Dubai RTA adopts BIM solutions

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai, UAE has launched a new building information modelling (BIM) solution which aims at dealing with assets information in a comprehensive manner starting from the design stage.

BIM is an effective tool for the management, mobility and sharing of engineering information between the owner, architects, engineers, developers, contractors, manufacturers and maintenance officials in an environment customised to ensure the reduction of power wastage, said the RTA in a statement.

Speaking at the launch,Abdullah Ali Al Madani, the CEO of corporate technical support services sector at the RTA, said: "This project offers a kind of platform for broadening the scope of modelling the information of RTA’s facilities to cover all construction projects relating to its infrastructure such as service stations, operational offices, road networks and rail systems."

"The BIM is one of the leading processes across the region, or possibly the world over, as it covers all types of infrastructural projects owned by the RTA and combines them under one platform," stated Al Madani.

  
According to him, BIM comprises a series of processes aimed at creating, saving, and following changes as well as retrieving information about a construction project during the project’s lifecycle starting from the concept till the scrapping or demolition, all under a single platform for all engineering specialties of relevance to the project.

“It is therefore developed electronically through a single platform starting from the developer and including the consultant and the contractor until it is delivered and managed by the concerned personnel at the Asset Management Department who would complement the project till the end of its lifespan,” he added. –TradeArabia News Service

2015 BIM Experience Survey - Preliminary Results

Building information modeling (BIM) is a controversial topic. BIM champions have been extolling its virtues of design efficiency, construction cost and time savings, and maintenance economies for owners. Yet BIM has not become as widely used as expected in the United States.  In the U.K., for example, the government has put into place standards with the goal that all public construction projects utilize collaborative BIM from start to finish, with all project and asset information, documentation, and data being electronic by 2016-2017.  So what seems to be the issues holding BIM back?  With the 2015 BIM Experience survey launched this past month, ConstructionPro Network set out to see what it could learn.

In this first article, we summarize the results of our survey.   A second installment will compile the individual responses and report on the best practices that have been provided by our readers.

Respondents' Demographics
In ConstructionPro Network's Estimating Survey article published last month, results showed that a full 50% of respondents were contractors.  However, only 23% of the BIM survey respondents were contractors and less than 7% were architects or engineers. While estimating may be of more importance to contractors than owners, architects and engineers, we still expected more contractors to weigh in on their thoughts. That may tell us something right there - contractors may just not be interested. 

Architects represented the largest group of respondents at 23% and engineers the second largest group at 18%.  Private owners came in at 2.5% and public owners at 4%. That is another indication of either lack of interest or lack of knowledge of the process.

BIM Experience - Reasons for Using

With 47% of respondents saying they used a BIM tool, process or approach, we do have a rather BIM-experienced group to study.  It is worth noting that a full 63% either voluntarily implemented BIM or it was a company mandate, rather than because it was an owner or general contractor requirement. Here are some of the reasons cited for implementing BIM:

• Prefabrication and increased field production
• Better coordination to reduce "redo" work, increased productivity during construction and better visualization for users
• Visualization and experimentation
• 3D customer reviews, steel fabrication and sub coordination
• Reduce mistakes from lack of A/E coordination
• The ability to demonstrate accessibility issues on complex projects
• Cost savings, pre-fabrication and project scheduling
• Good fit for projects with complex interfaces between components
• Improved workflow, improved constructability and less field rework
• Coordination of trades (multiple responses)
• Improved positioning for design contests
• Help to make complex shapes and predictable models for production of cray buildings
• Estimating and presentation tool
• More efficient design tool than using 3D CAD
• More sales through visualization
• Powerful use enables preparation of construction documents and making visualizations
• Helps communicate 3D ideas to 2D dimensionally challenged decision makers
• 3D modeling and visualization
• Ability to help clients visualize; ability to show materials and colors more easily
• Helps everyone to understand where specified products go and how they work

The survey supports the frequent anecdotal benefits of BIM that we have observed - better coordination and cost savings, but we do see more interest among users for its usefulness in constructability, staging and scheduling tasks.  Another observation is the number of people that cited visualization as a specific benefit, both for working with clients as well as with the construction team.  

Summary
BIM continues to have its supporters and we fully expect to see wider use of the technology, albeit at a slower pace of implementation. As discussed in last week'sConstruction Productivity article, BIM is a critical component in collaborative project delivery methods, and that will be one of the more important drivers for BIM growth.  In future coverage of the BIM Experience Survey, we'll look at some of the BIM tools themselves, the issues users have encountered, as well as what the respondents see for BIM implementation down the road.

Update: Construction Week 2015 UAE Infra Conference

It examined the best way contractors, engineers and architects can combine their expertise in order to realise the best possible building design – as well as how collaboration can cut costs.

The industry can do far more in the fields of collaboration and site safety in order to achieve higher standards, said the panel, which agreed that too often a piecemeal approach is taken to a project.

Ala Hason, vice-president of HKS Architects, said: “As architects, all we care about is the design and it being built according to our vision. Buildings are about dreams for an architect, but for a contractor they about schedules and cost.

“For clients, they would like to have all three.”

One solution to the lack of communication across the industry could be greater use of BIM, the panel agreed.

Members said the contractors and suppliers should be bought into the design process at a far earlier stage and in much greater detail, so that a much more holistic approach is undertaken.

“When you are appointing people, make them part of a global team to achieve project goals,” said Hason. “We are seven years behind the western world when it comes to using BIM. We need to catch up.”

Martin Seward-Case of BWA Middle East defined what is meant by quality. He said: “It is the achievement of a minimum standard by a contractor – one that has been defined by the architect and the client. But we are a very fractured as an industry.

