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Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Architecture, Engineering and Construction
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Importance of the ‘I’ in BIM 10
Newforma takes to the cloud 23
Information is at the heart of BIM and standardised, well-structured information will enable enormous efficiencies in the construction industry.
It has been a good year for Newforma. The specialist AEC developer has added customers such as Aedas, BDP and Foster and Partners to its customer list and broadened its product portfolio.
Engaging a BIM Consultant 14 Choosing a Building Information Modelling (BIM) consultancy can be a daunting task. AEC magazine looks at the pros and cons of independent advice.
BIM: a catalyst for change 18 Rob Charlton, CEO of space architecture, looks to the cloud and the process changes required for real time integration of the design team.
Sefaira green building analysis 20 There are increasing numbers of software applications available for green building analysis. AEC magazine looks at a new web-based contender that targets architects at the conceptual stage.
ICE BIM 2012 26 In October the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) held its second annual BIM conference. The mix of presentations, panel discussions and roundtables promoted some healthy debate into the future of Building Information Modelling for infrastructure.
Tekla UK BIM Awards 28 Tekla’s UK BIM Awards, an annual celebration of collaborative workflows and model based processes, honoured some impressive projects this year.
HP Designjet T120 33 HP’s latest large format printer proves a versatile and compact tool for small architecture practices. Also this month: 4, 6 and 9 News; 34 Dell Precision T7600 and InterPro IPW-iB November / December 2012
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News
BIM 360 Glue hits the iPad
The MakerBot Replicator 2 can build in 100-micron layers, about as thin as a sheet of paper
utodesk BIM 360 Glue, the cloud-based collaboration tool, is now available for the iPad. The free app enables users to explore multi-disciplinary models online or offline, access saved views and review intelligent object properties. Users can co-ordinate over 50 design file formats in BIM 360 Glue for mobile access and publish Autodesk Navisworks models to BIM 360 Glue for access in the field.
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New low-cost 3D printers target professional users his Autumn saw the introduction of two new desktop 3D printers designed to bridge the gap between the consumer and professional markets. The MakerBot Replicator 2 and FormLabs Form 1 offer higher resolution than typical entry-level 3D printers, but are priced under $3,000. The MakerBot Replicator 2 offers a build volume of 285 x 153 x 155mm and creates models in renewable bioplastic PLA. According to the developers, PLA is the most popular build material in 3D printing because of its strength and ability to make very large prints without cracking or warping. In terms of
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resolution, the machine can build in 100micron layers, about as thin as a standard sheet of copy paper. This means smooth surfaces without any need for postproduction, claims MakerBot Industries. The FormLabs Form 1 offers a smaller build volume of 125 x 125 x 160mm. It creates models using a technology called Stereolithography (SL), which is usually found in high-end professional 3D printers. This means it can deliver a minimum layer thickness of 25 microns. The MakerBot Replicator 2 costs $2,199, while the FormLabs Form 1 is currently available for pre-order on kickstarter.com in limited numbers. Prices start at $2,299. ■ makerbot.com ■ formlabs.com
Vectorworks unveils 2013 portfolio ectorworks has released the 2013 version of its design software, including: Vectorworks Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals and Renderworks. The 2013 product line is said to contain more than 80 improvements. Performance enhancements include wall network manipulation, hidden line rendering,
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changes to lighting devices in Vectorworks Spotlight and 2D navigation of Vectorworks scenes. “We’ve improved our 3D modelling capabilities, added new file export options for greater interoperability and enhanced the performance of several key functions,” said Vectorworks CTO, Dr Biplab Sarkar. Meanwhile, Vectorworks has formed a partnership
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with IES which, according to Vectorworks CEO, Sean Flaherty, will result in the first significant energy modelling and analysis solution for a major architectural BIM program using the IFC file format. Finally, CadFaster has released an update to its collaboration tool that will enable users to share Vectorworks 2013 models.
■ tinyurl.com/BIM360Glue
Graitec links to Revit 2013 raitec BIM Connect is a free software addon for Autodesk Revit 2013 designed to provide a smooth interface to the Graitec Advance suite of structural software. Revit users can connect their models to the Graitec Advance suite, optimise in accordance with US and Eurocode standards, and produce general arrangements, fabrication drawings, BOMs, and NC files for steel and concrete structures.
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■ graitec.com/revit
■ vectorworks.net
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Building Success
With Information Modeling for Multidisciplinary Building Teams Success from BIM that drives project and building performance – not just coordinated drawings. Success realized in buildings such as the Stone Towers in Cairo by Zaha Hadid. Success achieved through the analysis, simulation, and collaborative workflows uniquely possible using Bentley’s AECOsim software and ProjectWise’s collaboration system of servers and services.
www.Bentley.com/AECMagazine © 2012 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo and ProjectWise are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
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News
BIM trial validates IFC/COBie workflows ccording to the IFC/COBie Validation Trial: Interim report, IFC files can be a suitable format for the generation of ‘COBie data drops’, but there is a need for standards, guidance, and enhanced IFC import/ export routines. The report also identified a requirement for agreed descriptions of who requires what data and when, and an improved audit trail to allow greater confidence in collaboration. The aim of the IFC/COBie validation trial is to investigate whether the existing open data standard, IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is up to the job of generating a sufficiently robust and information rich Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie) dataset. COBie is the information format specified in the UK Government Construction Strategy to manage the design, construction and operation of public buildings.
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The trial was designed and overseen by the NBS (National Building Specification) and the Open BIM Network, but carried out by a number of participants, including BAM, Carillion, Laing O’Rourke, Mace, Skanska, VINCI Construction UK Ltd, Wates and Willmott Dixon Construction. BIM Academy played the role of a main contractor from an academic point of view. To mimic the design process on a real construction project the trial used a high quality building information model. HOK London provided a model of a restaurant building, which looked into the quality of the National BIM Library objects. HOK London created the model using Autodesk Revit. But to allow the trial to test the process independently of any particular piece of software, together with Graphisoft and Vectorworks, the model was recreated in both ArchiCAD and Vectorworks formats. Participants validated the IFC data
Cloud GPU to serve up 3D CAD graphics vidia has launched a cloudbased GPU designed to deliver 3D workstation graphics to virtually any device, including smartphones, tablets and PCs. The Nvidia VGX K2 is built on Nvidia’s new Kepler architecture and includes two workstation-class GPUs, each with 4GB of graphics memory. As well as being able to run high-end CAD applications on virtually any device, the big play for Nvidia is that the VGX K2 allows multiple virtual machines to share a single GPU through GPU hardware virtualisation.
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This is in contrast to current remote workstations that need a one to one connection from GPU to client. However, with the CPU being the limiting factor in a lot of 3D CAD software, as opposed to the GPU, it will be interesting to see how effective a single Nvidia VGX K2 is at serving multiple users of 3D CAD software. “The VGX platform has been developed to bring rich, interactive graphics to all enterprise virtual desktop users,” said Jeff Brown, general manager of the professional solutions group at Nvidia. “With VGX K2 in the data centre,
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designers and engineers who create the core intellectual property for their companies can now access their IP from any device and still enjoy workstation-class performance.” The Nvidia VGX K2 board works in combination with Citrix XenDesktop and Citrix XenApp and is expected to be available from server OEMs in early 2013. ■ nvidia.com/vgx
exported from all three BIM tools (Autodesk Revit, Graphisoft ArchiCAD and Vectorworks) and then reported on the missing, incorrect or incomplete data. They then re-validated the updated IFC data file and used it to extract data in the form of a COBie report in a spread sheet (COBie data drops 1 & 2 were generated). A number of software tools that work with IFC data were used in the technical trial. These include Tekla BIMsight, simplebim, xBIM, openBIM Server and AEC3 BIMServices. Solibri Model Checker was used to validate COBie data and produce outputs from co-ordinated BIM models. A copy of the Interim report is available for download from tinyurl.com/COBietrial. The full findings of the trial will be delivered in 2013. ■ openbimnetwork.com ■ thenbs.com/BIM ■ nationalbimlibrary.com ■ bimtaskgroup.org/cobie-uk-2012
Solibri enters UK market olibri, the Finnish firm that develops software for BIM model co-ordination, clash detection, quality assurance, building code compliance and information analysis, has established UK operations. The move follows the success of the recent trial for IFC/COBie workflows where Solibri Model Checker was used to validate COBie data and produce outputs, from co-ordinated BIM models (see story above). The establishment of Solibri UK in Newbury will be guided by Alan Baikie, previously of Graphisoft UK
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■ solibri.com
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9/11/12 10:04:04
Incorporate Sustainability Early
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ArchiCAD® 16 introduces a comprehensive ecosystem of solutions to simplify the creation and sharing of custom parametric BIM Components. With ArchiCAD 16, GRAPHISOFT® delivers important workflow and productivity updates to its growing portfolio of solutions. These include the intelligent BIM Server™, built in Energy Evaluation, Renovation/Refurb/Retrofit workflow, iOS and Android BIM model viewers and support for IFC to promote Open BIM exchange.
