The choice between total design (also known as holistic design) and the silo (or conventional) style of design in industrial projects depends on the specific goals, scope, and nature of the project, as well as the preferences and constraints of the project team and stakeholders.
Both design philosophies have their advantages and disadvantages:
Total Design
Advantages of Total Design:
- Collaboration: Total design encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and communication among architects, engineers, and other specialists from the project’s outset. This collaboration results in more innovative and holistic solutions.
- Coordination: Total Design reduces the risks of conflicts and errors by addressing potential issues early in the process. Various viewpoints from stakeholders of the project help in ironing out the bottlenecks.
- Iterations: Iterations are faster due to the involvement of the stakeholders.
- Interdisciplinary clashes: the chances of clashes during implementation are lesser.
- Consensus: Creating a consensus between the teams is faster and easier.
- Sustainability: Total design often incorporates sustainability principles seamlessly, resulting in more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient buildings.
Disadvantages of Total Design:
- Requires more time and effort: As the Total design concept in industrial projects is a collaborative design process, it may take longer to complete the process due to the need for extensive coordination.
- It may be a challenge to implement: Total design relies on effective teamwork and communication, which can be difficult if team members have conflicting priorities.
Silo Style of Designing:
Advantages:
- Specialised expertise: This silo style of designing allows each discipline to focus on its area of expertise resulting in highly specialised designs.
- Faster decision-making: Sometimes, a silo-style approach may result in speedier design decisions within each discipline.
Disadvantages:
- Limited collaboration: The lack of collaboration between disciplines can lead to inefficiencies, misunderstandings, and conflicts that may emerge during construction.
- Risk of oversights: Lack of interdisciplinary communication and coordination may result in overlooking critical aspects of the design.
- Clashes between disciplines are common.
- Iterations during implementation are more, making the construction process lengthier and costlier.
The choice between total design in industrial projects and the silo style should be made based on the project’s complexity, goals, and the project team’s capabilities. In some cases, a hybrid approach may be the best. Some project elements may benefit from total design, while others need specialised input from individual disciplines.
It’s also important to consider the culture and capabilities of the organisations involved in the project, as some may be more accustomed to one approach over the other.
Conclusion
Ultimately, each successful and optimised design and construction project requires effective communication, coordination, and adapting the approach to meet project goals while staying within budget and timeline constraints.