“There is an adversarial nature which results in wastage between the various layers, along with duplication of cost. We are highly inefficient but there are some simple things that we can do.”

Carl McKenzie, a director in Aecom’s healthcare practice, said the client has the job of balancing the various demands of the design team and contractors, but he added that quality control and standards vary across different sectors – with healthcare being the most stringent.

But the panel all agreed that Dubai has largely been successful in its effort to introduce and enforce standards.

Seward-Case said: “Dubai is a young place but it has advanced quite a lot.”

He said inspections of building standards are done online so “de-personalising the process” which he felt was positive, though sometimes inconvenient for project staff.

The panel agreed that more can be done on site to improve standards as well.

“Worker safety is important,” said Hason. “Sometimes [on a construction site] you see no hard hats, no safety glasses and there are cables everywhere.”

DESIGN:BIM

• 

Author: Jeffrey A. Pinheiro, AIA

This eBook is not meant to be a technical manual but more of a mini-guide. I’ve taken my design process and broke it down in the simplest, systematic way I could. When I released BIM After Dark - Volume 1 the feedback was incredible. Customers who purchased the video series asked if I could break down my design process in an easy-to-follow guide. Well, here it is!

Design is extremely subjective. Therefore, you do not have to agree with or like my design aesthetic to get a feel for my process. This process will work regardless of what building type, design aesthetic, or “ism” you prefer.

Integration: BIM design

An analysis from the United States, by Ed Paul from Arup, explores from an interesting point of view the limitations and needs of the integration process between different disciplines, with special focus on MEP/FP related BIM models.

‘Building information modeling (BIM) is used frequently when working across multiple disciplines. Is it possible for BIM to be done correctly for mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection (MEP/FP) design? Numerous factors come into play when integrating BIM into the MEP/FP engineering and design process. It is up to the design team to take the best from each variation of modeling and apply the appropriate elements to create a successful process.

Expectations are never the same on any engineering project. Everyone has various ideas of how BIM will be incorporated, and quite a few of them are unrealistic. The MEP/FP engineering team needs to set appropriate expectations with the architect and owner at the onset of the project. Before defining these expectations, we need to understand why divergent expectations exist.

When we say or hear BIM, it is often interpreted to mean 3-D modeling using Autodesk Revit. While other platforms are available, most architects use Revit, which sets the expectation that MEP/FP models will also use Revit. The main concern is related to the detail and accuracy that an architect or owner might expect because he or she doesn't completely understand the MEP/FP software or process. Architectural models are detailed and dimensioned to a high level of accuracy, and it is expected that MEP/FP models will match that accuracy, an attitude also shared by the client/owner. This sets the precedence in architectural and structural models, which are required to provide dimensional control for the contractor as an element of design. MEP/FP design work rarely, if ever, has the same level of detailing. However, as MEP modeling software became mature enough to be used on major projects, expectations were already set for similarly detailed MEP/FP models.

Contractors have also become accustomed to using architectural/structural models directly to create their 3-D coordination models; increasingly, they expect the MEP/FP models to have the same detail and accuracy. For example, a general contractor was completely surprised by my "negative" response when he asked about modeling all the conduit runs in the electrical model. MEP/FP design models are created primarily to show design intent. While support modeling and constructability are secondary drivers, they are still important, as the subcontractors make a substantial investment in the trade coordination exercises and rely on that information from the design models.

Keeping this in mind, the MEP/FP models should focus on overall dimensional accuracy of equipment, ducts, pipes, and other items that will require coordination with other disciplines. This virtual coordination for physical location must satisfy everyone's needs, including those of the facility engineers who will eventually maintain the equipment and facility. These expectations should be clarified in meetings with the various teams when collaborating to create a joint BIM execution plan (JBEP).

Collaboration to create the JBEP is another key factor for a successful project. Quite often the request for proposal (RFP) for a potential project is accompanied by the client's BIM requirements. The JBEP is simply a response to the requirements, defining the plan and processes that will be used throughout the length of the project to meet the goals. If the RFP or the client does not have any BIM requirements, it is still in the best interest of the project team to create a JBEP so that all members understand what is created and delivered to each other-and finally to the client at turnover. Without an agreed-upon JBEP, teams often move forward with their own definition of BIM goals, which results in misaligned expectations, at times allowing the architect and/or contractor to continually ask the MEP/FP engineers and designers for small changes in the model's detail or accuracy that may add up to a significant amount of work beyond the contractual scope.

When creating the JBEP the MEP/FP team needs to pay special attention to topics like roles and responsibilities, BIM uses, model organization/setup, models exchange, level of development (LOD), modeling matrix, software used, and data export. Quite often Construction-Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) is required as a data deliverable, though it is not always clear how it will be used by the owner. While all the elements of the JBEP are important, the topics noted above are the core working parts of a well-defined BIM execution plan. Once these topics are defined in the plan, effort must be maintained to stay within the bounds of the JBEP.’

Reaching Target Project Costs with 5D BIM Estimating

Reaching project target costs is a whole lot easier with 5D model-based cost estimating. 5D model-based cost estimating links and maps model elements and associated construction quantities to develop a project cost plan. 4D construction sequencing brings the element of time or schedule to the 3D BIM model; 5D brings the element of cost. This cost estimating method is an effective way to work together with the owner and project stakeholders, leveraging a wealth of information and experience from the model to the project in a visually communicative way. Use of 5D model-based cost estimating may still be a fairly new practice for some people. However, I am pleased to report that we’ve had great success using model-based estimating over the past 10 years. This article aims to illustrate how 5D model-based cost estimating can be successfully applied on your next project.

