Ep 7: Collaboration, Design, and the Story of Engineers

Collaboration, Design, and the Story of Engineers
Episode 7: Stacey Root & Gary Hamilton

Design is a team sport. Not just between architects and their clients, but between the disciplines that have to turn a vision into a building that actually works. The architect is shaping space. The mechanical engineer is shaping the systems inside that space. And those two things have to fit together, literally, inside the same ceiling, on the same budget, on the same timeline.

In this episode, Stacey Root, healthcare architect and practice lead, and Gary Hamilton, mechanical engineer and Senior Vice President, get into what that relationship actually looks like: how decisions get made, where the friction shows up, and what it means for the contractors and owners who inherit those decisions downstream.

This is the design production episode. We have talked about research, procurement, and front end planning. Now we are inside the process itself.

What you will learn:

• How architecture and MEP engineering fee structures shape the decisions that get made long before a contractor sees a drawing
• Why the coordination between disciplines often starts later than it should, and what that costs
• What good collaboration between architecture and engineering actually looks like in practice, and how it shows up in the building itself
• How sustainability commitments get made, and where they quietly fall apart when budget pressure arrives
• What owners and contractors often do not see happening during design, and what they should be asking

Timestamps:

• 0:10 — Intro
• 1:09 — Episode begins
• 1:09 — Gary Hamilton: background, from civil to mechanical, Jamaica to Trinidad to the UK
• 5:50 — Stacey Root: the dinner party story, what architects actually do
• 10:17 — Stacey on what actually makes a difference in a design career
• 12:21 — Gary on not being a traditional engineer and the power of listening first
• 13:50 — How integrated project delivery changes the relationship between disciplines
• 15:41 — What the industry gets wrong about trade partners
• 18:03 — Design bid build vs. collaborative delivery, and what changes about coordination
• 21:21 — Equipment changes mid-design: why design freeze almost never actually happens
• 23:35 — How design consultants help each other with design challenges
• 27:34 — Why hiring the commissioning agent first is one of the smartest things an owner can do
• 32:26 — Where architecture and MEP actually collide: ceiling heights, ductwork, and the two inches that change a patient's experience
• 37:47 — What would surprise an owner if they sat in on a design coordination meeting
• 40:22 — The facilities rep problem: why the people who operate buildings are often the hardest to design for
• 44:51 — Sustainability ROI and the 3, 5, and 7-year hard stops that shape what actually gets built
• 50:06 — How design fees actually work: top-down vs. bottom-up, and what the numbers mean for the quality of the work
• 54:53 — When the owner adds a floor mid-design: the Rolls-Royce vs. Honda Accord story
• 55:55 — Disclaimer

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Guests:
Stacey Root, AIA, Practice Lead, Canon Design: https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceymroot/
Gary Hamilton, PE, Senior Vice President, Introba: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garoldhamilton/

Referenced Terms and Resources

OPR (Owner's Project Requirements)

A written document that details the functional requirements of a project and the owner's expectations for how it will be used and operated, including project goals, measurable performance criteria, cost considerations, benchmarks, and success criteria. The OPR is most effective when developed during pre-design and serves as a living reference throughout the project lifecycle.

Learn more: AIA: A Problem Well Stated: Owner Project Requirements

CXA (Commissioning Authority)

An independent third party hired directly by the owner to verify that building systems perform as intended. Per ASHRAE Guideline 0-2019, the CXA must be independent of the project team, with their contract and reporting line running directly to the owner, giving them the authority to identify deficiencies and challenge design decisions without commercial conflict.

Learn more: Commissioning Manager: What Is a Commissioning Authority?

Referenced Episodes

• Episode 2: Dr. Ed Gibson on front-end planning and pre-project planning
• Episode 3: James Pease and Howard Ashcraft on contracting, procurement, and delivery methods
• Episode 5 and 6: Stacey Root and Kati Peditto on evidence-based design and design research