House of the Temple

Washington, D.C.

General Contractor: DPR Construction with Grunley Construction
Architect: Hartman-Cox Architects
Engineer: Shapiro & Duncan, Inc.
Contract Type: Integrated Project Delivery
Contract Amount: TBD
Start Date: February, 2013 (Design Phase)
Completion Date: TBD

Challenge

Shapiro & Duncan is currently in the planning and design phase of a high visibility historic renovation project in Northwest Washington, D.C. – the centennial renovation of the Temple of the Scottish Rite, one of the most recognizable and unusual buildings in the Sixteenth Street Historic District.

The 60,000 square foot building, designed by John Russell Pope who also designed the National Archives and the Jefferson Memorial, was constructed between 1911 and 1915. It was built to headquarter the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the 33rd Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry.

Our challenge on this design/build project is to make effective use of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach. As defined by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), IPD “is a project delivery approach that integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into a process that collaboratively harnesses the talents and insights of all participants to optimize project results, increase value to the owner, reduce waste and maximize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and construction. IPD principles can be applied to a variety of contractual arrangements and IPD teams can include members well beyond the basic triad of owner, architect, and contractor. In all cases, integrated projects are uniquely distinguished by highly effective collaboration among the owner, the prime designers, and the prime constructors, commencing at early design and continuing through to project handover.”

IPD has been used on the West Coast but this is the first IPD project in the Greater Washington region to take this shared risk approach. Level of profitability is determined by an incentive compensation layer (ICL) in which there are 12 contractual parties and eight primary signatories. In an ICL profitability arrangement, profit is determined by how much the contractual signatory is over or under budget. The IPD approach has been driven by the building owner, The Supreme Council of Scottish Freemasons.

Primary metrics in an IPD-driven contract are date of delivery and cost to achieve. Contractual signatories are obligated to meet pre-established cost targets. On this project, there are two phases, first design and then build, each with its own target cost model.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2014.

Solution

Shapiro & Duncan is contracted to update the plumbing, and HVAC systems, ensuring that they are up to code which includes meeting the efficiency criteria in the DC Green Building Act. Engineered drawings, which are on target with the design timeline, are at a development stage close to the implementation level from which the project will be built. At this point, we are pretty far along in determining the mechanical systems that will be included in this renovation: two Condensing Boilers, one Chiller, one Cooling Tower remotely located in a historic garage building, six HVAC Pumps, one 10,000 cfm Dedicated Outdoor Air System (DOAS), 14 four-pipe Air Handling Units, 75 four-pipe Fan Coil Units and four DX Precision Split Systems. Plumbing upgrades will include the replacement of all piping systems for domestic water, sanitary waste and vent, and storm water capture and removal; all plumbing fixtures and equipment will be replaced with new low water use and high efficiency products.

The chiller and boilers, which are located in the basement of the main Temple structure, will be connected to the new cooling system housed in a garage located behind the main building. In an interesting twist to this historic renovation project, it is the garage that has historic structural integrity that must be maintained. Fitting the new system into this 12x12x14 space, and connecting it to the main building, will not be easy. Our design team is anticipating some discoveries during construction, which will require use of “design on the fly” techniques to adapt our design to actual conditions versus what we thought would be there.

Result

By taking the Integrated Project Delivery approach in this historic renovation project, we expect to be more on target from a time and cost standpoint. This process adds a level of accountability that a standard design/build project does not have, particularly with the trades who are generally accountable only to the contractor. The fact that all of the major players are signators on the same contract and closely working together for the success of the project is what produces more accountability.

Shapiro & Duncan takes pride in the fact that we are well versed in use of the Integrated Project Delivery approach. Few contractors in this market have such a high level of IPD experience. It is a process that we have bought into and believe in. In fact, we thrive in IPD!

Looking ahead, the owner is very proud that this will be the first historic preservation project in the Nation using IPD. IPD, in fact, has never been used on a building this old. But the owner is already expressing interest in full IPD implementation once construction begins.