I was reading an ENR story about the San Francisco PUC Headquarters building and was impressed with a value engineering detail. During the construction document design phase, the structural engineer changed the steel frame to post tensioned concrete and saved $5M US. The two-way post tensioned floor slab had shallower edge girders which allowed for more day-lighting. The concrete floor also allowed for an open ceiling, eliminating acoustic drop ceiling and providing a cool, open look that is also more cost-effective.

The structural design that resists the substantial earthquake requirements of San Francisco was inspired by bridge design. The shear walls in the core of the building are vertically post tensioned to minimize seismic drift.

“This was that elegant solution,” says Williams, vice president of technical systems for the San Francisco-based builder Webcor. “One good solution kept on bringing other positive results.”

I challenge you and myself to put in the effort and keep striving for those elegant solutions. I know we’re too busy. I know it’s easier to just do what we did before. But our value soars when we occasionally produce elegant solutions to the problems we face.

An elegant solution should solve a problem in an unexpected way, usually simplifying the process and often saving money. There should be other positive results that continue to spring forth from an elegant solution.

I liked this definition for elegant solution:

The word elegant, in general, is an adjective meaning of fine quality. Refinement and simplicity are implied, rather than fussiness, or ostentation. An elegant solution, often referred to in relation to problems in disciplines such as mathematics, engineering, and programming, is one in which the maximum desired effect is achieved with the smallest, or simplest effort. Engineers, for example, seek the elegant solution as a means of solving a problem with the least possible waste of materials and effort. The elegant solution is also likely to be accomplished with appropriate methods and materials – according to the Elegant Solution Organization, duct tape is not likely to be part of an elegant solution, unless, of course, the problem involves taping ducts.

So let’s give ourselves some time and space to work on elegant solutions. Your market value will increase and you’ll have more joy.