Concurrent Scheduling and Cost Estimation

5D model-based cost estimation occurs concurrently with VDC during the preconstruction 4D construction schedule sequencing phase. The 4D model-based project schedule integrates a series of multi-disciplinary performance models, which includes the building or structure, manpower, workflow sequences and processes, and overall organization of the design and construction.  This effort requires continuous referencing and analyzing the project model to determine material quantities, schedule milestones, project cost, material quantities as well as identification of potential project risks.  All of these variables are carefully considered throughout Building Information Modeling (BIM).

Cost Estimating and Cost Monitoring in Real Time

Model quantities and dimensional information are directly linked and mapped to the estimating database. Cost database integration allows you to provide real-time cost plans. While this may sound really simple, it must be said the model needs to be properly developed in order to be useful in deriving quantities. Modeling content and level of accuracy needs to be discussed between parties (model author/5D users) prior to modeling. It is essential to communicate early on with the design team about relevant design intelligence that  be used to accelerate the estimating process which will allow for an accurate cost estimate. 5D model-based estimating also leverages estimating department expertise , in effect a knowledge base of cost and time variables the BIM model can draw upon. 

Accurate cost estimation coupled with a clear representation of accrued cost across each project phase allows for a significant and positive impact on construction management. In addition, 5D BIM provides intuitive feedback on cost saving strategies (value engineering and constructability review) and cost predictability.

Responding to design cost option studies, design changes and value engineering requested by owner, and architect is commonplace. Timing is of the essence in the decision-making process; it is important to prioritize the response to these requests. 5D model-based estimating allows you to immediately performing estimate updates without delaying the decision-making process. In my experience, it’s quicker to visualize, discuss, and approve a change on-the-fly using the model than receiving sketches from the architect via email and hoping to get back with an instant answer.

Collaborate to innovate, the opportunities of BIM

The AMP6 start on 1 April 2015 is now less than a month away although with all the preparation it seems to have gotten underway already. Customer Service, efficiency and total expenditure (TOTEX) are common themes along with collaboration and innovation.

However a new dimension in AMP6 is Building Information Modelling (BIM) and we are developing our understanding of the value BIM can bring to the water sector.

The water sector delivers an essential customer service through the long term operation and management of assets. BIM with its focus on capital delivery as outlined in PAS1192-2, operations (PAS1192-3), collaboration (PAS1193-4) and security (PAS1192-5) has a lot to offer in delivering AMP6 success.

BIM in AMP5 has largely been deployed as pockets of excellence in capital delivery projects, there are some great individual exemplar projects however these often do not connect to the water company data systems. In AMP6 BIM has the potential to mature into a business as usual approach unleashing the asset management potential linking operations with  asset creation and capital maintenance. This embraces the full lifecycle in Asset Lifecycle Information Management (ALIM). BIM can be a catalyst to prompt a more mature asset management and information management approach which moves the water sector into the digital age.

A vital component of BIM is establishing the Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR), if done collaboratively as some alliances are doing the EIR can pull together the best industry knowledge to connect capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX).

If we are honest we all have a lot of digital data skeletons in the cupboard that have accumulated over recent decades as we have moved from a paper based world to a digital world. Siloed data, duplicated data, inaccessible data to name a few, often driven by functional or contractual separation. With a collaborative industry approach we can work together to eliminate these inefficiencies. BIM deployment will deliver most benefit in a collaborative environment where operations, construction, design, supply chain, procurement, IT, asset management, finance and any other groups that rely on asset data, work together.

Following on from the British Water BIM conference in April 2014, BIM4Water and British Water have set up four task groups to take on issues raised at the event. The Task Groups are addressing the following; The water sector business case for BIM; standard libraries; BIM case studies; communication and guidance. In the case of standard libraries this is connecting with BIM4 Manufacture and Manufacturing and other bodies to look at standard products and data.

The 2015 British Water BIM conference is taking place on 14 April at Aston Villa FC with the theme of “BIM Today, ALIM Tomorrow, Delivering a TOTEX Future”. The conference will explore how BIM can deliver real business benefits and contribute to the challenges we face in delivering a TOTEX future. BIM will encourage the industry to be more collaborative, this will challenge our current delivery and commercial models.

We will need to be more creative and more trusting if we are to reshape our industry. We will need to re-evaluate where real value is generated shifting the focus from short term CAPEX to long term TOTEX. BIM gives us the opportunity to collaborate, to rethink and innovate. Let’s embrace the opportunity BIM offers.

BIM’s Significance in Developing Building Architecture

Building Information Modeling which is generally addressed as BIM is a very effective and important technology for developing building architecture. Gone is the time when architects used to work 24/7 on an architectural design. They used to work continuously until and unless they come up with an effective architectural design. But with the advancement of technology such difficult scenarios changed soon as design and construction professionals started to taste the fruit of implementing technology in construction projects.

Every time they experimented with technology for executing engineering services they obtained fruitful results. When BIM technology was implemented by design andconstruction professionals in the form of Revit which is BIM software they achieved extensive results in terms of effective models.

Revit Architecture is one of the most significant tools for architects globally as it allows them to create enormously effective architectural model. Revit Architecture is buildingdesign software that contains some of the most crucial and helpful tools in it which are quintessential for architects and the members of design development teams. One of the most important things of design development process is the collaboration among design

Benefits of BIM for Interior Design

A lot has been said about BIM and its impact on the overall construction process, work flow management, integrated project delivery and more. However Building information modeling and its impact on the practice of interior design is a relatively untouched topic.

