Design Consultant - Hefei Institute of Technology, Hefei China

In the summer of 2010 I took a contract that sent me to Hefei, China to work with the design institute at the Hefei University of Technology (HFUT). Not too many people in the US have even heard of Hefei (pronounced HU-fay), which is considered a second-tier city due to its "small" size, at least in China. This city of 5+ million only ranks 30th in China by population. However, this puts it ahead of all cities in the US except New York City! This is pretty incredible to think about, as the 30th largest city in the US is Portland, OR at 550,000.

I was contracted through Hamilton Anderson Associates in Detroit to collaborate with the architectural design firm located on the Hefei University campus on a variety of designs, including a university campus, office buildings, and an entire city district. It would have been a bit intimidating to go alone, but I was meeting a colleague with whom I had worked on the Mandarin Oriental Hotel project in Las Vegas. One of our goals was to bring more projects to the Detroit office as well as establish Hamilton-Anderson as an international architectural firm. The HFUT design institute was also working to increase its clout as an architectural design firm in China by gaining new ideas and insight from American designers and architects. They were particularly interested in our expertise with master planning design and building design.

The master plan posted below is based on designs my colleague and I developed and presented to the design institute. This design was for a 20,000+ student campus located in the Anhui province of China. Interestingly enough, the requirements included large pedestrian and vehicular pathways, but very little surface parking (because the Chinese seem to park wherever they want). Green nature areas are also very important, even though from my experience of visiting several Chinese campuses in the region, those spaces are rarely used. Another curious building design requirement for most of the buildings was a height maximum of 5-6 stories, which allowed Chinese builders to typically not include an elevator in the building. So even though they were housing thousands of students, and could have done so more efficiently with fewer but taller buildings, the buildings were kept at lower heights to save cost on maintenance and elevators.

An interesting side note regarding the building height based on personal experience while there. The building I was living in was newer and 11 stories, and we lived on the 11th floor. Halfway through my stay we had a torrential downpour during the day and when we got back to our building, the parking level, probably about 1.5 meters below grade was full of water. As luck would have it that is also where the power for the elevators, water, and the whole building was located…you can probably see where this is headed. We had to walk up and down 11 stories for a week in the stifling hot Chinese summer while the water was pumped out and electricity restored. From this perspective, a six story building can make sense in some cases by creating less maintenance for a university or property owner to worry about.

Working with the architects in China was a wonderful experience, and the colleagues I made there, helped me learn a new way of looking at architecture and design. I learned how difficult international correspondence and coordination can be, but also how efficient certain things can become with two offices working in different time zones. This is the kind of experience I could not have gotten anywhere else.

I’ve posted a few samples of the campus master plan I designed and developed while in China. The renderings below were done by a consultant based off Sketchup and AutoCAD models we sent them.

City Center - Mandarin Oriental Hotel

City Center, a 67-plus acre urban development was commissioned by MGM, and is to date the largest urban development in United States. It combines privately owned residential units with hotels, theatres, casinos, and the Crystals mall. I worked on the City Center development for almost three years, with the Detroit firm, Hamilton Anderson Associates.

My initial role was a CAD operator doing redlines for the interior design firm, Tihany Design, but as the project got underway, my role and responsibilities increased very rapidly. Approximately 3 months after I was hired, my position was split between the architectural interior (AI) team and interior design (ID) team. The AI position involved coordinating mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and structural work, while ID was responsible for everything beyond the drywall, from carpeting, doors, furniture, stone floors and shower fixtures, and much more. I also coordinated with mechanical, electrical, structural, and interior design teams from all across the U.S., as well as taking responsibility for meeting ADA requirements. At the same time, I was also reviewing shop drawings and submittals, answering RFI's in addition to producing and coordinating drawings. Needless to say, it was a busy time. In November 2008, about 18 months after being hired I took on the role of project architect and began attending weekly meetings and site visits in Las Vegas. I was also communicating daily with our onsite construction administrator, also a Hamilton Anderson employee, who was my eyes and ears onsite when I could not be there myself.

In the end, the project certainly faced its share of issues, including architectural, and financial issues but the outcome is truly a testament to what can be done with a great team of dedicated professionals

I have included a few photos of my work.