2012 Configura User ConferenceBest Success Story Submission
The Client
Client: Roadtown Wholesale Trading Company
Location: Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Firm Type: Food Importer
The Project
Type: Corporate HQ fit-out
Size: 15,000 square feet
The Project Scope
Workstations for 89 employees
Private offices for 15 employees
617 lineal feet of moveable wall
13,056 square feet of raised access flooring
Installation of underfloor HVAC
Integration of plug-and-play modular electrical
Installation of carpet tile throughout
Challenges
Client 2,000 miles away from dealership
Local code loosely follows British standards
Decision making by “large” committee
Scope included never before done approaches
Needed an effective way to communicate as project developed via webinar vs. on site
Needed a tool to help client visualize every detail
When on site, we needed to make changes on time, department by department (12 of them)
What CET Designer Helped Us Do
We won… against great odds. Competitor was a local island dealer located in the same parking lot as the client but our design process trumped all
As seen in the following pages, we did multiple design charettes via webinar and save thousands of travel dollars
Designer met on site with 12 department heads and made changes to each department and provided visualization and confirmation on the spot
Initial Planning Phase – Using Alternatives
In the beginning phases of the project, CET allowed the designer to quickly create options for workstation design by utilizing the “alternative” feature. The designer was able to effectively communicate in both 2D and 3D the options available to the client with out taking an intense amount of time to do so.
Initial Planning Phase – 3D Visualization
With the realistic capabilities of Photo Lab, the designer was able to make the space look as close to real life as possible by adding scenes, lighting, and materials. The rendering time is quick compared to most 3D rendering software which allowed the designer to create multiple renditions for client selection.
Initial Planning Phase - SelectionsInstead of using catalogs and websites to describe to our client what their reception area would look like, the designer was able to utilize a combination of CET’s extensive furniture library, Project Spec extension, and SketchUp to effectively show the client various option. We were able to get instant feedback on the overall design by using such visually detailed renderings.
Overall Floor Plan – Partially Frozen
By utilizing the “freeze” tool, CET allowed the designer to isolate the various departments and make changes to that specific area without disrupting the entire plan. Each department was able to focus on their workstations only, without being distracted by the other department layouts.
Workstation Material Selection
CET provided the designer the ability to make quick material changes, thus enabling her to effectively show a client what their decisions look like immediately. This allowed our client to feel confident in the selections they were making and made our design development phase of the project much more effective with the limited amount of time (2 ½ days) we were able to spend onsite.
Design Development
Much of the space planning work was done prior to the designer’s arrival onsite. With CET, the designer was able to make any of the changes quickly, which allowed for an accelerated turn around time on this fast paced project. This allowed the designer to only make one site visit to finalize the layout of each department. Utilizing the split screen capability provided by CET, The client was able to watch their department evolve as the designer worked in the 2D view. All decisions were made more confidently, knowing they could see exactly what they were getting, which cut down immensely on the “back and forth”, via emails, that can often happen in a project of this size with this large a distance between dealer and client.
Thank You
We are proud user and supporter of CET Designer and without you, this project could not
have been WON !!
Next CET Designer User Conference?
Anyone who wants to see the project is welcome…