For further information please phone GRAPHISOFT Connect on 020 7734 1837 or 0121 447 7747 or visit www.gsconnect.co.uk
Copyright © Graphisoft UK Ltd 2012. All rights reserved world-wide. All other company and product names may be tradenames or trademarks of their respective owners. Image: © Emirates German Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Engineering Adnan Saffarini Office www.saffarinidxb.com
News
Trimble invests in 5D construction rimble’s acquisition juggernaut is showing no signs of slowing down. This month the California-based firm bought the assets of Vico Software, a specialist in 5D virtual construction software and consulting services. ‘5D’ intelligently links 3D model components with time and cost-related information to help visualise the progression of construction activities and the related costs over time. “Vico’s 5D Virtual Construction software solutions pioneered the category of 5D BIM for construction. With Vico’s capabilities Trimble is uniquely positioned to participate in the industry’s evolution from 2D to 5D management,” said Bryn Fosburgh, Trimble vice-president. “Vico provides an important contribution in that evolution by connecting data from the
ROUND UP Revit/COBie toolkit
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virtual aspects to the physical aspects of a building construction project. It becomes the connection point that binds Trimble’s hardware and software suite of products together across the DBO (design-buildoperate) lifecycle.” Meanwhile, Trimble and Bentley Systems have formed a strategic alliance to better support intelligent positioning for large infrastructure project sites. According to Bentley, the alliance will combine physical and virtual information to improve and validate on-site construction processes using Trimble’s field positioning technologies and Bentley’s information modelling software and ProjectWise. ■
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MassMotion to simulate station crowds ngineering consultant Royal HaskoningDHV has chosen Oasys MassMotion crowd simulation software to help with in-depth analysis of pedestrian flows in crowded railway terminals. The global firm chose MassMotion to support, in the first instance, its work
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with Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), the principal Dutch railway operator and ProRail the Dutch rail infrastructure authority. Both are engaged in major renovation projects at city terminals throughout the Netherlands to enable the system to cater for increasing passenger numbers. Using MassMotion, urban
planning and transit consultant Wieger Pasman and his team are now able to simulate peaks and troughs in passenger traffic, predict the behaviour of people when they are diverted from their normal path during renovation work, and optimise emergency evacuation scenarios. ■ oasys-software.com
4Projects extends COBie data support Projects is extending its core collaboration product to provide a full lifecycle COBie data management system. The software aims to eliminate the manual, error-prone processes inherent in current COBie generation workflows, claims the developer.
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In addition to managing COBie data in a structured web-based database, the system enables authorised members of the supply chain to capture and review and amend the data. According to 4Projects, this enables more accurate and complete data to be provided in ‘COBie drops’. The cloud-based system
utilises an OpenBIM approach, designed to allow data from BIM design tools to be imported from source models, merged, refined, validated and finally exported in a number of COBie formats, for delivery to the client, FM team or a COBie compatible CAFM system.
Autodesk US has released a toolkit for producing COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) deliverables in conjunction with Revit models. AEC Magazine understands a UK version, which complies with COBie UK 2012 standards, is also under development ■ tinyurl.com/revitcobie
GTeam launches Gehry Technologies (GT) has officially launched its cloud-based 2D and 3D file management and project collaboration platform, GTeam. The service starts at $99 per month per user with special pricing available for mid-sized firm and enterprises. See AEC Sept/Oct for a full preview ■ gteam.com
DesignScript Autodesk Labs has updated its DesignScript technology preview. The scripting language, which is integrated inside AutoCAD, helps designers build and analyse complex geometric models that would be hard to model with interactive techniques ■ labs.autodesk.com
UK BIM Protocols Version 2.0 of the AEC (UK) BIM Protocols is now available for download. The new version is a unification of the guidance provided by the previous documents, bringing workflows together in a single generic document, which can be applied to any BIM-enabled project ■ aecuk.wordpress.com/documents
Structural analysis The new version of Staad (X) V8i supports structural entities that are based on physical entities. According to the developers the engineer works on the physical model while Staad(X) decomposes everything down to analytical components ■ bentley.com
Facade BIM objects Marley Eternit has launched BIM Space, a set of free to download BIM objects developed using Autodesk Revit that provide specifiers with a standard range of build ups for the company’s architectural fibre cement facades range ■ marleyeternit.co.uk/resources/BIM
■ 4projects.com
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Feature
The importance of the ‘I’ in BIM Information is at the heart of BIM and standardised, well-structured information will enable enormous efficiencies in the construction industry by stephen hamil illustrations rob biddulph Which companies in the construction industry are really fully utilising the full power of Building Information Modelling (BIM)? It is true that a large number of designers are now generating their 2D documentation from a 3D model. Design team members are also collaborating to eliminate clashes between structure and services prior to the project going to site. But will 2013 be the year in which the focus now moves on to the Information within BIM?
Rise of a digital age Over recent years a digital revolution has emerged, changing the way we live. No more than twenty years ago people bought records from the record shop to listen to music; they bought books from the book shop if they wanted to read; they hired videos from the video shop if they wanted to watch a movie. This is no longer the case. iPads, Kindles, MP3 players, personal computers and the Internet have all changed forever the way we live our lives. Within media industries there were companies and organisations that did not prepare or adapt for change. A popular case study that is well documented is the demise of Kodak as the digital camera rose to prominence. A similar digital revolution is now happening in the construction industry. Where previously ‘documents’ such as drawings, schedules and specifications were written, now this information is being digitally generated from well-structured information models. We are starting to see a construction industry in which digital 10
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information flows from inception through to demolition, making big efficiency and accuracy savings along the way.
Digital construction When people talk about BIM it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking about it simply as a software product. It is true that BIM is about technology, but it is also about collaboration and ensuring the whole process is agreed and understood when working on a project. However, even if you have great software, people and process, underpinning it all must be great information.
The challenges To ensure that the correct information underpins the BIM process is a big challenge. Most important is the need to ensure that the BIM objects used have properties that define more than just their corresponding physical object’s geometry. This then allows the overall building model to be analysed. For example, if the walls and doors of a space consistently have a property to define fire rating then the model can be analysed for a fire strategy. The same principles apply for properties such as durability, acoustic and structural performance of the building, or spaces or elements within the building. If every object is created with different property standards then this is an impossible task. An example of the importance of wellstructured information is shown in figure 1. It can be seen that a simple door schedule cannot be created correctly due to inconsistent properties: If BIM is to truly work as a digital flow of information from building design through to operation, then the correct information of physical products must be represented within the model. A logical information
structure allows construction professionals to consistently add this data to the model. Manufacturers can support this process too and make it much easier for those working on construction projects to specify their products. If the manufacturers provide this information in a structured digital format, their objects can be easily added into the model. This is far more efficient than the alternative — the manual re-keying of information from one 2D format to another. One further challenge to consider is that the digital information must flow from one software package to another. There is not one software provider that delivers tools for briefing, design, specification, construction and maintenance. Just as the construction professionals must collaborate, so must the software providers. This can be done through software extensions that link data flows together and through sharing data to open international standard formats.
