COVID-19 affected engineers and building professionals’ designs in many ways. Consulting-Specifying Engineer hosted an MEP Round Table to discuss how the pandemic affects building design. Kevin Miller provided valuable insight on the topic as a member of this round table. Below are a few excerpts from the article.
CSE: What have past pandemics taught engineers about designing systems in nonresidential buildings?
Kevin Miller: I believe that past and recent pandemics have taught engineers how to best be engineers. Engineers do not have all of the answers. We know how to ask the right questions and think like engineers to help develop the best solutions for our clients and for the public. COVID-19 is obviously unprecedented, but as we have navigated different pandemics over the past couple of decades, we have learned as engineers what our role necessarily is. We have all learned about medical and technical aspects. Most importantly, we have learned how to ask the right questions and help evaluate the information and technologies available to help the team come to the right solution.
CSE: Describe a project in which you designed an aspect of the building’s engineered systems to address COVID-19 issues. What were its unique demands and how did you achieve them?
Kevin Miller: We designed dozens of rooms, suites and wards, in multiple hospitals, dedicated to COVID-19 patients. Every one had unique demands. In fact, many of these were redesigned and/or modified multiple times on the fly as new information came in or as the hospital continued to adapt their operations. What I think was unique to all designs as we navigated this pandemic with our hospital partners was the unknown and the need for both the process and the design itself to be flexible and nimble. We were often on calls between clinical staff, administration, infection prevention and facilities. We were there to listen and understand their needs. Our role was much more than designing for the proper filtration or directional airflow. Each one was unique in needs for ante or buffer spaces, donning and doffing areas, cohorting and personal protective equipment requirements, etc.