Agenda - 09-24-2001 - 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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r D i4w Z-0J 1J Prototype Designs One of the most important and time-consuming phases in constructing a new school occurs in the very early stages of the project - designing the facility. In its recently adopted County's Policy on Planning and Funding School Capital Projects, the Board of Commissioners encourages the use of prototype designs. A prototype design is one that is easily replicated for use on more than one project. While one school system may chose to reproduce the same school several times within the district, other systems may choose a design that has been successfully constructed in another area of the state or nation. Using a design that has been used elsewhere offers several benefits designs: • Provides access to a wide range of architects and product manufacturers that specialize in school design and construction; • Increases awareness of current trends in school designs; • Offers some flexibility to individualize a school's appearance; • Potentially results in cost savings on design fees; • Reduces time spent in the pre-planning phase thereby allowing construction to begin earlier than with a uniquely designed facility; • Offers an opportunity for planning committee to visit a school before committing to a design; • Ideally, each time the facility is replicated, there is potential to find room for cost savings or building improvements. While the use of a prototypical design does not totally limit a school system's creativity and individuality, there are some limitations: • Site restrictions, such as topographical barriers, may limit the design; • Programmatic needs may not be easily accommodated; • Cost to adapt a design may be more than the cost of a unique design. The Task Force reviewed survey results (Appendix E) from entities across the state and found that many counties have recognized benefits of using the same school design time after time. There were no negative comments received from any of the counties that have used prototypes, and for the most part, these counties have realized sizeable savings. For example, officials in Cabarrus County cited cost savings of between $300,000 and $400,000 for each re-use of a previously designed school. In Buncombe County, architects have agreed to "site adapt" previously designed plans for both an elementary and a middle school for between 2.6 and 2.7 percent of construction costs. The Task Force recommends that the Board continue to encourage both systems to pursue use of prototype designs as new projects are planned. Value Engineering and Life Cycle Costing Survey results show that three counties, Buncombe, Cabarrus and Lincoln, use "value engineering" in some manner. Both Cabarrus and Lincoln Counties have outside firms 34