Support structures In terms of construction spend, the Government is the biggest client in the UK. But if the government demands the industry adopts BIM, it is only right that it provides a certain level of support. At the website www.BIMTaskGroup.org support is provided in terms of a required information structure. The resources here include: • PAS 1192 — documents the delivery of BIM enabled design and construction information • COBie UK 2012 — documentation and sample datasets • Product templates — information templates defining construction products. www.AECmag.com
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Feature If we look at the product information be hidden under the hood. Consider how like to specify a doorset based on the templates and take a doorset as an example, user friendly a tool such as Google Maps is. requirement that it has a fire rating of 120 Figure 2 shows a selection of properties that Within a few spins of the mouse wheel and minutes, then complying manufacturer define this doorset. The first column shows a click it is possible to zoom from a view of products will be returned. If a contractor properties from the international IFC Europe to find the telephone number of a must install a window that has a Kitemark standard; these cover the key performance café in Newcastle. The software technology licence for a particular British Standard, attributes of the doorset, for example: and the vast amount of “big data” behind then a similar process will be followed. Where performance is the same, acoustic rating, fire rating, security rating, the user interface is mind boggling. This is now paralleled in BIM. A user construction professionals will be able to etc. The second column shows the COBie properties the owner of the building may be may view the building, then navigate compare other variables such as financial typically interested in, for example: through the floors to the spaces, find the cost, environmental cost, expected life, customer service and availability manufacturer’s warranty, expected to decide which product is life, when installed, etc. The third specified and installed on a column shows additional properties construction project. that have been added by NBS. We are starting to see a construction BIM Task Group, NBS and the industry in which digital information Conclusion Construction Products Association are working with manufacturers to It is clear that the digital flows from inception through to finalise the templates to make them revolution is influencing our demolition, making big efficiency comprehensive for use in the UK . everyday lives, whether movies, Manufacturers may look at these books and music or searching to and accuracy savings along the way product templates and make their buy a house or a car. This information available to the technology and process change is construction industry in a now also revolutionising structured digital format. Small system they are interested in and then the construction. manufacturers can do this by simply attached specification. When considering BIM, there are big putting their information in a spreadsheet advantages to be gained — generating format (such as Microsoft Excel); this could What is next? drawings from a single model, to clash be seen as a first step in embracing BIM. By digitising information it is possible to do detection, to the creation of visualisations. Manufacturers at the leading edge will tasks much more efficiently. To look to However, we are now ready to take BIM to deliver digital versions of their products as another industry, consider how people used the next step, with a focus on the wellrich parametric objects. When looking at to search for a house to buy — visit estate structured information that can feed into what BIM will mean for manufacturers, it agents or drive around keep an eye out for the models. is quite possible that their BIM objects will “for sale” signs. Now there are websites that Information is at the heart of BIM and be their product catalogues of the future. allow a user to put in a set of criteria for standardised, well-structured information their requirements, and the houses that will enable enormous efficiencies in the Keep it simple meet those requirements are returned in construction industry. The most important thing with BIM is that seconds. The user no longer has to regularly ■ theNBS.com/BIM - BIM articles and reports it makes the construction industry more repeat this task, they can be alerted by ■ nationalBIMlibrary.com - free standard BIM content email of changes when they happen. efficient and not more complicated. ■ BIMTaskGroup.org - UK Government’s BIM Task Group A similar process will happen now in the Dr Stephen Hamil is director of design and Through clever software and wellstructured data the complexity of BIM will construction industry. If an architect would innovation and head of BIM at NBS
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Figure 1 An example of badly structured information
prepared by abc design
Figure 1 Doorset properties
Performance Code
Description
D01
25-50-20/110A
External wooden doorset Type A
D02
25-50-20/110B
External wooden doorset Type B
D03
25-50-20/110A
External wooden doorset Type A
25-50-20/110B
External wooden doorset Type B
Number
Fire rating
D04
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Fire rating
Fire designation
Fire grade
FD60
Acoustic rating 32dB
FD30
Accessible
BarCode
AirTransferGrille
Acoustic Rating
Installation Date
AntiFingerTrapReq.
FinalExit
Manufacturer
BreakOutFacility
FireRating
Model
DoorNumber
IsExternal
ProductionYear
ElectronicLock
FD60
FD60
32dB
www.AECmag.com
9/11/12 09:10:34
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Engaging a BIM Consultant Choosing a Building Information Modelling (BIM) consultancy can be a daunting task. AEC magazine looks at the pros and cons of independent advice. by Martyn Day
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ncreasingly, every month, I am approached by expert Building Information Modelling (BIM) users explaining that they have left practice ‘x’ to set up a BIM consultancy or join an existing one. With the edict mandating BIM usage in all UK government construction projects by 2016, it has obviously put BIM in the industry spotlight. But perhaps what is more surprising is how quickly it has become an issue in non-governmental projects. There has clearly been a change in demand this year, with more pilot projects and planned BIM adoption. With that has come an increase in the need for support services.
Meet the experts David Light CASE is a multi-disciplinary BIM consultancy with offices in New York & London. The firm employs 22 people and has its own development team. ■ case-inc.com Nigel Davies Evolve Consultancy is a UK multi-disciplinary BIM consultancy with four employees, offering training, customisation and consultancy. ■ evolve-consultancy.com
Comment I put the question of BIM consultancy ‘overload’ to two industry insiders, David Light of CASE Inc. (very recently formerly of HOK) and Nigel Davies of Evolve Consultancy (who was at Whitby Bird and others prior to setting up Evolve). I asked why there seem to be so many new BIM consultancies. It struck me there may be more consultants than users. David Light explained: “There is a big knowledge gap and therefore, naturally, it is a business opportunity. While I agree there are many 14
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[BIM consultancies], we will see some rise and others fail. From what I’m seeing, contractors are helping drive this move. They see an obvious benefit to their bottom line of deploying BIM and this is pushing back on architects. The contractors actually might not invest in hiring a team of BIM experts and instead outsource this to consultancy firms, depending on project scope.” Evolve’s Nigel Davies agreed and added: “There is certainly more competition and if you are an AEC consultant you really need
to state that you do offer BIM services. We have tried to resist this as much as we can, as it would limit our niche. We do a lot more than BIM consultancy, the industry’s process is still very 2D driven. We consult on design technology, which incorporates BIM. “This year has certainly brought a lot more firms coming to us for their first BIM projects. Architects are now being asked at the feasibility stage if they can ‘do BIM’. We are helping many put together BIM statements for their proposals. Firms can’t really get away without having some stand on it. It’s either that or lose potential business.”
Competition BIM software first went mainstream when Autodesk sold Revit through its channel. At the time I wondered how something so different and challenging to the existing design process could be sold by dealerships that had never really seen a project through from start to end, using a technology that was relatively untested. Dealers are the traditional supplier of software and training and latterly have also added consultancy capability. But why should a firm consider a consultant over a dealer for support? Both Mr Light and Mr Davies agreed that www.AECmag.com
9/11/12 09:08:39
Feature
A BIM model of a new performing arts centre for the John O’Gaunt Community College in Hungerford, UK, designed by Nightingale Associates. First published in Practical Architectural Modelling With AECOsim Building Designer, written by Nigel Davies
independence was the primary issue. Consultants do not offer or sell the software. They look at the firm and can suggest tools from any software developer. “The BIM consultancy space is and should be platform agnostic, it’s really important that we don’t sell the solution. Who would you want to suggest the best product for your business, an independent or a reseller who can only sell you a one size fits all brand. For me that’s putting the cart before the horse,” said Mr Light. Mr Davies added, “There was a time when I could say that the dealers had little experience in completed projects but these days that’s not so true as they have recruited people from the industry. The bottom line is that BIM is a process not a product and that process can’t really be delivered by a single ‘one-size fits all’ product from a single firm.” Training is seen as being another competitive advantage. Mr Davies said: “We do not do three to four day training courses and then leave you. We do project workshops and work with teams on projects for the life of projects. This includes setting up standards and really working on developing better BIM processes. Mr Light reinforced Mr Davies’ approach. www.AECmag.com
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“I’ve heard some cases where firms get sold as many as ten days’ training, which is ridiculous. People won’t remember anything after the second day. Another issue is that dealers tend to offer generic training on building types that might not be applicable to the trainee. Firms need to think about why cheaper training is cheaper and assess if it’s a false economy.”