BIM can bring in a host of benefits to interior designers by allowing design visualization loaded with structured information that associates with the corresponding geometry.  It also allows designers, the ability to coordinate, automatically adjust to the document information and make design iterations during the work process irrespective of the scale of a project.

Additionally, BIM can have a vast and voracious array of components, premade parts and libraries of features that can be used by interior designers to build and support their creative efforts.

Besides, designers can also benefit from BIM not only for actual design work but also to store and manage non graphic data. Design documentation plays a critical role in expediting the process of interior design.

Feeding interior design information into BIM can also allow effective cost estimation, asset management, spatial management, placement of furniture and other such aspects pertaining particularly to the interior design activities.

BIM enables better coordination amongst designers and various stakeholders. Besides as it extends higher levels of visualization and virtual design capabilities, interior design process can be started soon after the building structure and architecture is designed and planned. 

Interior designers can also be apprised of any changes in the architectural design and hence immediately make apt changes in their designs and plans to suit the architectural requirements.

Hence Building information modeling and virtual designing actually transforms the process of interior design, especially for large scale projects.

Qatar: Excellent Opportunities for the Business Information Modelling, Construction Technology and Infrastructure Industries

Qatar’s grand plans to roll out in excess of $200bn in infrastructure projects by 2022, including stadiums, metro systems and hotel complexes, will require advanced BIM software.

With Qatar’s construction plans rapidly increasing, the country’s architects, engineers, and project developers will need to use the most advanced BIM software to customize plans and provide a clear schedule of development

Processes based on BIM can achieve up to 30% more efficiency through increased efficiency and productivity in the design or better collaboration and coordination.

BIM HVACTool - Energy Plus AddOn

watch : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yCc2lIPWOg

10 Challenges & Opportunities Facing Architecture

Australian architects have been staring into the headlights for far too long. It’s time to use those headlights to illuminate our future and to change the conversation. 

Let’s reconsider the role and importance of our profession and explore how to work together to secure and expand our critical role in the future of the built environment. 

As architects, we have the capacity to conceive, visualise and inspire – and this cannot be replicated by clients, project managers or contractors. It’s ironic that our value proposition is invention, yet we seem unable to (re)invent ourselves. Set out below are ten challenges for the profession and suggestions for how we, as a profession, can (re)invent ourselves to turn these into opportunities.

1. The architecture profession is in transition

Yes, there’s a lot of change, but there always has been. And we’ve adapted before – remember washing the Rotrings, scratching with razor blades and inhaling ammonia?

The first digital natives are entering the workforce, with high design aspirations but lacking the necessary knowledge to detail, direct and coordinate. Fee pressures can mean that older architects simply don’t have time to provide an apprenticeship. Many firms are top heavy with experienced architects who can’t draw (electronically), so they balance the books by hiring graduates who don’t know how to put a building together. This is not a recipe for speed, innovation and efficiency, nor will it reduce stress levels or long hours.

Bright ambitious designers, if stuck doing renderings, will leave. Gen X-ers, who bear the brunt of mentoring the grads and are denied real skin-in-the-game will also leave, taking with them a decade of knowledge and relationships.

The profession needs to provide clear career progression, structured experience and comprehensive skills development to allow for mobility for individuals and flexibility for the organisation as a whole.

2. Improving business outcomes for clients

Competitive environments affect corporations, healthcare service providers, educators and retailers alike and the costs of assets and operations are increasingly scrutinised. Architects are recognised for their ability to translate requirements into solutions that demonstrate higher productivity, enhanced brand value and higher levels of staff and customer satisfaction. The profession must campaign to promote these skills that deliver huge value to clients over many years and underpin the sustainability of client organisations.

3. Procurement processes

Development risks have increased significantly with land shortage, complex regulatory environments and competition for unique product. Government is subject to its own unique challenges. Time and cost pressure can lead to procurement processes that increase risk and allow little time for options to be developed and evaluated. Yet, allowing time to be spent exploring and evaluating a diverse range of options could produce more innovative and profitable outcomes.

It’s ironic that the same clients that squeeze the front end for local architects seek ‘internationals’ for our most prestigious projects. These firms have honed their skills in locations where clients place greater emphasis on taking time to explore options during the conceptual project phase. Firms that excel in competitions explore a range of options before selectively developing preferred ones, then the final solution.

Greater understanding of client issues will allow the architecture profession to be more persuasive about process change. We have seen examples where government entities have adjusted their processes as a result of direct lobbying. The trust built up with repeat clients has also demonstrated the capacity of the profession to influence procurement processes to achieve value-creating outcomes.

4. Competitions

Competitions are becoming an increasingly common way of procuring design solutions. Clear competition guidelines are available from the Australian Institute of Architects and no firm or architects should enter into a competition that does not comply with these – at minimum – with regard to the competition process, fair remuneration and the protection of copyright and the ongoing commission.

5. Consolidation

The engineers have been consolidating for the last decade, resulting in the global firms on a huge scale, such as WSP, Jacobs, Aecom, Arup, HDR, Meinhardt and GHD, many of which have significant architectural practices within. Arcadis (Netherlands) sits behind brands like RTKL, Callison, Hyder and EC Harris. These companies scale up to mirror their clients globally, entering and controlling new markets. Their scale allows back-office efficiencies, more diverse expertise and sophisticated processes. Chinese construction companies are purchasing well-known brands like PTW, HBA and Wilson, in order to vertically integrate their supply chain. Many large developers now control design in-house, providing a different kind of employment for architects as in-house specialists and design managers.

