The workshop process has proven to be an effective management technique which creates an environment that fosters innovative design.The process brings together a small group of experts with a varietyof specialty talents to focus their creative energies on a specificdesign problem. The workshop process borrows many techniques from the value engineering (ve) study process. Like the ve study, the workshop process is carried out in a short time period, usually five days following a specific agenda. A typical agenda for a workshop team includes the following: (1) information exchange phase; (2) creativephase (brainstorm design alternatives); (3) develop weighted criteria for judging alternatives; (4) evaluate and concentrate design alternatives; (5) develop and enhance most promising alternatives; and (6) written and oral presentation of recommendations. The workshop process was effectively used to develop the preliminary design for replacement of the broad street bridge over the scioto river in downtown columbus, ohio. Because this bridge is located in a prominent location within an historic district, special emphasis on aesthetics and historical compatibility was important. For the broad street bridge, two design workshops were held. The first workshop generated 117 different alternative designs which were concentrated and refined to13 design alternatives for public consideration. The second workshop incorporated the public response to the results of the first workshop and developed the recommended design alternative for the replacement of the broad street bridge. Because aesthetics were an important consideration in the design of this bridge, scale models and numerous perspective sketches and renderings were prepared to assist boththe workshop team and the public in their consideration of the various alternatives. The resulting final design most likely would not have been conceived by routine design processes. This paper appears in transportation research record no. 1290, Third bridge engineering conference, march 10-13, 1991, denver, colorado, volume 2.
Abstract