Great expectations But do practices have unreal expectations from the BIM software and their staff? “The problem is BIM can be as big and as wide as you want it to be,” said Mr Light. “If you are modelling some walls, doors and windows and creating 2D drawings, that’s BIM. But it’s only the start of benefitting from that data and process. It’s important to know what’s involved in moving from AutoCAD LT to Revit and exactly what you are asking your employes to undertake. “Owners’ expectations of BIM also need to be broadened. BIM is great at producing co-ordinated 2D drawings but BIM offers architects an opportunity to regain the ground that has been lost in the last decade. BIM offers new business opportunities and, when cost justifying the move, principals should not go into BIM on a whim, to
get on a bandwagon and throw it at their staff to get on with it. BIM is an incredibly important business decision.” Mr Davies suggested that architectural practices need to know where they want to be in three to five years time to fully achieve all the benefits from BIM. “BIM is not just about delivering drawings any more and here it really pays to get a consultant that has experience in the specific field that you operate in. Someone that worked at a signature architect is not going to know much about structures, [for example].”
First blush It seems 2012 is the tipping point for BIM takeup, with both Mr Davies and Mr Light receiving more calls from new customers. But there are pitfalls. “Newly adopting firms need to be aware that, frequently, workarounds are required in BIM tools as there are instances where there won’t be an obvious way to solve a modelling problem and users will ‘go off piste’,” said Mr Davies. “So, there will be times when you could break the BIM methodology, which will have short term gains but may mean the model can’t be used for quantification.” New users should also be aware of BIM standards. Evolve has been active in stanNovember / December 2012
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17/9/12 16:15:47
Comment Commonwealth Institute (The Parabola): CASE provided cross discipline BIM co-ordination for members of the design team including architects Allies & Morrison/ OMA, Engineering Consultants ARUP, and Landscape Architect West 8 on behalf of the project developer Chelsfield.Image courtesy of CASE
dards development and set up the AEC (UK) committee in 2000, which published the AEC (UK) CAD Standards document in 2002 and the AEC UK BIM Protocol in 2009. The AEC UK BIM protocol has since been adopted globally in edited forms. “Structured data is important, always was and with BIM ever more so,” said Mr Davies.
BIM mandate The UK Government has mandated BIM delivery from 2016 onwards. As an industry watcher, I have to admit that while the goal is clear, the map of how to get there is not. Having sat through many presentations from the team handling the roll out, BIM seems to be about delivering a spreadsheet in the form of ‘COBie’ (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange), a US standard that has been adapted for the UK. COBie appears to be a let down, in terms of what is actually needed, or what BIM systems are capable of. Mr Davies explained: “It’s great that the government want to improve efficiency in the UK building industry. However they seem to have given the project no budget ... and the government doesn’t have anybody inside it with the necessary knowledge, [instead] employing industry consultants. “From our point of view [the government] look like they are still finding their feet and we don’t think they will find that the projects delivered in 2016 will prove to be the BIM utopia they were aiming for. “As BIM consultants we have to help clients deliver against what is practically possible versus the messages that the rumour mill is pumping out. For that reason we aren’t pushing COBie as a delivery mechanism, but we have developed ways of dealing with it should it become requested.” www.AECmag.com
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Mr Light echoed Mr Davies’ reservations. “I am glad that the government has nailed the flag to the pole but we need a better way to deliver information. I’m not keen on COBie and see it as a short term solution to a long term problem. The counter position is ‘what else is there’ and I accept that, at the moment, there isn’t anything, but it is far from ideal. “I am of the opinion that not everything needs to be embedded in the model and in the past have been happier aggregating files if necessary to have a BIM database. “Given that projects will need to be delivered in three years, there’s a hell of a lot to learn for firms and I agree that I don’t think the aspiration and targets will be achieved on time. “While the software firms are reacting to developing COBie plug-ins, I’m still not convinced it’s the right solution. If you look to the USA, where it originated, I am not too sure how well it’s being used even there, where it’s mandated on some government buildings.”
Interoperability For decades the construction industry suffered from a blight of interoperability. With 2D drawings and competing software vendors, it seemed to take years before we could successfully share drawings. With the move to 3D BIM, we are bombing ourselves back to the stone age of interoperability, where models become increasingly hard to share. “Interoperability is and always will be a problem until the software companies start to talk to one another,” said Mr Davies. “Many look to Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) as a solution but it’s a schema and there are loads of different versions supported by different products and com-
panies. We have definitely gone back to the early days of the ’90s with all that DGN/ DWG issues but now with models.” Mr Light sees that products are becoming “information silos” with not many ways of getting the information out. “We spend a lot of time trying to get information out of these silos through experimentation. The industry finally fixed the 2D interoperability problem with DXF (for all its shortcomings). With BIM, IFC is not the Holy Grail, it’s getting there but it frequently doesn’t give you the results you expected. “If you send another company an IFC, it might render well but fall apart when you start taking sections and elevations. “There are good free viewers like Tekla BIMsight, so you can examine the quality of an IFC input or output. “I actually tried to explain this to my wife and she couldn’t understand how it didn’t work like Word where you can copy and paste the text from it anywhere and get a predictable outcome. “People have been saying that ‘IFC will get there’ for a very long time and it’s still not there. Interoperability is very problematic.
Conclusion BIM consultancies are obviously in vogue, but how can a potential customer choose which to use? I would suggest going with a trusted recommendation and be aware that the cheaper the price the more likely you are not getting someone who has worked at a high level with BIM. Despite spending on training, hardware and software, there are BIM implementation failures. It is important to get the best advice and help to make the transition work to get the downstream benefits. November / December 2012
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9/11/12 09:09:01
BIM software: a catalyst for change Rob Charlton, CEO of space architecture, looks to the cloud and the process changes required for real time integration of the design team.
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he UK construction industry is notoriously conservative and reluctant to invest. Only a small number of companies saw the early potential of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and decided to take a lead. Organisations like our own were fascinated by the potential and skilled our whole team in the new way of working. Construction companies such as Laing O’Rourke were also early adaptors and pushed the technology through its business. It took until mid 2011 for BIM to become mainstream in the UK. The announcement by the UK government in May 2011 that all government-funded projects would be delivered in BIM by 2016 legitimised the technology and approach. Paul Morrell from the government task force significantly raised awareness, but more importantly demonstrated that BIM was not going to go away. Right across the industry from designers to builders and clients there is a varying level of adoption. At consultant level all professions are aware of the technology and are adopting it at different paces. Large practices are making a commitment with smaller practices taking a more cautious approach.
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Builders are now aware of BIM and their commitment ranges from a reactive response when required through to pro-active investment in research and development. We have moved into a period where clients are starting to appreciate the benefits of quality building information in the process of managing risk and importantly managing their assets and facilities in the long term.