To maintain their point of difference, local practices need to specialise, collaborate and increase the quality and effectiveness of their services, through consistent, expert teams. It is also likely that local practices will be targets for acquisition.

6. Specialisation

Regardless of scale, being expert at one or a few selected building typologies is a way of remaining architect of choice. This means gaining a deep understanding of that client’s imperatives, whether commercial, operational, pedagogical or model of care. Quality design is a more fluid skill and must integrate with both the local site conditions and with the sector specialist requirements. Building a reputation in a particular typology not only builds brand and market, but also opens up the potential for higher levels of efficiency. This efficiency can take the form of object libraries/families, room data sheets, planning modules, standard details and knowledge of codes.

7. Virtual building modelling

The architect takes the lead design role, fulfilling the client’s brief and safeguarding the design quality throughout the project. Architects now excel in virtual building modelling, leading the process of coordination and clash detection for complex buildings. The architect creates the virtual model during design and progressively integrates subconsultants’ models. 

We own this space, not project managers or contractors. We have the potential to expand our role and influence by increasing our expertise in model management and integration and by demonstrating the value that can be created for clients throughout the building’s lifecycle. As a profession, new tools for mobility, collaboration, communication, automation and cloud open up further efficiencies, speed, accuracy, integration and cost reduction. These can benefit practices of all scales and allow small practices to compete in wider geographies.

Early contractor involvement is a growing trend, leading to an enhanced role for the profession to establish the integration protocols for contractors and subcontractors so that the virtual building model can be used for cost control, construction sequencing and procurement.

The further shift towards fully integrated BIM provides the tantalising promise that the model can progress through the building lifecycle to achieve the vision to create data once and use it to improve process, quality and communication.

The release of the Australian Construction Industry Forum (ACIF) Framework, which outlines activities required to successfully implement BIM across government agencies, private sector clients and industry service providers, is just one initiative towards standard protocols for BIM and Project Team Integration. The profession must engage in leading technical transformation, not watch it pass into the hands of others.

8. Earlier contractor involvement

Contractors are becoming involved in the procurement process earlier and earlier, as clients seek to shift risk through PPP, D&C and other forms of packaged procurement methods. Such packaging works best if the client brief has been clearly articulated and if the client continues active involvement in the design process. There is a major role for architects, as specialists, to work with clients to develop such a robust and flexible brief and to assist the client with ongoing independent monitoring. At best, early contractor involvement can result in a more holistic approach, tap into a more diverse range of skills and solutions and enhance the overall knowledge of our professionals.

9. Popular appreciation of the value of design

The digital era has allowed for the easy sharing of images. Popular access to high quality design through apps and media has created an awareness of the benefits of good design amongst the general public. Perhaps we are not yet at the stage where everyone is a design connoisseur, but it is widely accepted that poorly designed buildings are hard to sell and lease.

Uninformed clients may use images as a guide for briefing – is this a mistaken belief that clients can simply pick a design off the shelf? I think not. We use images too – to elicit a response or to clarify an approach – we just call them mood or concept boards. 

10. Urbanisation and the role of design in creating better cities

Urbanisation is a global phenomenon. Governments and private developers are preoccupied with creating better cities and sustainable communities; from the regeneration of Detroit to the vision for the Bays Precinct. Such focus provides the perfect platform for architects to find their voice, not just on a single plot, but at the scale of the precinct, district and city.

Architects should be leading the debate about our future built environment and challenge whether we are even asking the right questions about our cities. Let’s imagine the future, inspire our politicians and engage with local communities.

Conclusion

Rather than stare into the headlights of what we have lost, let’s expand our influence through providing better career progression for younger generations, lead the process of virtual building modelling, promote the benefits we bring to clients and lobby to change risky, short-sighted procurement processes. Let’s engage in the debate at all levels to change the paradigm for our profession.

Ten actions, as a profession, can (re)invent ourselves to turn these into opportunities.

Top ten actions

1. Build core capability in the profession at all levels.
2. Campaign to promote our role in enhancing business outcomes through design.
3. Lobby for change in the process of design procurement towards value creation.
4. Refuse to enter design competitions that do not comply with Australian Institute of Architects guidelines.
5. Expand service offers and capacity through collaboration and increase the quality and effectiveness of services.
6. Specialise in selected building typologies.
7. Increase technical expertise in virtual building modelling and a range of other applications.
8. Embrace early contractor involvement to your own benefit.
9. Engage in popular design debate.

Inspire politicians with your vision for a better built environment.

How can architects make contractors deliver their vision?

The design and construction process is complex and, some would argue, has become increasingly so. As procurement routes with earlier contractor involvement have evolved and specialist input from the supply chain has become the norm, how do architects avoid being side-lined and make sure contractors deliver their vision?

As a project develops beyond the ‘developed design’ stage, there is greater focus on the detail where components become increasingly important and the use of BIM comes to the fore.

Typically, architects focus on five key attributes that define design intent – line, profile, colour, material and specification. They increasingly rely on the specialist contractor supply chain to develop the detail.

Good architectural practice supports a coherent overall project philosophy and has a significant visual impact on the final project. Unfortunately, there are many examples of projects which began with a great conceptual idea (think of the many exciting atrium spaces conceived) but which turned out to be disappointing due to poor detailing. And yet the architect’s ability to detail appears to be at a crossroads – partly because of the fragmented and specialist nature of the industry.

Architects who can detail add huge value but there appears to be a growing shortage of building technologists who can confidently execute the detailed design intent without their work being challenged and reworked later in the process. A good example is the myriad of external façade systems that requires early specialist involvement but any attempt by the architect to detail later is often futile.

