Planning, Design & Construction: Our Philosophy

"A View through the Window"

The nature of our service to the Berkeley campus, the planning and delivery of capital projects, is program or project driven. Client customers are different for each project, and often within each project as the project moves through phases of service. As we do not undertake the same work for the same people, nor at regular intervals, each project requires an individualized program. No two projects are alike and flexibility is a must to meet the needs and value systems of a wide range of client customers. Programs range in value from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars and may take as little as a few weeks or as much as a decade or more to complete. Consultation and collaboration are very critical to project delivery. Projects are by nature dynamic and constant change is one that is difficult to manage in light of the many, sometimes conflicting, factors. The following are challenges that Planning, Design and Construction face daily during the course of providing project management services:

• accurately projecting future (5-10 years) needs
• adaptation to the needs of other departments (e.g., security, parking)
• changing advocates/preservationists
• changing personnel
• changing program needs over course of project
• changing technology
• construction impacts on teaching and research activities
• competing campus interests
• construction impacts in a "24-hour" environment
• construction unknowns (e.g., asbestos, buried and aging utilities)
• separation impedes communication
• declining resources
• departments circumventing established campus process
• deteriorating infrastructure
• quality design consultants and contractors hiring constraints
• distance from the campus as a complete department
• lack of space to consolidate PDC
• high visibility of construction projects
• increasing regulations, (fire and life safety, accessibility, environmental)
• extensive and increasing reviews and approvals
• inadequate project budgets
• interagency coordination
• absence of stated academic planning objectives
• numerous constituencies, (town/gown, community)
• staged and restricted funding
• many capital fund sources (State, gift, federal, etc.)

Planning, Design & Construction: Background

Established as a separate department on July 1, 1992, PDC (reflective of three service units) provides physical and environmental planning, design and project management, construction and inspection services, and contract administration, required to implement the campus' Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and various smaller projects or Physical Resources Requisitions (PRRs). The CIP consists of State and non- State major capital projects (over $250,000) and minor capital projects (ranging from $20,000 to $250,000); PRRs are generally small renovations and/or deferred maintenance projects. PDC staff consists of an integrated group of trained professionals who coordinate campus planning and programming, environmental planning and review, architectural programming, design, construction documents, bidding procedures, contract administration, construction oversight and inspection. Projects are developed in close liaison with the campus users and other campus administrative units, and are guided through the numerous reviews and approvals from conception to completion. PDC's planning and delivery service is provided in collaboration with numerous campus academic and administrative units and consistent with the mission and long range planning efforts of the University.

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