This is largely a replication of how design management and development has progressed for many years only using models as opposed to 2-dimensional information. We are now moving towards Level 3 BIM, which will not only require that the industry adopts new technical skills in using software but also a change in how procurement and liability is Rob Charlton is CEO of managed. space architecture. He was instrumental in the Over a number of years launch of BIM. several of the software Technologies in 2011, a On the level developers have been develspecialist technology company supporting the oping cloud-based strategies The UK government has construction sector and and it is clear that software adopted a range of estabits supply chain. suites being hosted locally is lished levels to identify progâ– spacegroup.co.uk likely to be phased out with ress and growth in the matuâ– bimtechnologies.co.uk software solutions and storrity of BIM. The target for age being held in the cloud. 2016 is that all projects will This will also provide the be delivered to level 2 BIM. Level 2 BIM is a relatively straightfor- ability to access a wide range of services ward development in that individual and to ensure that information and servicproject teams can still work within their es are current. It is likely that, rather than making oneown authoring software with the individual models being federated into a cen- off capital savings for software, organisatral file and co-ordinated independently. tions will be encouraged to use credits,
Rob Charlton space architecture
www.AECmag.com
9/11/12 09:11:12
Comment
Software approaches such as Autodesk Glue 360 working in a Level 3 BIM environment can encourage collaboration through the design stages
which can be utilised on a project-by- share comments and notes via hyperlinks and pin locations. project basis. The technology is surprisingly similar This new infrastructure has been a catalyst to reconsider how not only software to social networking, which will prove needs to be developed but how we familiar to the industry’s emerging talent. When we reviewed the software the approach design co-ordination. Level 3 BIM encourages design team room was split between designers and members to work together in real time in a builders. Many of the builders had concerns about the approach with their trasingle project environment. This approach clearly challenges everything which has been known in the industry for Previously I have been sceptical decades.
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Cloudy forecast
about how Level 3 BIM could be achieved. BIM 360 Glue clearly demonstrates that real time model management is achievable
There are a range of new products currently being developed that use cloud-based solutions and encourage real time integration of a design team. We recently have had the opportunity to review Autodesk BIM 360 Glue in detail. Whilst previously I have been sceptical about how Level 3 BIM could be achieved. BIM 360 Glue clearly demonstrates that real time model management is achievable. Glue allows designers to share information in real time and provides tools to www.AECmag.com
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ditional methods involving control. Every decision is recorded to protect future liability. Software approaches such as Glue working in a Level 3 environment encourage collaboration through the design stages. The key milestones are model delivery packages, which become the baseline contractual position.
The benefits of continuous dialogue were all too clear to see during our trial. There is no doubt that the technology is more than capable of achieving impressive results however my concern is in adopting completely new practices across the industry. The industry is already struggling to learn new skills in platforms such as Revit and Navisworks. A further need to rethink the design development process will be a challenge. These new technologies require a complete change in mindset. Clients will have to reconsider their appointments, constructors need to rethink their management process and designers need to be flexible and open when working with other members of the design team. As well as BIM 360 Glue there are more products coming to market which will raise similar questions and provide equally exciting solutions. These new cloud-based platforms are likely to form the basis of BIM 2.0. We are already adopting this software on a live project however we are aware that the technology is far more about changing hearts and minds than it is about learning new skills. November / December 2012
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Sefaira green building analysis AEC magazine looks at a new web-based green building analysis tool that targets architects at the conceptual stage. by Martyn Day
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tual and massing stage of the f you do not know how Sefaira Concept design process. Unlike most a building will perform, Sefaira analysis tools, the ‘engine’ is how do you know it is located in the cloud. The the best design? Costs Price from £1,200 advantage being that massive will be exponentially higher per year processing power can be used if a design reaches the engi■ sefaira.com for very quick results for both neers only to require addisingle and parallel runs. This tional mechanical components for cooling, or changes made to natural makes Sefaira a SaaS (Software as a Service), ventilation systems. Architecture is just as accessible through a standard web browser. As a service, users do not own the software much engineering as it is art and architects but subscribe to annual usage for £1,200 a need to avoid making early mistakes. So-called ‘Green Building’ applications seat, which includes training, support and are looking to fill this space. However, I feel updates. Larger firms pay £3,250 for a bunthe ‘green’ badge in this case seriously dle of three seats with enhanced training, undersells the capabilities of much of the enhanced support and access to engineers. software and may turn off designers to the For £100 a month or less, Sefaira provides a real value of these tools, which are able to lot of bang for your buck. Sefaira has been designed to work with improve the performance of the overall SketchUp as its base modelling source. building design, not just its ‘green’ aspects. The problem with most building design While this free tool lowers the cost of entry tests is the time it takes. A single detailed and is ubiquitous in the market, most design test can take anywhere from one hour Building Information Modelling (BIM) manto several days for a qualified engineer to agers I know are trying to stamp out its use complete. This is because building design as it breaks the BIM workflow, with archican be incredibly complex. There are many tects lobbing in unco-ordinated changes via variables that can impact the end perfor- SketchUp model. That aside, SketchUp can mance and ongoing cost of maintenance: import models from all sorts of professional materials, orientation, glazing, airflow, ener- design tools so this is perhaps less of a deal gy usage, statutory compliance, usage, shad- breaker on the analysis side. Sefaira has recently launched a plug in for ing, weather and solar gain. SketchUp, which graphically shows how the Sefaira Sefaira analysis engine has broken down the Launched in 2009 and winner of last year’s model. Labelled textures (wall, glass, etc) Ecobuild ‘Green Building Innovation of the means users can assess if the correct allocaYear award’, Sefaira started its life as the tion has been applied. It is also possible to MBA research project of Mads Jensen (CEO) reallocate entities to help the software define and Peter Krebs (CTO). Now based in the make-up of a proposed design. However, it remains essential that all London and New York the firm is building a suite of cloud-based building analysis tools. items are correctly identified before analyThe company’s first product is called sis, as it is ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’. The Sefaira Concept and is aimed at the concep- models do not have to be particularly 20
November / December 2012
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detailed, for example it is possible to define floors based on the envelope in the system. Start a Sefaira session by logging in to a browser. On log in, you are presented with a list of the projects you are currently working on and these can be shared with other project participants anywhere in the world. Collaboration on Sefaira is really a useful byproduct of using the cloud. To start a conceptual or retrofit project the system needs a SketchUp model and a location. Using Google maps and a built-in sketch tool, a site can be easily drawn and brought in from SketchUp (should it have been created there or imported through it) to place the proposed building in its correct orientation. Surrounding buildings can also be quickly block modelled for over-shading analysis. Now the system automatically works out areas, volumes and gets the nearest weather data and even has the ability to run analysis with predicted climate change weather models. It is possible to initially work with the default wall and glazing settings but all these can be edited by the user. All the spaces need to be allocated uses, which includes residential, office and capacity, together with lighting and load densities. The system can differentiate between week day and weekend loadings, supports zoning, cooling points and is highly configurable. With a model, a site, weather and usage Sefaira is ready to run some numbers. The software performs an analysis for every hour of the year (by my calculations that is 8,760 hours). The company aims to return a completed set of results within 10 seconds, including a host of statistics such as the annual energy consumption, annual cost, annual CO2, heating and cooling loads as well as many other metrics. All are clearly www.AECmag.com
9/11/12 09:13:53
Review graphed and indicate the essential performance criteria. According to Sefaira these results, even quickly delivered, are within 5%-10% of competing systems at the conceptual design phase. Now the fun starts. ‘Tick-box strategies’ can be applied to improve the performance by looking at materials, structure, orientation, U-values, brise soleil, Photos (PV), and solar shading and natural ventilation to name but a few. It is possible to create a number of parallel strategies for one design and compare the results. So, what if the roof was covered in PVs, or the design had higher U-values? These strategies could be analysed in parallel and compared side by side, showing performance results together with cost implications of build vs operation. Seeing the price impact could change a client’s mind for a better performing design. It is also possible to combine a number of these strategies together to create ‘bundles’, which could be the basis of a new design or one of a number of designs that need to be compared and analysed. This is incredibly powerful and a great example of how the cloud will change the way we work — away from where any change in the design could lead to delays, to early on-demand analysis. The system has the unique capability of producing response curves on a number of criteria that will help the user select the optimal setting vs cost. The response curves give a visual indicator of which factors will have the biggest impact on improving the design for the least cost, such as shading, glazing ratios and orientation. Sefaira results can be used in the preparation of documents for LEED, Breeam, and Part L certification and has a built-in report and graph generator, ideal for presentations and design meetings. It is working on additional modules for financial planning, daylighting analysis, materials and others
