstorm activity in the geographic area of the project.

Notice there is no mention of the material from which the structure is made. In fact, the probabilities of a strike to a metal roofed structure are no more or less than any other kind of structure. The probability risk has more to do with the height and size of the structure and its surroundings than the material of which it is made.

The use of a lightning protection system, such as lightning rods, may lessen the consequence of a strike. And if lightning does strike a building, a metal roof actually can cause the energy impact to disperse evenly and uneventfully through the structure. Finally, metal roofing isn’t combustible or flammable.

Metal is Best Overall Roofing Material

Bottom line, metal is probably the best material option for roofing, and a safer source of protection for your facility , customers and employees when the inevitable storms come.

Find out more about MBCI metal roofing products

Part 1 – The Importance of Consensus in Building Standards

Posted on March 3, 2015March 21, 2025 by MBCI

Most people understand the purpose of a building code: To ensure the safety of the occupants and to establish the minimum accepted performance level of the building and its systems. Fewer people understand that because building codes are adopted into law by a governing body, technically referred to as an Authority Having Jurisdiction or AHJ, they are an in fact an extension of the law or ordinance that brings them into effect. Knowing that, you should not be surprised to learn that like laws, building codes in America can’t just be arbitrarily made up by somebody having the authority and know-how to do so. Instead, they must have gone through some type of consensus process in which all affected entities or their representatives have the opportunity to participate. This concept, called Due Process of Law, is central to many governmental charters such as the Magna Carta and The Constitution of the United States of America and is designed to ensure that a person’s individual rights are not unfairly taken away.

Under the US Constitution, laws are written by Congress and interpreted by judges. Members of Congress are elected by their constituents and judges are either appointed by elected officials or elected themselves. Similarly, building codes are written by consensus bodies, like the International Code Council or ICC, and interpreted by Building Officials, who are generally appointed by elected officials. The code development process used by ICC is one where any interested member of the public can participate and is guaranteed a forum to propose changes and comment on the proposed changes submitted by others using a system governed by Roberts Rules of Order. After discussion and debate, the code committee votes on the individual proposals and those that pass are incorporated into the code, guaranteeing due process. (Actually, it’s quite a bit more complicated than this but for purposes of this blog, let’s just leave it at that.)

However, building codes commonly do not actually spell out all of the requirements for buildings and building systems. More and more, the code will delegate low-level detailed requirements to a different type of document called a standard, and then brings the requirements contained within by referencing the standard in the code by name. Likewise, these standards then must also be developed through a consensus process administered by an adequate standard development body. But because all standard development bodies are structured a little differently, it is not realistic to mandate that consensus process directly. Instead, another independent body called The American National Standards Institute or ANSI, certifies standard development bodies as having a sufficient consensus processes to be deemed as meeting the incorporating code requirements for due process. Examples of these bodies are the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) who develop ASCE 7, the document that determines the minimum load requirements for buildings; the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) a group widely known for developing material and testing specifications for general use; and the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), who develops ASHRAE 90.1, the document that spells out the minimum building energy efficiency requirements. If you are an architect or engineer, all of these acronyms should sound very familiar to you.

Another acronym that you are probably familiar with is LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is developed and maintained by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) and is the premier green building program in the world. Interestingly though, the development landscape changes drastically when it comes to green construction programs like LEED. You see, the USGBC is not an ANSI accredited standard developer and thus LEED is not an actual official standard, hence the use of the word “program”. How then is it possible that USGBC can have so much say in how buildings, particularly publicly owned buildings, get built? The answer is that they get around this limitation by structuring LEED as a voluntary program and then lobbying the potential owners of buildings, like the US and state governments, into using their program by executive order rather than legislating the requirement directly. If you’ve watched TV at all in the last year, particularly with respect to immigration reform, you know how controversial this approach can be. Nevertheless, it is perfectly legal in this context.

This really has not been a significant issue to date because LEED does have a consensus process (albeit not an ANSI accredited one) and LEED credit requirements have been fairly uncontroversial in past versions. However, LEED v4, the latest generation of the wildly popular green building program, changed all of that by adding credits that are less about design and functionality of the building and more about transparency with respect to building product ingredients to ensure occupant health and comfort. Let’s be clear: Most reasonable people, including building product manufacturers, don’t have a problem with increased transparency and want more occupant comfort and health. But it is how LEED defines “transparency” in version 4 has many people up in arms and they point to the hypocrisy of developing a definition to the word “transparency” during a closed-door meeting with no manufacturers at the table as what is wrong with green building as it exists today. My next blog will explore that concept further.

Building in the Public Eye

Posted on December 5, 2014March 21, 2025 by Amy Crenan

Government spending is always under scrutiny. I currently live in a construction zone (prime real estate, I know), and I catch myself judging the new road plan, project timeframe, resting construction workers, etc. This very same principle can be applied to the construction of public buildings. It’s important to be efficient with your costs and timeframe. It wasn’t until I joined the metal panel manufacturing industry that I realized how much they can help contractors and facility owners with both.

DCTA Take for instance the Denton County Transit Authority (DCTA) in Denton, Texas. Their operations were expanding so rapidly that they were in need of new facilities to house their growing fleet of buses. As a provider of mass transportation, DCTA was already focused on reducing fuel costs and eliminating carbon dioxide emissions. Rightfully so, they were environmentally conscious and wanted their new facility to reflect the same. To help achieve this sustainability, Huitt-Zollars Architectural Firm selected insulated metal wall panels, single skin metal roof panels and soffit panels.

DCTA’s new facilities consisted of two offices and a maintenance and fueling building and used over 5,000 square feet of metal panels. MBCI supplied 1,300 square feet of CF Architectural insulated metal wall panels in Stucco White, 1,200 square feet of 7.2 exposed fastening panels in Silver Metallic and 2,500 square feet of FW-120 concealed fastening panels in Snow White.