The emerging use of BIM provides a well-built and co-ordinated model, which has been integrated with other disciplines and provides the perfect platform from which to develop detailed design. In this way, the architect is able to add further layers of detail and minimise potential for data loss as the model transfers to another party.

Attention to detail can be best evidenced by completed projects and Norman Foster’s design for the McClaren Technology Centre in 2004 – often referred to as ‘a perfectionist’s palace’ – remains a good example of the pursuit for excellence.

Ron Dennis, executive chairman of the McClaren Group, was exacting in his role as client and demanded exceptional standards of detailing to the point where he had calculated that the length and width of the building should be reduced by precisely one metre to eliminate the need to trim a single one of the building’s 218,000 ceramic floor tiles.

Some would argue that contractors simply offer input on buildability and sequencing which has value but doesn’t really contribute to the design. But contractors need to have experienced staff that have an architectural background, if they want to make a difference to this complex process and ensure the vision for the build is translated throughout the process. This is where good design managers make a real difference and are able to add real value to architectural practices.

Contractors can believe adding value is all about reducing cost, often to the detriment of the design – and therefore unfavourably received by clients. Of course, this assumes the project isn’t under cost pressures and can be delivered within budget. To achieve this, design teams require robust cost plans early in the process so that they can deliver on budget – which is where collaboration and the use of BIM is effective in managing the design and build process.

The focus should be on achieving more for the same or lower cost. There is no need to rehearse the cost versus value debate but our predisposition towards measuring cost and our relative inability to fully consider value is an industry-wide problem. Value manifests itself in many ways from transactional – for example, how much is someone prepared to pay for it? – through to less tangible measures such as brand, social, corporate and environmental value.

Some diminution in the architect’s ability to complete the detailed design is not altogether surprising. To begin with, it is difficult to do well and requires substantial resourcing. As a consequence, it is during this stage of the process that many struggle to deliver efficiently and make a profit at the same time.

But if the architect is to deliver their vision, it suggests collaboration between the architect and contractor where there is a joint philosophy so it is well understood (ideally developed together) and which can maximise the expertise within the supply chain to deliver the project.

How about 3D laser scanning and BIM, together?

If you are unfamiliar with the terms; LiDAR, 3D laser scanning, point clouds, meshes, and NURBS, this article might scare you off, but I would hang on and hopefully learn something about reality capture from 3D laser scanners and the “point clouds” they generate. I will focus primarily on the use of point clouds into BIM platforms for architects and engineers.

Laser Scanning and BIM

GIS (Geographic Information System), ‘remote sensing’, stereo photogrammetry, and LiDAR are overlapping, competing technologies that very likely will find their place under the mother platform of BIM, working in concert to capture the world as it currently exists. Today’s architectural training is mostly directed towards creation, not the documentation of existing conditions. The “new” is simply more alluring to young, creative minds. It is far easier to create something new in BIM than it is to accurately model the terrain and detailed features of existing structures.

Documenting as-built conditions has historically been a tedious, often inaccurate process. 3D laser scanning offers a fast, accurate, albeit costly solution to this problem. The initial expense of the scanning is offset, however, by the speed, quality and quantity of the visual information produced. Scan data produces enormous file sizes. Accordingly, hardware must be up-to-date in order to accommodate the deluge of scan data. A minimum of 8GB of RAM (one cannot have too much RAM), 64 bit multi-core processors, and the latest generation graphic cards are required to handle point clouds efficiently. Fortunately, hardware costs have plummeted in recent years, while the software is racing to keep up with the processing advancements.

My first encounter with 3D scanning arrived in 2008 during a routine site visit to a house under construction for one of YouTube’s co-founders. A scanning service was employed to capture an area of complex geometry for a stone fabricator. Having used 3D modeling software since 1989, the value of laser scanning was immediate: Here was a way to capture as-built conditions into 3D, without having to laboriously transfer and interpret countless measurements and photographic references into CAD. It took several more years before I looked into 3D scanning, as applicable in architectural practice and BIM.

With the purchase 3D scanning equipment in 2011, I began testing scan data in a variety of software platforms including Revit 2013, ArchiCAD 15, Sketchup Pro , PointCab , and Pointools. Rapidform XOR, primarily a CAM application built around point cloud technology, is also a potential platform for architectural projects due to its robust tool set for meshes and NURBS. Transforming point clouds into polylines, solid models, and surfaces requires new training, of course, but it is both doable and rewarding once the work-flow is established.

Autodesk and Bentley have made the greatest inroads toward importing 3D scan data (point clouds) into their A/E product lines. Trimble’s recent acquisition of SketchUp, the fastest growing modeling software, and Tekla in 2011, provides a tantalizing window into the realm of possibility where specialized hardware and software are potentially crossed fertilized. Mergers and acquisitions don’t always result in product development, and may, in fact, stall promising technologies in favor of existing, profitable wares. So, it remains to be seen where point clouds will “make rain.”

Formats and Standards

3D imaging is a disruptive technology and has yet to find a settled position in the A/E world. With time, the process will be smoothly integrated into BIM platforms as file export standards such as the ASTM E57 format gain general acceptance. At present we must contend with a confusing mix of proprietary, ad hoc, and domain specific file formats. Just as DWG/DXF formats eased interoperability between many CAD programs, the fledgling open source E57 format will hopefully improve the importation and exchange of 3D scan data to most BIM platforms. The move to BIM is increasing the demand for 3D scan data from as-built conditions. In fact, the U.S. General Service Administration (GSA) has recently mandated the use of scanning: “Every federal facility must be documented in 3D.”  “GSA's Office of the Chief Architect (OCA) is currently encouraging, documenting, and evaluating 3D laser scanning technologies on a project-by-project need basis. 3D laser scanning has become a prominent vehicle for acquiring building spatial data in three dimensions with high fidelity and low processing time.”