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1 This is the primary interface for Sefairia users. It lists all the projects currently underway in which you are a participant. New projects are started here and all results are saved and kept ready for instant access
Conclusion While commendable, the ‘Green Building’ label has a distinct disconnect with what the majority of design jobs involve. LEED and Breeam are not applied to run of the mill projects and many clients will go for the cheapest building over the ‘green’ one. However, these tools do have a place on every project because the industry has to better understand building performance. I would suggest that these ‘green’ tools are essential Performance Analysis tools and akin to Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and Computational Fluid Dymanics (CFD) tools that are used in engineering firms, especially high performance engineering such as Forumla 1 or aerospace, which simulate their prototypes before fabrication. For a first generation application, Sefaira is incredibly impressive. The interface and www.AECmag.com
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2 Unique to Sefaira, Response curves can be generated for a number of design criteria, assisting in selecting the optimum design for the cost. Here two glazing options are being compared 3 All analysis results on a model are clearly graphed and complete by the hour over a year. Essential feedback gained at the concept stage can be used to further refine the design to get the best possible savings
ease of use is very straightforward and working with SketchUp as a base modeller significantly lowers the cost and broadens the appeal of the service. With near instant results, it is possible to sit in front of a client and compare multiple design configurations and see the construction and operation cost implications. Or simply use the
reports it generates to back up your final design submission. Sefaira equips architects with a powerful range of tools and capabilities to understand a design with fewer changes as it goes through the engineering and documentation phases. Good building professionals analyse early and often. November / December 2012
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23/10/12 09:11
Review
Newforma takes to the cloud It has been a year of good progress for Newforma. The specialist AEC developer has added customers such as Aedas, BDP and Foster and Partners to its customer list and broadened its product portfolio. by Martyn Day
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bers even if they do not use ocument and projProject Center Newforma. ect management Newforma As the client base grew, a is traditionally Newforma to Newforma seen as a neces(N2N) link was added to the sary evil or something to ‘get Typical startup costs $5,000-$10,000 software, which automatically around to’ at some point in installation, plus a yearly co-ordinates folders, files and the future. Far too many fee in 50 seat bundles models without the need for small to medium sized firms ■ newforma.com expensive and limiting ‘vault’ rely on keeping their presystems. By linking two firms’ cious work in desktop folders, which can lead to lost or duplicated data. Newforma servers for co-shared project docThe software developers’ usual answer uments, it is possible to keep internal-only is a hulking big document management documents (such as email) safe and only system that requires data to be stored in a share data from selected folders. The N2N software ‘vault’, which imposes strict poli- link also enables seamless RFI, submittals cy and regulation to all uses. It is relatively and file transfers. The company then added access support common for document management softfor iPhone, Android ware to be imposed on project partners. and Blackberry with Newforma Project Center Newforma Touch, remote Since releasing Newforma Project Center enabling in 2006, the company has taken a different access to Newforma approach to the management of document Info Exchange. The types including email, CAD drawings, system can handle Requests For Information (RFI) and sub- tagged digital images mittals. From within Microsoft Outlook, and benefits from the documents can be added to related project fast search capability of Newforma’s index folders within the system. This Newforma system runs on a dedi- servers. Newforma Punch cated local server, which indexes the data that is added by each member to their List is a tablet-based account, making it fast to search even snagging/punch-list across projects. When completed it is pos- capture and managesible to close out a project by collating all ment tool. Here item relevant documentation (drawings, emails descriptions can be etc.) for client delivery in PDF or HTML logged, together with adding pictures, vidthrough a simple wizard. and sound. Through the web-enabled Newforma Info eos Exchange (a secure and smart FTP-like por- External team memtal), documents, large files, action items and bers can use the revision records can be securely synchro- Newforma Punch List nised and distributed to other team mem- app on tablet computwww.AECmag.com
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ers. These items can then be tracked, audited, queried, logged and exported into Excel format. The data collected works with Newforma Project Center and back to the Revit model, where rooms with open punch lists can be colour coded. This is the first of a number of tablet applications that are in development with the aim being that mobile data consumers and gatherers will not be left out of the loop.
New developments The company describes its non-vault based solution as a better fit to asynchronous data exchanges that dominate the construction industry’s workflows, and it hasn’t exactly handicapped the company to win over major architectural practices. But how would Newforma fare against cloud-based document management and distribution, software and services? The company has created a number of ‘suites’ to cater to design, construction and owners. Newforma Design Suite is aimed at architects and includes: Project Center, Contract Management, the Add-in for Revit and
Newforma is taking the mobile element of its solutions very seriously. Supporting a number of popular handsets and tablets, it is now possible to send back data from construction sites
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Review 1
1 With Newforma’s Revit plug-in, it’s possible to access the ‘I’ in BIM down to the element level, enabling broad collaboration within project teams wherever they are 2 Building on N2N, Newforma servers can be combined with the omnipresence of the cloud to connect project teams back at base with those on site. In fact projects can be hosted entirely on the cloud
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Punch List. Those in Construction get Newforma Preconstruction, Project Management and Punch List. Owners get Portfolio Explorer and Project Monitor.
Cloud The company recently launched a hosted cloud service called Newforma Project Cloud for Construction Management. Using technology from a recent technology acquisition of AEC-Sync from Attolist, Newforma has created a cloud-based service for clients that would prefer to host their data remotely, use online contract administration and wish to have an external space to collaborate. As you would expect, this can link to existing customers’ Newforma servers to provide a private extranet. The suite of mobile apps currently in development will also receive and send data back and forwards to project folders, wherever they are located.
VEO In late July Newforma licensed VEO from M-SIX, a hot new Building Information Modelling (BIM) software company. The VEO platform allows project teams to access BIM models in the cloud (such as Revit models) without a full Revit installation. The technology will eventually let users view and navigate 3D buildings, search for information in the model with visual feedback and tie workflow items to objects in the model. This all may sound a little like Gehry Technologies’ GTeam but it has certainly got a number of the key Revit and Newforma customers very excited indeed. Back when we used 2D it took ages to www.AECmag.com
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develop decent drawing viewers. As we went into BIM, our data was once more pushed into a format that few others could see. It is great that there are so many developers on the case to enable non-BIM users in on the riches of the data that is being created.
Conclusion Newforma is expanding into cloud-based project software from a relatively secure base. Autodesk is trying to go cloud-only with its subscription customers; while newcomer Gehry Technologies surprised everyone with its service.
At the start of the year, I got the feeling that Newforma certainly had momentum in UK firms. With a raft of products due to come out throughout the year, together with some very targeted acquisitions and licensing deals, I would say that the company was at a tipping point to becoming an industry standard within the broader AECO community. While it will certainly face increasing competition, Newforma seems to be getting ever-more entrenched in the way major companys operate and a cloud offering/ extension will only help make it more relevant. November / December 2012
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1 Representatives from RIBA, BIFM, ICE, CIC, and AGI participated in a panel discussion to explore how they can work together more collaboratively 2 Aberlardo M. Tolentino Jr, president of Aidea Philippines, shared his experiences of managing ‘mindset change’ when moving from 2D to BIM 3 Paul Morrell, chief construction advisor, delivered an update on the government’s construction strategy
ICE BIM 2012
In October the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) held its second annual BIM conference. The mix of presentations, panel discussions and roundtables promoted some healthy debate into the future of Building Information Modelling for infrastructure. Greg Corke reports.