MBCI’s CF Architectural insulated metal wall panel provides the durability of metal while its non-CFC foamed-in-place polyurethane core delivers the energy savings of DCTA insulation. The panel can achieve an R-value up to 8.5 per inch of panel thickness. Additionally, since the panel and insulation are manufactured together and delivered as one piece, it reduces installation time.

The 7.2 Panel and FW-120 concealed fastening panels have been tested by a certified independent laboratory in accordance with ASTM test procedures for Air Infiltration and Water Penetration. The test results show the FW-120 panels have no air leakage at 1.57 PSF and no water penetration through the panel joints at 6.24 PSF differential pressures. The 7.2 Panel’s DCTA test results show no air leakage at 6.24 PSF and no water penetration at 13.24 PSF. Furthermore, the symmetrical rib of the 7.2 Panel offers excellent spanning and cantilever capabilities.

Using metal panels increases energy efficiency while reducing energy and maintenance costs, driving a building design’s success and making you and taxpayers happy!

Building the Future of an Industry: How Collaboration, Creativity & Ignorance Can Change the Face of the Built Environment

Posted on March 13, 2014March 21, 2025 by William H. Dodge

As the design and construction industry moves forward and we all (product manufacturers, designers, and clients alike) start to seriously consider the ideas of legitimate “differentiation” (among our peers, designs, and products) the ideas of multi-industry collaboration and mass customization come to mind…

Photo courtesy of Rick Sommerfeld

Should we decide to go down this road, there are most definitely very real challenges that await: raw material costs, set-up and tooling charges, time/schedule and testing for starters. Then there’s the seemingly insurmountable challenge of multi-company and multidisciplinary coordination… At company A) “x” means one thing, while at company B) “x” means the exact opposite… How do we ensure that our products/designs/buildings don’t in a sense have two left feet after navigating this process? At the end of the day, however, should we rise to the challenge and navigate these obstacles successfully, the pay-off will be enormous. Below are a few key ways to make this happen.

START COLLABORATING FROM THE BEGINNING
Secretly, many architectural designers fancy themselves as inventors of sorts (I know that I did/still do). They are often times quite literally creating something out of seemingly thin air in order to correspond with the client’s/owner’s hopes and dreams. The only problem is when you run out of time, money or needed/interesting “building blocks”.

Earlier this year, I was approached by a senior-level principle of a world leading design firm, regarding the possibility of partnering up with MBCI in order to bring new products to market. The basic gist of the conversation was: “We have the design know-how and experience, while you guys [MBCI] have the manufacturing and testing experience. Why not partner up and bring new stuff to the market that no one else ever possibly could?” Why not indeed? Currently that is a topic that is still on the table. It is through conversations like these that true progress is really made, and I am greatly encouraged by the future of this relationship.

EMBRACE IGNORANCE AND NAIVETY
In order to move forward we must each take risks, we must look to the future as a real opportunity for change and we must embrace both ignorance and naivety for it is by only not knowing one’s “limitations” and what is (and what is not) currently “possible”, that innovation can occur.

While in graduate school at NC State, I was fortunate enough to have had more than my share of inspirational conversations with some of the world’s finest architectural and design minds, not the least of which was one particular discussion with Michael Rotondi of RoTo Architects. “I look for design inspiration in everyday life, but most importantly from my thirteen year old son and my interns. I’m too set in my ways to ever think about things much differently than I already do, but by keeping an open mind, I am always exposed to a fresh perspective.” How many of us out there are open to such a philosophy? How many of us could benefit from such a strategy? I would be willing to bet nearly everyone (and every industry).

GET INVOLVED WITH SCHOOLS
Embrace the enthusiasm of people eager to learn. Architecture/Design School is many things, but it is most assuredly anything but easy. Mental toughness and the ability to solve complex problems quickly are unspoken but very real prerequisites for graduation. Most disciplines have tests with one “right” answer. Design education takes a drastically different approach. There are quite literally countless “right” answers to the same exact problem. If you put one hundred designers in a room and ask them each for a solution to the same exact design problem you will get one hundred different answers. There are legitimate reasons for each of these answers, and throughout their education students are continuously thrust into this situation. Students must not only provide their answer but must also present their solution to a jury of their peers, professors and practitioners. This is their test… This process helps to create the strongest of work ethics (no one ever wants to be embarrassed repeatedly in a room full of their colleagues/friends), the ability to take constructive (and sometimes unconstructive) criticism, the ability to think on their feet (you can never know what they’ll ask or focus on), as well as the ability to not only come up with creative solutions but also to SELL them. Any company looking to innovate can benefit tremendously from their share of employees with this background and experience. Why not start that process earlier with direct relationships with the schools/students themselves? I challenge any company or industry to consider this approach. I can promise you that you will see tremendous results.

I am very proud of MBCI’s commitment to this ideal and to have had the opportunity to have worked with many such students during the past year. I am even more proud of MBCI’s contributions of both time and materials to two design-build studios (North Carolina State and CU Denver) this past summer as both of those projects are not only beautiful, but also support great causes (see links below). As great as these two particular projects are, I am hopeful that they are only the beginning and that we will continue to seek out and respond to similar opportunities in the future.

North Carolina State University: Floating Lab project for Durham Public Schools
About Durham Public Schools HUB Farm: http://www.dpsnc.net/programs-services/cte/hub-farm
Project: http://design.ncsu.edu/designlife/2014/02/11/and-make-it-float/

University of Colorado Denver: HOZHO House, DesignBuildBLUFF
About DesignBuildBLUFF: http://www.designbuildbluff.org/?q=node/31
Project: http://www.designbuildbluff.org/blog/?cat=131