Keys to Successful Renovation Results

By Matt Mooney

Matt Mooney is a principal with Corgan Associates Inc.

Choosing to renovate a building is not for the faint of heart.

The renovation of an existing building is perhaps one of the larger scale instances of recycling today. Like many recycling efforts, this is often seen by building owners and developers as an advantageous economic opportunity.

At the heart of the issue are basic questions: "Does it make economic sense?" "What inherent value does this existing building offer?" "How does this renovation compare with the cost of new construction?"

Certainly there are other factors to consider, but facing these fundamental issues can help avoid unhappy financial surprises later on.

Choosing to renovate a building is not for the faint of heart; it takes courage, patience and imagination to make a project successful. Since most existing buildings more than 15 years old have been considered for renovation at some point, the prime challenge is often defining a strategy that matches a market need to the fixed constraints of the existing structure, perhaps in a way that has not been considered before.

Decision-makers and architects must collaborate and think outside the box while incorporating characteristics from the original building to make a renovation worth the cost and time.

While each renovation project poses different barriers, the steps taken before the process are almost always the same. The anticipation of hidden costs and future challenges, coupled with an experienced architect's partnership, are among the key elements for developing a cost-efficient, functional building that can reasonably be updated to current building codes and modern market needs.

Define the scope of work Accurately defining, understanding and controlling the scope of work is at the core of a successful renovation project. Discipline helps manage inevitable, unanticipated challenges. The architect's ability to help manage costs is impaired if the amount of work is not clearly defined.

The architect's ability and discipline to apply the appropriate amount of detail and analysis to each of the building system components is critical in helping reduce the project's unknowns. By outlining the process from the beginning and ensuring the client understands how much work is involved, future problems can be minimized while consensus is built.

Identify hidden costs and challenges Barriers to renovation may differ from project to project, but owners and architects should take the same approach- prepare for the unexpected, identifying potential problems and allowing room to appropriately address them. This is key to ensuring the process does not become cost-prohibitive after work has begun.

As an example, before beginning to renovate the physical structure of a building, the owner must consider the possibility of existing environmental conditions. Such obstacles are out of the realm of design control, but often have a significant effect on the project cost and schedule.

Non-building elements can also have a big impact on costs. Parking, upgraded-utility capacities and accommodation of modern service needs should be anticipated. This is especially pertinent with downtown buildings.

Outdated systems within buildings are another challenge. Antiquated electrical systems such as elevators can create problems during the design process. As a result, during the initial scope definition and costing process the architect should be skeptical about re-use of existing building systems, never assuming something is reusable without a competent engineering evaluation. The need for systems replacement is often driven by building construction and life-safety code requirements. A thorough assessment of the building systems from this perspective is critical.

For any renovation project, the architect must break down the concept design into its component pieces, evaluate the amount and type of effort required for each and define a necessary scope for each item. This approach will develop a thoughtful, realistic budget that will help clients decide whether a renovation project is in their best economic interest.

Experience mitigates risk The ability to identify and reduce the risk of surprises and hidden costs is strongly influenced by the experience of the architecture team. Repeated exposure to renovation projects increases the capability to anticipate stumbling blocks and determine creative solutions.

An experienced architecture team should be able to recommend an equally knowledgeable general contractor. A general contractor with experience in building and pricing renovation projects is critical in developing an accurate budget from the start.