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n impressive 69% of delegates at who use the facilities. “Focus on the benefits ICE BIM 2012 were using that BIM can give us in the ‘operate and Building Information Modelling maintain’ world and make sure design and (BIM), one of the many live polls construction are passing those things taken throughout the day revealed. But what through,” he said, after explaining how two exactly is BIM and how does it relate to civil Crossrails are being built, one that contains engineering? One delegate asked is it time for the physical assets and one that contains the a new name, referring to the huge benefits virtual assets. The importance of BIM data was a mainBIM offers for operation and maintenance in infrastructure projects. Asset Information stay. There was plenty of emphasis on the Management (AIM) was offered up as a value of only ‘dropping’ data that is absolutely essential to each stage of a project. Too more appropriate three-letter acronym. Paul Morrell, the chief construction advi- much data can become a burden. Stephen Hamil, Head of BIM at NBS, gave sor to the government, dismissed this idea. He believes the ‘building’ in BIM has now a compelling talk on the information that become less important. “Fortunately, it matters in government projects. Mr Hamil, works as an acronym,” he explained. “Not who is heavily involved in developing the many people call it Building Information National BIM Library, talked about the need Modelling any more. BIM means many for standardisation and making well-structured data accessible to all using a common things to many different people.” Mr Morrell added that two years ago he language. See page 10 for more of his was told that BIM could not apply to a linear thoughts on the Importance of ‘I’ in BIM. Mr Morrell confirmed this need for stanasset. “So [with BIM now widely acknowledged in civil engineering] that’s how far dardisation, not just in terms of how information is presented, but in reducing the we’ve come in two years,” he said. As a conference, ICE BIM 2012 presented number of specifications. He referenced an a very broad view of BIM. There was argu- asphalt yard in the Midlands that has to ably as much focus on building and architecture as there was on highways, rail and infrastructure. Jamie Johnston of the BIM Task BIM is not just a construction Group, the body that is helping delivery tool. Its real value deliver the objectives of the UK Government Construction Strategy, comes from seamless handover stressed the importance of taking a from construction to operation co-ordinated approach. “One of the most powerful things we’ve achieved in the last year is to get all the institutions — RIBA, CIBse, BSRIA — in make 270 different specifications because the same room to start trying to co-ordinate nobody accepts anyone else’s spec. Stop retheir plans of work,” he said, explaining that inventing the wheel, he said. There was plenty of talk about COBie the institutions are now uniting under comOperations Building mon project stages, where 0 is a strategic (Construction Information Exchange), the government stage and 7 is operation and end of life. Representatives from RIBA, BIFM, ICE, mandated BIM data schema that is to be CIC, and AGI also participated in a panel used to help manage the design, construcdiscussion exploring how they can work tion and operation of public buildings. together more collaboratively. Phil Jackson, However, it is clear there is still a big chalchair of the ICE information panel, empha- lenge in terms of education. Indeed, a live sised the value of bringing the asset manag- poll revealed that 29% of delegates did not er in at the start of the process. Indeed, the know what COBie was. Mr Morrell acknowledged that there was benefits of defining the data required for operations and maintenance early on in a still work to do. “[COBie] is a hard thing to come to love,” he said. “We have to find some project was a recurring theme. Terry Stocks, head of project delivery unit way of softening its image so people can be for the Ministry of Justice, said that in client attached to COBie and understand it.” Terry Stocks explained the urgent need organisations like the MoJ, the asset management function needs to be fully bought into for good COBie validation and interrogation and involved in the BIM process from day tools. Often, the vast amount of data in the one. “BIM is not just a construction delivery COBie file makes it almost unusable, he said. Jamie Johnston offered a more positive tool. Its real value comes from seamless handover from construction to operation.” outlook for working with COBie data. “We’re Malcolm Taylor, head of technical infor- already seeing a market emerging for apps mation, Crossrail, confirmed that the bene- that are taking COBie and doing lots of clevfits of BIM that are created in design and in er things with it,” he said. “So it’s come to a construction are best received by the people point where COBie becomes the invisible
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pocket — the data transfer mechanism — that no one really looks under the bonnet. You’re simply looking at the outputs that you need whether it be on your iPad or your iPhone, or whatever it is.” The event wasn’t just about technology. Aberlardo M. Tolentino Jr, president of Aidea Philippines, shared his experiences of managing ‘mindset change’, which he described as the biggest challenge his architectural practice encountered when implementing BIM. Mr Tolentino explained how, in the move to a BIM workflow, the biggest opposition came from his 2D CAD experts, worried that they would lose their expertise. So his firm decided to take the bold move to undergo an immediate transition to BIM, not a phased approach taken by most firms. On day one Aidea completely removed 2D CAD software from every computer and started using only BIM. “There was a reason we did it that way,” he said. “If we don’t give people the chance to go back to the old system then there’s a bigger chance we will succeed in transitioning. It will be painful for a while, but the pain can be managed.” Aidea’s pain did not last long. After three months, the company was as efficient as with 2D. After six months it was starting to realise the benefits, and continued to gain more efficiency by assigning studio BIM managers, creating a BIM manual and carrying out BIM audits at different stages of a project to ensure quality. The firm has now become one of the most successful BIM-centric practices in the world, recently picking up the OpenBIM award at Build London Live 2012 in May. ICE BIM 2012 was high on delegate participation. One of the most interactive BIM conferences in the construction calendar it offered much more than back-to-back presentations. Panel discussions, roundtables, and Q and As punctuated the proceedings, creating a sense of community among the 300 delegates and promoting lively debate. Overall, it was acknowledged that the BIM Task Group needed to do more to help the civil engineering industry in particular. Delegates called for more advice on software, civils-based reference pilot projects, and availability of standard civils objects. However it was also suggested that firms needed to take a more active role in helping shape future BIM strategies. Participation through working groups such as BIM4Rail, BIM4Retail was one way to increase engagement and share knowledge and experience with peers. A BIM for SME group was also in progress to help those that thought BIM was just for the major firms. Through increased engagement from all sides, we should see the number of delegates using BIM rise next year. ■ ice-bim.com November / December 2012
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Tekla UK BIM Awards Tekla’s UK BIM Awards, an annual celebration of collaborative workflows and model based processes, honoured some impressive projects this year. Winner Arup — National Museum of Qatar The National Museum of Qatar, in Doha, is the flagship in an important series of cultural and educational projects being commissioned by the Qatari government. It is currently on site, having been in design since 2008. Architect Ateliers Jean Nouvel drew inspiration from the desert rose, a crystalline formation found below-ground in saline regions of the desert. When imagined as a building, the result is a four storey, 300m by 200m sculpture of intersecting disc shapes up to 80m in diameter. The structural solution settled on radially and orthogonally-framed steel trusses, supporting fibre-reinforced concrete cladding panels to create the required aesthetic and performance of the building envelope. The key challenges for the design resulted from the highly complex geometry of the disc interaction. No two discs are the same; no two discs intersect each other in precisely the same way. The galleries and other key spaces in the building are created by the interstices between the discs; any alteration to the architecture involves mov-
The project architect drew inspiration from the desert rose
ing discs and thereby moving the structure within the discs. This has led to an evolution of systems and processes required to handle, manipulate and develop geometric ideas from the architect, and establish engineering solutions, before communicating them in their most useful form to the wider community.
Structural modelling The structural team developed a parametric Generative Components script-based tool to automatically create wire-frame geometry in the correct position within the architectural Rhino envelope. The basic wire-frames were further populated with property and loading data using spreadsheet-based automation. Custom-designed spreadsheet macros were further used to combine separate disc models into larger combined models for structural analysis. Element strength checking was also automated as far as possible, to make practicable the design of the 250,000 separate steel elements. The analysis models were used as the basis of the production Tekla model, directly translating geometry, section data and key annotation such as disc-to-disc interface nodes.
