Authored by SK&A Principal Justin Long, PE, RBEC, BECxP. Follow Justin on Linked In.
Understanding the impact of multidisciplinary collaboration on design
Design coordination meetings often get a bad reputation. It’s easy to hear comments like:
- “This could have been an email.”
- “Why am I sitting through discussions that don’t involve my discipline?”
But over the years, I’ve come to genuinely appreciate these meetings.
Sitting in a room (or on a call) with architects, MEP engineers, façade consultants, contractors, and other specialists provides something that drawings and specifications alone can’t: perspective.
What You Learn When You Listen
Some of the most valuable insights I’ve gained about buildings didn’t come from textbooks or webinars—they came from listening to other consultants explain their challenges.
Even when the topic isn’t directly related to structural engineering or building enclosure design, understanding how other disciplines think and solve problems improves the way we approach our own work.
Buildings Are Systems – Not Silos
Every building is the result of countless interdependent systems working together. The more you understand how those systems interact—architecture, structure, enclosure, mechanical systems, constructability—the better decisions you can make within your own discipline.
That broader perspective helps:
- Anticipate coordination issues earlier
- Develop more constructible details
- Communicate more effectively with other consultants
- Ultimately deliver better outcomes for the project team and the owner
The Takeaway
Yes, coordination meetings can take time. But they also offer something incredibly valuable: exposure to the collective knowledge of the entire design team.
For me, those conversations have been one of the most important ways to learn how buildings are actually put together—and how to be a better structural and building enclosure consultant because of it.
This insight was originally published by Justin Long, PE, RBEC, BECxP, on Linked In. View the original post and add your own comments.
