The Code Calculator

Conceptualized, designed, and developed an internal calculator tool that helped provide more accurate insight into project profitability during the early phases of the project timeline.

Research & UX Design @ Wework

Intro

Building Code 101

Building Code is an integral and inescapable part of any architecture and construction project - and often dictates many aspects of the final design. Understanding building code requirements is critical when it comes to obtaining permits, meeting deadlines, and most importantly designing safe environments. Projects which don’t meet a city’s code requirements can be held up until all issues are resolved- burning time and money.

In 2018 WeWork was entering into new markets across the West Coast at an accelerated rate. Construction and design teams were navigating new jurisdictions, each with their own local interpretation of the code. More and more projects were being flagged during the review process, forcing the company to make costly upgrades to leased building spaces before construction could even begin.

discovery

Finding the root of the issue

The majority of projects that did not pass code review were being flagged for the same issue - exceeding the allowed occupant load. Essentially, we were trying to put more people in the space than it could safely support. I decided to work backward by project phase- starting from Permitting, all the way back to Deal Discovery & Review. I quickly realized that understanding efficiency and profitability for each potential new location needed to take into consideration building code limitations.

Project Phase/ Owner

Permitting Phase / Project Manager

During the review process, a city official will calculate how many people your floor plan is intending to support using a calculation method defined by the International Building Code. This number is referred to as occupant load. If the occupant load of the floor plan is greater than the occupant load of the building you have an issue.

Layout Phase / Architect

Architects were designing floor plans to meet program requirements assigned by the sales team. This included a total desk count goal. Floor plans that did not meet this goal typically were not approved.

Programming Phase / Territory GM

The sales team would determine program and desk goals for each project based on geographic portfolio, historical sales data, and efficiency projections from Real Estate.

Deal Review Phase / Real Estate Analyst

The real estate team would run a proforma for each property in question using an idealized metric, taking no consideration for building conditions or code limitations.

reframing the problem

How could we accurately calculate occupant load during the early phases of a project, without a completed floor plan.

KEY RESEARCH INSIGHTs

Hitting the Code Books

I knew incorporating a preliminary code check into the test fit was not going to be easy. While the International Building Code (IBC) has been adopted as a standard in most places within the United States, interpretations and amendments varied widely. This made code checks a bit of a guessing game- not to mention trying to run these calculations without a completed floor plan.

The first thing I needed to understand was how occupant load was calculated in each jurisdiction, then I would focus on common program distribution by region. The Design Team was divided up into pods based on region, so I decided to interview members from each team in order to shed some light on the local review process. I sat down wit hone Architecture Lead and one Project Manager from each pod and review 3 recently completed projects. Here is what I found.

Different calculation methods in different locations.

Location proved to be a large factor in permitting success rate. It looked like cities were using one of two methods to determine occupancy - producing very different results.

See the example below!

Method 1

Floor plan is divided by function (Business, Assembly, Storage.)

Each function has an allowed number of persons per square foot called factors.

Divide the total area of each function by its assigned factor. Add the dividends to find the occupant load.

Function Area / Factor = Occupant Load

Method 2

The standard occupant load calculation method outlined in the IBC is applied to “non-business use” spaces, combined with the total number of desks shown on the plan.

This method is much more conservative and often yields a much higher occupant load.

(Function Area / Factor) + Desk Count = Occupant Load

Program breakdown was fairly standard across the board

WeWork had established programming metrics for creating a typical floor plan. These metrics were well-known throughout the company and utilized by all teams. Without a completed floor plan to run calculations on, I would use these metrics as a baseline.

55-60% - Office Space (Business)
10% for Service or Lounge Spaces (Assembly)
5% - Meeting Spaces (Assembly)
10% - Operational (storage)
10-15% - Circulation

The Goal

Build a Code Calculator

It is important to remember that this project started as an initiative run by myself and one other architect. As architects our understanding of the building code was solid, but our knowledge of how to build a functioning calculator tool was pretty limited.

We knew there was a strong business case for our tool, however, work wasn’t slated to begin for another few months. We needed something sooner rather than later and decided to take on this project ourselves.

Project Goals:

Develop logic for location-specific calculator
Build a prototype that could be easily edited
Create a user friendly interface

Design Direction

Form follows function

We began building a low-fidelity prototype in google sheets, translating the building code into simple formulas. Because each jurisdiction had a specific plumbing code and different interpretations of the building code, we would need our calculator to consider multiple conditions and factors. We were able to do this by creating a dropdown menu for the jurisdiction field. Each option referenced a locked calculation sheet, where jurisdiction-specific rules and formulas lived. The rules would then be applied to corresponding fields on the calculator sheet.

Iteration

User Testing

The tool was still a work in progress, but user feedback was critical for improving our prototype. We conducted 2 rounds of usability testing, one moderated where we instructed users to complete specific tasks, and one un-moderated where the same 5 participants incorporate the calculator into their workflow. We asked participants to record calculations during programming, at 50% layout and 100% layout reviews, and again at sign-off. We also asked them to send the final occupant load calculated by the city.

Issue #1: Missing Conditions

The tool was not currently considering exit capacity, which meant users could not compare the estimated occupant load to the building exit capacity. The entire goal of the project was to gauge code compliance against existing building conditions, so omitting this from our tool felt like a major oversight.

Solution 1: Adding Fields

Adding this field was more complex than anticipated. By incorporating exit capacity, we would also need to add another conditional field for sprinkler and voice alarm. We started to reorganize the input categories and map out the new logic.

Issue #2: Confusing Outputs

Understanding the outputs was difficult and probably only made sense if you were an architect.

Solution 2: Scorecard View

Create an outputs summary that was easily digestible, similar to a scorecard

Creating a more user friendly interface

After we had the calculator working correctly and organized in a format that made reading the information easy and clear, we started to play with the visuals creating several versions before landing on a final design.

launch

Results & Next Steps

The Code Calculator tool (MVP) was released to the West Coast architecture team in 2018, where it was quickly adopted into the standard workflow. A few months after launch, we were asked to add East Coast cities into the calculator and re-release the tool. Project Managers and MEP Engineers were also utilizing the calculator to assess early cost estimations, bringing new attention to our work.