28 REFLEXION | 2021-22 | AIA Utah What Mechanical Engineers Want Architects to Know BY JED LYMAN, P.E. I recently attended a conference hosted by ACEC of Utah (American Council of Engineering Companies). The keynote speaker for the event was Michael Leavitt, former Governor of Utah, presidential cabinet member, and founder of Leavitt Partners. His emphasis was on collaborative leadership, which for him emerged in the buildup to the 2002 Winter Olympics and the urgency to develop infrastructure that could support the Nations of the Earth for a few weeks. As governor, he realized the “shared pain” caused by the specter of hosting an event that would place Utah center stage, before the cameras of every major international news outlet, could provide a “provoking moment”. And it did. The collaborative network that unified in response to this urgent need quickly brought projects initially forecast to greatly exceed available budgets and schedules into alignment with these limitations. While we may not typically deal in projects of this scale or exposure, there is no shortage of shared pain in our industry. Few professions provide stresses commensurate with ours: deadlines set to pacify owners anxious to bid on projects before the next price escalation, and cold facts that impose real costs when designs fail to conform with hard-edged physical realities. And at the center of all of this is the architect: giving form to a client’s dreams, within the constraints of an energy-efficient, code-compliant design, that also provides a safe, comfortable, and quiet interior environment. It is in that shared pain, that we, as mechanical engineers, can provide some collaborative synergy. And to undergird the collaboration in which we hope to engage, here are some ways an architect can better understand the enigmatic mind of their mechanical engineering consultant. Strategic Partnering As consultants, we seek to understand project goals and capture opportunities to innovate ways to integrate needed systems that support the function of the design without dominating its form. And, contrary to what you might think, mechanical engineers are not trying to negotiate to have the building’s occupied space exist only to serve the needs of our palatial mechanical rooms. In fact, most engineers in architectural consulting, share an appreciation for the process and craft of architecture. We prefer the creativity of this profession to the widget design some of our nerdier classmates pursued. Furthermore, we seek to become more than commodities by becoming trusted advisors. By forming strategic partnerships that add value to the design, we want to help provide a finished product that thrills our client and our client’s client. Mechanical Space Coordination Within the candor of those strategic relationships, we want to negotiate reasonable space allocation for the systems that provide for the comfort and health of the occupants but are, nonetheless, best unheard and unseen. Mechanical equipment and systems tend to require the most coordination with the architecture of the building: Structure gets placed where it is needed to prevent the building from tipping over; Civil happens outside the envelope where other consultants are vying for space; and, in comparison, electrical systems require much less of the floor plate and the ceiling cavity (transporting electrons at the speed of light has its advantages).
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