Is removing a column always the best way to open up a space?

No. The column in the way is one of the examples CH3's technical team uses to explain how value engineering works on the job site. On projects with large open spaces, finding a column where the layout called for open floor area is a common situation. The first reaction is usually to remove it, but that is not always the best option.

What removal involves

A column is part of the building's structural system. Removing it requires a new structural solution to redistribute the loads it carried, which directly affects the cost of the build. Beyond the cost of the new structure, there is the effect on the schedule, since an intervention of that scale has to be designed and built before the next stages.

How CH3 approaches it

Thinking through options to keep the build on schedule and finding efficient solutions to whatever comes up is part of everyday work at CH3. With a column, that means studying layout or structural alternatives that meet the design's needs on schedule and on budget before deciding to remove it. The premise is that it is always possible to adapt the design with something that won't harm or disappoint the client.

The same logic applies to other decisions on the build. On a recent residence, a structural value engineering suggestion, approved by the client, cut material replacement by 30%. The goal is the same in every case: to strike a balance between the design idea and the price, so that the client never suffers a financial loss.

For your company, the right question when facing a column is not "how do we remove it?" but "which solution delivers the space the design calls for at the lowest cost and on schedule?"