Digging Deeper with a Budget

The role of an estimator is not an easy one, especially in the conceptual design stage. Traditionally, the design is near-complete and specifications are already set by the time the General Contractor gets a chance to evaluate costs. And, if you’re lucky, hopefully the design team has considered efficient, cost-effective designs without running amok on scopes of work...
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Fun with Contracts

Wow, who would have thought contracts could be so much fun! In setting up the tri-party agreement for the Mosaic Centre, we had to start from an Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) template that was provided by Hanson Bridgett, a legal firm from the U.S. In Canada, we typically use the Royal Architectural Institute of Canadaís (RAIC) standard contract document for an agreement between owner and architect and then facilitate a separate contract between owner and contractor. So when we are asked to use something different, the fun begins.
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A Material Supply Company Weighs in on the IPD process

When we were first approached by Chandos to be a part of the Mosaic Centre, we felt excited about a new and innovative building in the Edmonton market and uneasy about the unknown Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) process. As a material supply company that has been around for over 60 years, we had never been a part of an IPD project nor heard of the IPD construction process. We were accustomed to the standard or “old” way of tendering and supplying structural wood for a project, and this was a totally different way of thinking.
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A Drink from the Fire Hose of Information

When the team agreed to capture stories and lessons learned from the Mosaic Centre project, I had no idea what we were committing to. A project of firsts in many respects; I underestimated the amount of learning required to position the team for success. The first net-zero commercial building in Alberta, the first LEED Platinum attempt for commercial north of Calgary, the first Living Building Challenge Petal Certification attempt in Alberta and the first IPD contract delivery for anyone on our team. We were creating design decision logic at an alarming rate, all the while attempting to record our “breadcrumbs”.
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A Refreshing Take on Project Management in Alberta

I’m not an architect. I’m not a building or construction expert, by any means. I’m a project manager for TransparentC, a company focusing on internal marketing and communications. I originally met Dennis and Christy through an article we'd written profiling the impressive organizational culture at their mid-sized engineering company (Oil Country Engineering). We had no idea, however, that another year down the road we would be involved in spreading the word about a super exciting project that was completely different from what initially drew us in.
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