Stephanie Tabb

site planning

The project is a design-build partnership between ELS Architecture and Blach Construction.  BCA Architects did preliminary concept studies. Our layout is a departure from their initial ideas. 

sun hat design

The “sun hat” roof canopy design is inspired by the mountain ranges surrounding the project.  It provides shade for the panoramic glazed facade as well as the rooftop track activities.  The project is net-zero ready and eventually the college will replace the perforated metal panels with PV panels.

From the activated roof’s running track and yoga space, the main fitness space, and the pool deck, one will experience panoramic bay views. 

fitness center design

WORKFLOW

Instead of shifting geometry and data between various software programs, the design, construction, and consultant teams all worked with highly complex  linked Revit models.  This allowed for efficient coordination, detailing, costing, and visualization.

tool development

When embedded in a project, I constantly look for tools and methods to optimize the team’s workflow and production. I used Dynamo to automate repetitive tasks for the team, including documentation set exports and sheet creation.

After developing these definitions, I tested their effectiveness on a drawing set with 125 sheets. Formerly, it had taken one person 30 seconds to create a sheet— 63 minutes total. With an average billable rate of $100 per hour, this repetitive task cost the office $105. In contrast, with the simple click of a button the automated sheet creation took 1 minute and 20 seconds— a total cost of $2.

By developing simple tools, I saved the office hundreds of billable hours and led to the widespread adoption of computational tools within the office.

documentation

I led the coordination efforts with the civil engineers as well as landscape architects.  I also maintained the BIM model and managed weekly model exchanges with the construction team and consultants.  I took the lead on various drawings in the set including the campus site plan, reference and floor plans, site sections and elevations, building sections and elevations, and wall sections.