Holistic Approach on Gilford School

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SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING (SET)

CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING, INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT

(CEIM)

Infrastructure System Analysis and Management (CE70.41)

Dr. Djoen San Santoso

Submitted by:

St119426

St119730

A Holistic Approach in Infrastructure

In modern-day building, energy-efficient facilities are not just about completing the project on time, on budget. It is not just about being “green “either, it is about providing high-performance facilities that are safe, healthy, and are cost-effective from their inception and in the long term. With careful planning construction department can build facilities that reduce long-term operating cost and lessen the effect on the environment while controlling up-front construction cost. Active participation in the process from all of the staff and holistic approach to the facilities design are the key. This report aims to identify a holistic approach in one facility and try to explain what make it holistic.

Guilford country school in North Carolina is one of the many examples that was able to build a high-performance school that continually save money. This is a $20.7 million facility serving 1,030 students. It has the size of 140,000 ft2, start on 2005 and finish on 2007. The owner of this project is Guilford country school itself. It is designed by Innovative Design, Inc. and builds by construction management company HiCAPS, Inc. Funding for Guildford country school was provided through the sale of General Obligation Bonds authorized by voters of Guilford country. Local property taxes provide the primary source of debt service funding for the bonds.[pic 2]

According to the data recorded by the facility and U.S. Environmental protection Agency (EPA), at two years old it is beginning to show the long-term benefit of energy efficiency. Some of their Sustainable features include day lighting, energy-efficient building shell, indirect lighting, solar water heating and photovoltaic systems, computer-based real-time monitoring of sustainable systems, interpretive eco-learning centers, recycled materials and use of local products, indoor environmental quality management, and native planting.

What is a holistic approach?

First we must understand what holism is. Holism is the idea that a system and all of its properties should be viewed as a whole, not as a collection of the part. Similarly holistic is relating to or concerned with complete systems rather that with individual parts. These parts are considered to be all interconnected, such that they can neither be effectively divided into section nor fully developed independently of each other.

Moreover, a holistic approach is an approach based on the knowledge of nature, functions, and properties of the components, their interaction and their relationship with each other as a whole. For example, if you were to prescribe a cure for one person holistically you have to characterize the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease.

A holistic approach to construction or project management is like a global understanding: see all subjects as a whole, in which everything is connected. It is like a quote saying “You have to see the project as a whole, not just each stage. Your project is part of a larger context. Longer journeys. Larger stories. Moreover, these stories shape your project more than you know.”

Project management has to be holistic in its approach, meaning it takes into consideration the external environment as well as its internal concerns. It considers the other projects being undertaken, the environmental factors beyond the control of the project team, and the different stakeholders (those that will be positively and negatively affected by project outcomes). It is not correct to say that only program management is holistic. It is an important consideration in project management. Projects do not exist in a vacuum. It is to a large extent depended on factors beyond its control. So in managing a project, a holistic perspective must be used to steer a project towards its objectives.

Why is this facility a holistic one?

Guilford country school is an innovative, green solutions facilities that purpose is to provide a three-dimensional education experience. Understanding how students, teachers, and the community could benefit by building energy and water efficient, environmentally sound school. During the planning and construction of northern Guilford, the facilities staff worked with the architects to develop a holistic design for the school. The school district is the first in the state to develop its own set of detailed green design specifications, the G3-Guilford Green Guide. It also has its own goals such as:

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