Barry McAuley, PhD Post-Doctoral Researcher 086 014 4853 bmcauley@cita.ie www.bicp.ie
BICP Case Study: 1 Windmill Lane – The Clients BIM Journey Background 1 Windmill Lane (1WML) occupies a strategic location in the South Of Beckett O’Casey (SOBO) District at the point where Dublin’s Docklands connect with the city centre and IFSC. Developers Hibernia REIT plc have embarked on a master planned program of redevelopment that will revitalise this location. The building has over 120,000 sq.ft of 4th generation office space and 14 new apartments, all constructed over a single level basement. A deep renovation of the surrounding Public Realm, complete with soft landscaping, cafe, co-working spaces and a 12,000 sq.ft gym will form a new social space at the heart of the SOBO district. 1WML is a LEED Gold building extending over six floors with a total floor area of approx. 121,287 sq.ft of high performance work space. Attention has been dedicated to achieving an optimum balance of lighting, ventilation, acoustics and temperature to aid concentration, maximise wellbeing and inspire performance. Landlord works are scheduled to complete in July 2017. 1WML is set to be a superior quality, mixed-use commercial development that will rank amongst the city’s most desirable workplaces.
Post Acquisition Stage The Construction & Development team at WK Nowlan were tasked with the Technical Due Diligence pre-acquisition and were retained subsequently to advise the Client throughout the design and construction stages. The Client bought the building with full planning. However, they sought to make a number of changes to the building which would require planning amendments in certain instances. This resulted in a number of months spent manipulating the core configurations of the design and internal layouts to improve the functionality of the building for modern tenant requirements. This
task was hosted primarily through 2D drawings. The Client’s Brief sought to capitalise on the shortage of premium office space and to do so required the optimum turnaround within the design process to get an amendment application lodged. As the Client had a long-term hold strategy of the asset, WKN recommended the use of BIM as a tool in developing options for redevelopment as well as maximising value in the operational (FM) stage. While the post-planning options review was at an advanced stage, it was nonetheless agreed that a BIM process should be adopted for the detailed design. The Client, based on the recommendation of WK Nowlan, was keen to explore how BIM could be of potential benefit during the design and construction stages but more importantly in the operation phase of the building.
Design Phase In order to advise on the optimum process for assessment and appointment of the design team, WK Nowlan appointed ArcDox as their specialist BIM advisor on the Client side. A questionnaire was designed to help understand the BIM maturity of prospective design team members which the BIM advisor assisted in validating. At that time, due to the infancy of BIM in the Irish market, it was discovered that a number of companies were still on their own BIM journeys which added to the challenge in selecting the most appropriate organisation. A further process was undertaken which involved interviewing prospective design team members to ensure they could deliver what they set out in the questionnaire. This process included the visiting of a number of short listed companies and speaking directly with their identified BIM teams within the organisations. A design team of MOLA Architecture (Lead Architects), Casey O'Rourke Associates (Structural Engineers) and Arup (M&E Engineers) was selected
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to develop the design, with Mulcahy McDonagh appointed as Project Quantity Surveyor to procure the Main Contractor. John Paul Construction were selected as the main contractor and were required to deliver the project using BIM processes in accordance with PAS 1192. To ensure all of the design and construction team members used BIM, it was legally mandated within the contractual appointments through a combination of the CIC BIM protocol and bespoke wording In order to adequately map the requirements of the Client a series of meetings were held with WK Nowlan and ArcDox. Exemplar designs were used to illustrate how and what information would be captured within the model. An Employers Information Requirements (EIR) was drafted which evolved through the course of the project. In order to facilitate a more collaborative approach for the Client, a BIM enabled Common Data Environment (CDE) was procured in the form of Asite. A number of security gates / checks were put in place to comply with PAS 1192 requirements. This ensured that the asset data signed off was in accordance with what the Client specified. Figure 1 provides a CGI of the building.
comfort of 2D drawings and the cultural mindset associated with traditional practices. The Client has set up a new FM Division to manage their portfolio of properties going forward and this has contributed positively towards the preparations for the application of the AIM in the operational phase It is noteworthy that the Client, as a newly formed REIT, did not have an FM representative at the beginning of the design process and they were guided by the expert advice from the Construction & Development team at WK Nowlan. The Client’s FM representative joined at a later stage and the benefits of having this input at an earlier stage in the process is widely acknowledged. However, with the formation of a new FM department now, the Client is well positioned to maximise the benefits of using BIM across their entire portfolio for the future It was agreed that the more advanced the EIR from an early stage in the project, the easier it is to understand what one’s project deliverables are. Clients will need guidance throughout this process and it is important that the design team work with them to ensure their requirements are adequately mapped. The Client has now moved towards applying the BIM workflow process across a number of their projects. They have commissioned point clouds of buildings under development to assist them in their strategic decision making. BIM has also been applied to a current retrofit project to assist with optionality and sustainability concerns. There are also considerations in place to create models of existing buildings with the purpose of creating a retrospective AIM. The 1WML project has helped demystify BIM and has enabled the Client to see first-hand the benefits associated with this process.
Figure 1 – CGI of 1WML
Client Gains and Lessons Learned The project presented the Client with a new process of assimilating information into an Asset Information Model (AIM) and a new way of operating the building. While this has been a steep learning curve it has presented a number of new opportunities. The Client has had to consciously move away from the
Acknowledgements Ken Woods and Gerard Doherty (WK Nowlan) Case Study prepared by Dr. Barry McAuley (CitA/DIT), Dr. Alan Hore (CitA/DIT) and Prof Roger West (TCD). Published: April 2017
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