HMC Architects is creating a new, internal, designing model that pushes for earlier interdisciplinary collaboration and deeper integration of processes, technology, materials and systems.
This “design lab” approach is being launched from HMC’S office in Los Angeles. Heading up this effort is Raymond Pan, AIA, LEED AP, Design Principal. Pan is an architect and urban planner with 20 years’ experience. He is rejoining HMC, having previously spent 10 years with the firm.
Pan says that to keep up with the industry’s rapid changes, big firms like HMC need a more collegial approach. One of his goals is to bring builders into the design process sooner. “Our mentality needs to be extended,” Pan tells BD+C. “And architects need to rethink how they design.”
The L.A. office has already assembled a design team that includes an architect who started out as a contractor, and another architect who Pan says is a specialist in spatial visualization. Pan foresees circumstances where HMC partners with other AEC firms for specific expertise. “I would love to have a builder or a [technologist] on my team.”
Pan notes that a lot of HMC’s work is for hospitals whose designs are taking on more hospitality and commercial retail features that incorporate signage and branding. He talks about “creating a personality” for such spaces that can sometimes be defined by the types of materials chosen for projects.
However, he does not see the design lab concept as being project-driven, per se. “We’re trying to build a culture, and a new architectural aesthetic” that brings in other things, like prefabrication. (His team hasn’t gotten to the point of selecting prefab manufacturers; what’s important, says Pan, is “to get the builders we partner with thinking that way.”
Image: HMC Architects
HMC Architects has six offices in California, and one in Phoenix. Pan couldn’t say yet what the design lab’s rollout strategy would be. “It could start with the next project, or take us a year to find the right partners.” However, he expects that, eventually, the rollout might require some organizational changes within the firm.
“This move will take HMC to a higher level of design and be an undeniable asset to our clients” in the firm’s healthcare, education, and civics practices, says Brian Staton, president and CEO of HMC Architects. Pan is leading this initiative at a time when the firm is capitalizing on significant opportunities in the healthcare sectors in southern California, Oregon, and Arizona.
The design lab is expected to double as an incubation platform for testing new ideas and technologies, he says.
Related Stories
| Jun 30, 2014
Philip Johnson’s iconic World's Fair 'Tent of Tomorrow' to receive much needed restoration funding
A neglected Queens landmark that once reflected the "excitement and hopefulness" at the beginning of the Space Age may soon be restored.
| Jun 30, 2014
Research finds continued growth of design-build throughout United States
New research findings indicate that for the first time more than half of projects above $10 million are being completed through design-build project delivery.
| Jun 30, 2014
Narrow San Francisco lots to be developed into micro-units
As a solution to San Francisco’s density and low housing supply compared to demand, local firms Build Inc. and Macy Architecture each are to build micro-unit housing in a small parcel of land in Hayes Valley.
| Jun 30, 2014
Arup's vision of the future of rail: driverless trains, maintenance drones, and automatic freight delivery
In its Future of Rail 2050 report, Arup reveals a vision of the future of rail travel in light of trends such as urban population growth, climate change, and emerging technologies.
| Jun 30, 2014
4 design concepts that remake the urban farmer's market
The American Institute of Architects held a competition to solve the farmer's markets' biggest design dilemma: lightweight, bland canopies that although convenient, does not protect much from the elements.
| Jun 30, 2014
Harvard releases the State of the Nation’s Housing 2014
Although the housing industry saw notable increases in construction, home prices, and sales in 2013, household growth has yet to fully recover from the effects of the recession, according to a new Harvard University report.
| Jun 30, 2014
OMA's The Interlace honored as one of the world's most 'community-friendly' high-rises
The 1,040-unit apartment complex in Singapore has won the inaugural Urban Habitat award from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which highlights projects that demonstrate a positive contribution to the surrounding environment.
| Jun 30, 2014
Work starts on Jean Nouvel-designed European Patent Office in the Netherlands [slideshow]
With around 80,000 sm and a budget of €205 million self-financed by the EPO, the complex will be one of the biggest office construction sites ever in the Netherlands.
| Jun 30, 2014
Growth of crowdfunding, public-private partnerships among top trends in architecture marketplace
A new report by the American Institute of Architects highlights several emerging trends in the architecture marketplace, including the growth of the P3 project delivery model and designing for health.
| Jun 30, 2014
Report recommends making infrastructure upgrades a cabinet-level priority
The ASCE estimates that $3.6 trillion must be invested by 2020 to make critically needed upgrades and expansions of national infrastructure—and avoid trillions of dollars in lost business sales, exports, disposable income, and GDP.