Scanning data and BIM are potentially well matched for as-built documentation—all that is needed is a common language and uniform tool sets to complete the marriage. 2D deliverables derived from point clouds will only improve the quality of traditional plan sets essential for planning departments and builders, even if the additional 3D information is not directly accessed or immediately appreciated.

Presently, we have an abundance of third party software solutions, plug-ins, and competing CAD platforms—a veritable Tower of Babel of technology. It’s nice to have the variety, but it’s a confusing, inefficient, and unsettled mess to work with. Equipment makers have added limited drafting and modeling tools to their registration software, but most choose to cooperate with the major A/E software providers for drafting and modeling solutions. Any program that has 2D capabilities, imports point clouds, and has the tools to limit and slice the point cloud can satisfy the needs of most users. Indeed, ArchiCAD and SketchUp, which currently offer no serious plug-ins for point cloud insertion, have little problem accepting scaled photographs (called “orthophotos”) that can be easily traced and dimensioned for 2D deliverables . This solution, while lacking the flexibility, elegance, and power of direct point cloud insertion into CAD/BIM platforms (such as AutoCAD, Revit, and Microstation), does the job fairly well.

Conclusion

Revit looks to be the most promising platform for point cloud importation, but is currently a disappointment from its over-decimation of the scan points , its tepid object recognition capabilities, and its lack of point cloud editing tools (to select and deselect subsets of points). With Autodesk’s recent acquisition of Alice Labs(in 2011), there is the hope for robust point cloud editing tools within Revit, and across the entire Autodesk product line. It remains to be seen which features Autodesk will adopt and maintain over time. Likewise, Bentley’s purchase of Pointools (also in 2011) adds great potential value to its line of A/E software products. Once BIM software developers perfect point cloud object extraction, data compression, and dimensioning, we’ll have an extremely powerful platform that melds the actual world with the fertile dreams of creative designers.

Putting "Team" in BIM Team

BIM teams come together with a common goal in mind. Usually, that goal is part of a larger aim such as “deliver a good building to the Client.” The goal of a given BIM team may be to “provide approval documents” or “coordinate LOD300 contractor models” or “prepare federated models for transition to FM”. Depending on the nature of the goal, the BIM team will be structured and administered in vastly different ways. In some cases, one stakeholder (such as the Architect or General Contractor) will hold the majority of decision-making power, and most team members will have some measure of accountability to them through legal, contractural devices. However, things can get still get messy…

Many BIM teams can adequately define the goal, but they may struggle to define a positive and functional team structure. Who reports to who? Where is the chain of command or responsibility? How is performance measured, tracked, summarised and judged? Are there really any carrots or sticks, or is it just a case of “try and do it better next time?” Will failure be met with any real penalty, or just continuous stream of somewhat stern conversations?

The unique nature and size of multidisciplinary BIM and AEC teams can lead to further complications. While there may be a core team of persons who understand their roles and responsibilities (such as Model Managers for each contractor), the actual wider support network for those persons (sometimes termed “back of house”) may not really understand the implications of their decisions or performance.

Imagine (what BIM could do) | The B1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qubgKg1aNj0

UK’s programme for Level 3 BIM announced

A new website from the UK Government, Digital Built Britain Website, was launched to announce another step forward on the BIM history of the country with a clear goal, “to build a digital economy for the construction industry in support of dramatically improving delivery, operations and services provided to citizens”.

UK lives a period of transition with the first deadline right here. By the end of this year, starting on 2016, all public sector projects shall use Level 2 BIM, as mandated by the Government.

The website also reveals the recent benefits of BIM: ‘BIM was identified as a significant contributor to the savings of £804m in construction costs in 2013/14 announced at the Government Construction Summit in July 2014. This success has focused the need to continue to deliver the vision described in the Bew-Richards (2008) ramp and the tasks required to realise Level 3. This Digital Built Britain strategy describes how we intend taking the next steps in defining advanced standards, creating new commercial models and identifying technologies to transform our approach to social infrastructure development and construction.’

‘We seek to create a mature digital economy for the built environment which delivers high performing assets and exceptional client value as well as a knowledge base to enable the Smart City and community members to thrive in our urban environments. This approach will attract the most talented individuals from diverse backgrounds into an industry seen to add demonstrable value to society.

This is an ambitious world class programme based on significant progress demonstrated through Level 2. To ensure we can enter the market with an equally successful Level 3 programme we must commence the detailed planning, research and develop significant cross industry partnerships.’

The available document also states that ‘a new round of investment in these technologies and the skills that support them will enable us to continue and extend the work that began in 2011.’

The funding will be used for a series of key measures including:

• The creation of a set of new, international ‘Open Data’ standards which would pave the way for easy sharing of data across the entire market
• The establishment of a new contractual framework for projects which have been procured with BIM to ensure consistency, avoid confusion and encourage, open, collaborative working.
• The creation of a cultural environment which is co-operative, seeks to learn and share
• Training the public sector client in the use of BIM techniques such as, data requirements, operational methods and contractual processes
• Driving domestic and international growth and jobs in technology and construction

Supertall Buildings: Sky is the limit?

Supertall buildings have become a symbol of the modern age and advanced technology, numerous skyscrapers are challenging the impossible around the globe. However, is there a real limit on the height for current industry development? Could we have a chance to witness the supertall buildings that we have imagined in the science fiction movies?

