Barry McAuley, PhD Post-Doctoral Researcher 086 014 4853 bmcauley@cita.ie www.bicp.ie
BICP Case Study 3 – Grangegorman: Greenway Research Hub Background
also the first building to be constructed on site using Building Information Modelling (BIM).
The Grangegorman site is an area of approximately 73 acres located in the Arran Quay Ward of Dublin in the district of Grangegorman. Part of the development of the site will include the relocation of all of Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) facilities and a student body of up to 22,000 students. This new campus will have state of the art sports facilities with an all-weather pitch, tennis court, jogging track, sports track, swimming pool and fitness studio. DIT Grangegorman will eventually have 2,000 student accommodation spaces on the campus. The total investment in developing this site represents a spend of over €1 billion, the largest single investment in higher education in the history of the state.
This technology allows the contractor and design teams to utilise a full digital representation of the building and it’s functions to assist with construction. To effectively achieve the required targets the GDA specified that BIM should form part of the tender for the Greenway Research Hub. This represented the first project tendered by the GDA that had a BIM delivery requirement. The contract type was Design and Build and represented a value of €13 million.
The Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) is the statutory agency charged with redeveloping the former St. Brendan’s Hospital grounds in Grangegorman. The GDA’s function is to accept the site, consult with stakeholders, prepare all necessary plans and strategies documentation and to procure and manage all developments. The GDA team have engaged with designers, consultants and the DIT campus Planning Team to ensure that the needs of the end user were met and that fitness of purpose of the campus was achieved.
Tender Stage A number of challenges existed in 2011 for the GDA in specifying BIM on the Greenway Research Hub project. No existing processes or templates such as the Employer Information Requirements (EIR) were in place, which made it difficult when trying to capture the needs of the end user. The GDA communicated their requirements to RKD Architects who in turn created a 3D model and used this to produce 2D drawings as the basis of the tender. As the model was developed GDA began to fully understand the capabilities of BIM and senior members began to advance their knowledge base within this area. Figure 1 represents a fully rendered image taken from the model.
Greenway Research Hub The Greenway Hub was the first new DIT building to be completed at Grangegorman. The building provides for a range of research laboratories and facilities for the Environmental Sustainability and Health Institute (ESHI) and start-up business spaces for the DIT Hothouse Incubation centre (HHI). Funded through the Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) and Enterprise Ireland, this five-storied research and innovation building is
Figure 1 –Rendered image of the Greenway Research Hub
Construction Stage The design and build team that were successful in the tender bid consisted of BDP Architecture, O’Connor Sutton Cronin, Ethos Engineering and BAM Ireland. BAM modelled the exemplar designs at tender receipt stage to utilise BIM to fully assist in derisking the project. During the tender phase numerous workshops were held between BAM’s design team members to rationalise the space available and to better understand the impact on the buildings fabric. BIM assisted greatly in some of the fundamental design and construction decisions in the lead up to the project’s tender submission. The project delivery was a new process for many of the designers as well as the extended supply chain. Model coordination workshops were required and new technology was also present on the site, with the Research Hub utilising the Autodesk BIM 360 Glue and Field products throughout the construction phase. The project, although small in footprint was heavily serviced due to the laboratory requirements meaning space was at a premium within the facility. The use of a BIM process enabled an advanced understanding through its visualising capabilities for both the client and design team to ensure the functionality of space was maximised. BAM, during meetings with the client, used the model to provide a virtual walk through of the building to provide a better understanding of routes and room sizes.
BAM along with RKD Architects were the first team to develop a BCAR compliant workflow through BIM 360 Field, meaning the capturing of all signoffs and certifications was dramatically simplified with all BCAR data requirements captured live on site. Figure 2 represents a sectional view of the model.
Operational Stage The project was delivered on budget and two months ahead of schedule. An as-built model was handed over to the GDA with the intention for it be used by DIT for academic purposes. The GDA despite a lack of experience took the first steps on their BIM journey. The application of BIM offered a number of efficiencies throughout the construction stage but more importantly it offered an opportunity for the GDA to significantly improve their BIM policy moving forward. Post completion of the Greenway Research Hub the GDA have hired a BIM Information Manager who has worked with all parties in refining the current BIM policy. A smart campus planning committee has been set up with separate working groups established within each sector. All required staff have received training on the fundamentals of BIM Level 2. This will assist in ensuring that future models and more importantly the information within them can be used to enhance the management of campus assets.
Acknowledgements Pat O Sullivan and Robert Moore (GDA) Paul Brennan and Michael Murphy (BAM Ireland) Case Study prepared by Dr. Barry McAuley (CitA/DIT), Dr. Alan Hore (DIT) and Prof Roger West (TCD). Published: February 2017
Figure 2 – Model Sectional View