Richaven has worked on numerous constructability reviews and value engineering/analysis projects. These projects are often focused on K through 12 school because of the Washington State mandate for reviewing such projects. Most importantly, this has provided the opportunity to observe practices in other firms and gain a broad understanding of achieving beset value for a client, assembling construction documents, and, most importantly, potential flaws in the projects.
These opportunities are lessons learned and applied to ongoing projects and inform design recommendations on our current and future projects. Value Engineering and constructability analyses require analysis at vastly different ends of the spectrum. From understanding old versus new construction, to early design phases to detailed comprehension of how a building is built and from large planning issues to small scale details of how to keep weather out of a building, Richaven brings these capabilities to every project.
Value Analysis projects for elementary schools and other long service life building types involved looking closely at future flexibility and adaptability, core Future-Proofing principles. As the architectural VA reviewer, Richaven looks at parts of the building that are more permanent to better understand how classrooms might be adapted in the future, whether for different pedagogies or different uses to discover if there are significant constraints on the building. One Value Analysis strategy looks at the potential to save and renovate existing buildings rather than demolishing them.