DPR's third project on the City of Hope campus is the Gonda Center, which broke ground following a highly successful design phase aided by the team's adoption of an IPD approach. EwingCole, also the architect on the Amini Center project, the owner, and DPR initially contemplated proceeding under an Integrated Form of Agreement, a multiparty contract where the owner, designers and contractors share risks and rewards.
While the parties ultimately entered into a different form of agreement for the project, they did employ certain processes consistent with principles of IPD.
“DPR has worked on several IPD projects, and we are a huge supporter of lean, integrated project delivery systems, along with the use of BIM,” said Seastrom. “City of Hope, particularly Dick Thompson, wanted to implement processes consistent with IPD on the Gonda project.”
During the design phase, the team brought on design/build MEP subcontractors to participate in the Target Value Design (TVD) process, a lean construction tool that incorporates cost as a factor in design to minimize waste and create greater value. The idea is that once a target cost is set for a project it should never be exceeded.
The new four-story research laboratory facility, targeting LEED-NC Silver certification and connected to an existing structure, will double the space for investigations into diabetes and other serious metabolic diseases.