Avoiding a Ride on a Three-Humped Camel

By David Lind

International Terminal D opened in July at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport marking a major accomplishment in the planning, development, design and construction of one of the largest, most complex projects ever built in Texas.

David Lind is managing principal of Corgan Associate's Dallas office

The recently completed International Terminal D project at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport spanned from 1996, when the Airport Development Plan was updated, to the day the first passenger departed the new facility this past summer. Projects of this complexity, scale and duration can quickly be derailed by a whole series of events, which can cost a project hundreds of millions of dollars. The development of a project as big as Terminal D requires a focus on the building and maintenance of consensus throughout the design process. Design is, by definition, subjective and mysterious to most. Layered on top of stakeholders who have varying agendas and sometimes opposing objectives, a project environment can arise that resists forward progress, penalizing the project in time and dollars.

Consensus building is important in any project, but even more so in airport terminal projects involving a wide range of constituents. The pressure to design the most cost-efficient, maintainable terminal under a projected budget is heightened by rising costs for these projects. The need to design an up-to-date, secure facility with decades of future viability increases the importance of consensus-building. Prompt design decisions can combat these challenges and add millions to the constructed value of a terminal, avoiding riding a three-humped camel.

Political savvy is no doubt a component to building consensus, but a few fundamentals are essential to quickly and effectively gather parties around an innovative solution.

Focus on the Facts Corgan Associates Inc. served at the architect of record for the project. Corgan's knowledge of both terminal design and airline/airport operations helped maintain the focus on the facts as viewed by the end user. A terminal is not just architecture, it is a business platform, and focusing on the operational and business aspects of the design builds credibility; but more important, it builds trust and strengthens ability to call an end to extensive debate and polarization along the wrong issues. Disparate groups can come to an agreement more quickly during the design process when facts can be separated from emotion, politics and guesswork about a design issue and the various parties involved are confronted with the truth and indisputable facts. Corgan cut its teeth in the airport design business working for years with American Airlines' CEO Robert Crandall. Crandall taught Corgan how to work effectively with tough senior executives that gave the firm little time to develop the program requirements, do fact-finding and present solution alternatives to complex problems.

Reveal the Consequences Alternative design solutions can be developed that respond to the facts in different ways and have widely different outcomes. Corgan utilizes "decision trees" as a method to graphically examine various design solution outcomes and consequences of design decisions. Outlining each option in this way lets the client see every step; sequential >> decision; and the consequences in terms of cost, schedule, levels of service, capacity and impacts on related programs. This process engages stakeholders and tends to reveal the total business costs of decisions, not just construction costs. Rather than leading clients to decisions, Corgan allows decision-makers to make decisions.

Rapid Prototyping Design is an enigmatic process to most involved with facilities. Terminal design is usually approved by airline executives and airport staff who are not normally available to respond to design issues. Corgan has borrowed a technique from the industrial and product design fields called "rapid prototyping" - a process that gets to the subjective side of design. We put hundreds of options in front of decision-makers including roof forms, finishes, exterior walls, penetration, lighting and all the components of a terminal that define its aesthetics. The process is controlled and helps Corgan gather input, quickly zeroing in on subjective preferences. This method also engages clients and enhances their level of participation.

Animation Traditionally, computer animation has been used by architects to display an image of a building after it has been designed. Corgan learned that the highest value for such visualization is during the design process to again show options, improve understanding of the design and seek approvals. Old-fashioned Basswood models remain intriguing to both the public and stakeholders, but they take too long to construct, changes cannot be made easily and the models do not allow clients to be "inside the space" before it is built. Animation has become increasingly sophisticated to allow clients to review materials and finish options and lighting/daylighting during various times of day. People, cars and other entourage can be added, which move in real-time. This makes animation a useful tool in understanding passenger processing and levels of service issues. They can be completed quickly, keeping pace with the design process and facilitating design decisions. DFW engaged our media lab to provide a sophisticated animation that followed the path of arriving and departing passengers in all the areas of Terminal D. All the finishes, lighting, graphics and equipment were illustrated in precise detail. There was no secret about the design and, as a result, no disappointment at the outcome. As the building was finished, many at DFW were pleased at the true-to-life form of the terminal from the animated images. Animation was used successfully as a tool that took months out of the program and saved millions in potential design missteps and back tracking.