An organization known as the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat(CTBUH) has defined the “supertall category” of skyscrapers as any building taller than 984 feet. To be categorized as “megatall,” the building must reach 2,600 feet in height. The height of a building is measured from the sidewalk to the structural top, including spires, but not antennas or flag poles.

For reference, the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet tall, the Willis (Sears) Tower is 1,451 feet tall, and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai is 2,716 feet tall. The Chinese broke ground on Changsha’s Sky City, which is expected to stand about 2,750 feet tall by mid-2014. At this time, there are 73 supertall buildings and 2 megatall buildings on Earth. From an architectural and engineering standpoint, several factors set these buildings apart from their less-impressive counterparts.

Structural System

In the mid-1960s, an engineer, Fazlur Khan, introduced a structural system known as the “tube.”By replacing the internal steel frame of a traditional building with a series of inter-connected columns, Khan ensured that the strongest part of the building was on the outside. One a building exceeds 40 stories, wind becomes more of a concern than gravity.

But the tube design was abandoned  in the late 1990s, as Bill Baker and Adrian Smith created a “stayed mast” design for Chicago’s 7 South Dearborn. This design featured a centered core, surrounded by eight large columns. Dozens of “post tube” designs emerged in the following years. However, Baker and Smith’s “buttress core” design, which involved a central hexagonal concrete core with triangular buttresses on three sides, secured Dubai’s Burj Khalifa as the tallest building in the world.

Building Materials

Today’s supertall buildings are unique in both design and composition. Although engineers once built high-rise buildings with steel, modern buildings contain a complex cocktail of chemicals and microfibers. Concrete is generally preferable to steel because a concrete tower can be thinner, without sacrificing wind resistance, and concrete towers don’t need fireproofing. Carbon-fiber materials, similar to those in jet airplanes and racing bikes, are promising but pose challenges of their own. Not only is carbon-fiber expensive, but its lightness and flexibility could feel insecure to people inside the building.

Use and Purpose

Although supertall buildings were once reserved for offices, they are being utilized for condos, hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers. Chicago’s Willis Tower is considered a single-function building because more than 85% of its total floor area is dedicated to office space. On the other hand, Chicago’s John Hancock Center is categorized as a mixed-use building because it has nearly equal parts office and residential space, with a large section for parking as well. Supertall buildings are trending towards mixed-use, especially as space becomes a rare commodity in overcrowded cities.

So aside from bragging rights, what do supertall buildings have to offer for the future? “Vanity height” is such a big deal that CTBUH recently produced a new report examining the egotistical side of skyscraper construction. Shockingly, the report found that 44 of the world’s 72 supertall buildings would lose their “supertall status” without their unusable, uninhabitable spires.

Statistical experts have predicted that the world’s population will surpass nine billion by 2050, and around 70% of  these people will live in cities. Supertall buildings posit a solution to extreme urbanization growth, while regarding environmental concerns. For city-dwellers, they present the opportunity to go ice skating, see a movie, eat dinner, and get a night’s rest without ever taking a breath of fresh air. Despite terrorist attacks, anti-urbanization movements, and architectural challenges, supertall buildings have nowhere to go but up. Saudi Arabia’s 3,280-foot Kingdom Tower is set to open in 2017, but what’s next and how high will it go?

High Speed 2 Uses BIM to Connect Cities Across the UK

First, there’s the Crossrail project, a 73-mile rail line going east to west through London, with 26 of those miles underground through central London. The £15.9 billion ($24 billion) project began in 2009 and is expected to reach full operation by 2018.

Now, a similarly grand project is ramping up with the planning for High Speed 2 (HS2), a high-speed railway to connect London to Birmingham, Leeds, and Manchester, and potentially all the way to Scotland. There are two phases planned to date, with the 119-mile London to the West Midlands as Phase 1, and a Y-like connector to both Manchester and Leeds as Phase 2.

This is HS2 because the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is being retroactively dubbed High Speed 1 (HS1). HS1 had its financial difficulties and controversies, but 20 years later it has proven popular and economically beneficial for both France and the UK. HS1’s £5.8 billion ($8.7 billion) cost was a stretch for the country, but much lower than the projected cost of £43 billion ($65 billion) for HS2. To say the least, the investment is huge.

Scheduled to start in January 2017, the HS2 project has done a great deal of outreach and analysis to justify its big spend. Like most infrastructure projects, it’s not enough to say that this will speed travel times and provide more efficient transportation options. It also needs to be tied to quality of life and demonstrate a benefit for all citizens.

HS2 and BIM. HS2 is a complex technical system, involving power, communications, earthworks, structures, tracks, control systems, noise mitigation, and much more. The project also has many more stakeholders than most, given its national scope and the impacts it will have on cities and the countryside.

With such a large and intricate project, delivering on time and on budget is a significant challenge. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is seen as central to that delivery effort, allowing the project to collect and communicate via data that is tied to a detailed visual model. Using BIM for education of stakeholders is also of supreme importance.

“The project is utterly reliant on BIM,” says Prof. Andrew McNaughton, technical director of HS2. “It provides the means for communicating with local councils and to engage the public. Everything about the model has to be right because people want to know what it looks like from bedroom windows, how it will impact wildlife, and what it will sound like.”

Sharing the Benefits. In the initial report tasked by the Department of Transport to deliver this new network, the correlation between current rail capacity constraints to the south of London and poor connections to the north have helped to unbalance the national economy.

“HS2 is a key to making this geographic equalization and rebalancing the country’s economy possible, bringing Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham as close as a cross-town underground trip in London,” says McNaughton. “The country wants people to travel and connect.”