The design featured an incredible 250,000 separate steel elements
The Tekla model was issued to the contractor at tender stage for accurate pricing. The model has been kept up to date and reissued as the design has been completed, and contains the live drawing files needed to communicate information in 2D. During the site phase, the contractor has adopted and developed this model to a fabrication level of detail. Requests For Information (RFIs) raised result in either a sub-model being issued, which is incorporated in the contractor’s live model, or a proposal from the contractor incorporated back in the original design model. In the latter instance, the proposed model is exported and used directly to modify the analysis and design, to confirm acceptability. The design model makes use of Tekla phases and classes to keep track of issue status of recent updates. Also at tender, the Tekla model was used to interrogate concrete volumes in order to produce accurate steel reinforcement figures.
Superstructure steelwork connections The scheme for the building involves many intersecting steel framed discs and therefore results in numerous connections between discs with largely different geom28
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www.AECmag.com
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Feature
KEY Workflows 1. Architectural surface information was received in IGS format plus additional defining numerical data. Bentley Generative Components was used to process this data and produce a basic structural frame, which could be read directly by GSA structural analysis software. Rhinoscript tools were developed to read the geometric data from GSA into Rhino, and compare to the architectural IGS surfaces. This allowed fast manipulation of the framework to make structural connections and trim the structure to suit the architectural layout. The resulting GSA models were imported directly to Tekla using a Tekla plugin tool, which could then be used to define the required Tekla objects. Once modelled accurately, including all required tapers, trimming and allowance for connection details, DWG and IFC files were exported to a common ‘live’ directory, which automatically imported into Navisworks for MEP and further architectural co-ordination. 2. 1,600 piles, each individually designed with bespoke trim and toe levels, was carried out in Tekla using a macro script to read the required data from a suite of spreadsheets.
(Below) 3D modelling was invaluable in helping understand the complex geometry of the connections
etries. Advice was taken from external steel fabricators and their design teams (who might ordinarily carry out the detailed design of such connections), to establish an effective normalised solution where possible. Though many bespoke connections could not be avoided, a significant number could be based around a connecting circular hollow section (CHS), which could tolerate a large range of incoming member arrangements and thus standardise the supporting steel arrangement. In order to communicate this to the contractor, a number of connections were designed, detailed and illustrated on drawings with 3D perspectives and 2D sections. The nature of the each connection was such that the geometry and therefore design could not properly be understood without interrogation of the intersecting members in three dimensions, for which Tekla was invaluable. Within discs, families of connections were defined to cover typical arrangements such as the bracing connection to the chord of a truss. Although more simple than the connections between discs, it was also useful to understand these in 3D to investigate how the subtle changes in geometry between discs altered the nature of the conwww.AECmag.com
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nections. Typical internal connections were again represented by both 3D and 2D information on the drawings with tables of parameters such as plate thickness and number of bolts defined for a range of section sizes and incoming member angles.
Project participants • • • • • • • • • •
Project owner: Qatar Museums Authority General contractor: Hyundai Architect: Ateliers Jean Nouvel Structural design: Arup Mechanical engineering: Arup Steel detailing: Arup and Eversendai CIP/reinforcement detailing: Arup Other structural detailing: Arup HVAC/MEP detailing: Hyundai Steel fabrication: Eversendai
3. Drawing and labelling of interface connection tags in 3D space, was carried out using a combination of the GSA to Tekla plugin to create spherical objects at the required ‘node’ locations, and then using spreadsheet lookups to compare and update those object properties from the labelled connection nodes in the analysis model. 4. Clash checking was carried out using the same IFC exports as for MEP co-ordination, but in the Tekla BIMsight environment. Each steel disc and concrete entity was compared against every other, to ensure a minimum proximity tolerance was maintained to allow for differential movements expected. Clashes highlighted were then categorised using the Tekla BIMsight layer tools as either ‘Connection — no action’, or ‘Clash — to be resolved’. Further comments on proposals for resolution were stored in the commenting facilities in BIMSight, which could be read by the design and CAD team. 5. Verification of the drawn structure was made possible by visual checking of the Tekla model using the Tekla viewer, model reviewer and web viewers, but also using spreadsheet scripts to automatically compare geometry and sizing from Tekla and GSA text data outputs. 6. Effective communication with off-site/remote CAD technicians around the world was possible using the Tekla comment tool plug-in. This captured comments and marked up screenshots, but could also be stored in a live ‘cloud’ type server account for sharing with the design team, without the need for downloading and updating new files every day.
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Public choice winner Bourne Engineering — Reading station The huge redevelopment of Reading station involved a collaborative approach with Lakesmere (cladding) for an alternative proposal for the design, manufacture and installation of canopies and their associated support members using an offsite, modular approach. The canopies at Reading station are based on the integration of support cross beams, gutter beams and purlins. The main cross beams were fabricated from UB sections, and bolted together with intermediate beams to suit specific lifting points on the module. Purlins & soffit rails were installed between the canopies to support the Kalzip and soffit sheets. Some 450 number canopy modules (3,000 pieces of steelwork), spanning across 15 platforms and 1.3km were designed, detailed and co-ordinated with the design team. With each module featuring slightly different geometry, following the platform radii, the steel modules had to be matched fabricated. This was achieved by the trial construction of the canopy modules on the production line.
Interoperability The importance of collaborative and co-ordinated work was essential in ensuring the primary steelwork and the secondary steelwork (cladding) was set out correctly ensuring best fit when interfacing with other works (transfer deck bridge). Canopy fixings to the transfer deck were co-ordinated by the exchange of IFC files between www.AECmag.com
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the two software applications, enabling efficient workflows and ensuring best fit. The complexity of the purlin/soffit rail setting out was co-ordinated by the exchange of DWG/DXF files imported/exported between Tekla and AutoCAD.
Reducing site labour The modular canopies were constructed on a pre-planned production line, where primary steels/secondary steels (purlins/ rails) and cladding could be installed at varying stages and checked for alignment prior to being dispatched to site — all of which was planned/designed/detailed with Tekla. Other challenges faced were the logistical difficulties of delivering the steelwork to site in a safe manner while maximising the number of deliveries to speed up site installation. The canopies were delivered to nearby Forbury, before being craned by RRV over the track and freighted the final mile to the station platforms. Where possible, deliveries took place at night to ensure the highest levels of passenger safety were maintained. Close coordination between the station’s signalling staff and Bourne’s project team also ensured disruption was kept to a minimum, which was vital given Reading station is a major UK transport hub. Trailer support frames were designed/drawn in tekla to enable this to be accomplished. The modular approach reduced site labour by approximately 3,000 site man hours in favour of reduced work periods carried out in a factory environment, thereby capturing benefits of increased productivity, improved logistics and quality control. The reduction of the overall construction programme was achieved by
running the factory activities concurrently with site build activities.
Integrated design To the north and south of the platform canopies at Reading station, the Western gate line building and the Northern entrance building were constructed. Both structures were of huge complexity comprising of large bent jumbo sections supporting the roof and vast amount of secondary steels that formed a geometrically challenging support grillage, to the varying cladding systems on both the roof and elevations. The Jumbo sections on the roof had to be sourced from Japan, which meant adhering to a programme was of upmost importance in ensuring these steels arrived in the UK on time ready to be bent/fabricated. Tekla Structures provided Bourne with the necessary tools to enable accurate setting out for fabrication and erection purposes. The key to success with both these buildings was down to the collaborative approach between Bourne and Lakesmere that ensured the co-ordination of the secondary steel sections (via model exchange) resulting in an integrated design solution that met the client’s requirements.
Project participants • Project owner: Network Rail • General contractor: Costain & Hochtief (JV) • Architect: Grimshaws • Structural design: TATA • Steel detailing: Bourne Engineering • Other detailing: Lakesmere • Steel fabrication: Bourne Engineering • Other participants: Lakesmere November / December 2012
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HP Designjet T120 HP’s latest large format printer proves a versatile and compact tool for small architecture practices. by Stephen Holmes
H
P already owns the lion’s share of the Large Format Printer market but is now looking to expand into smaller firms with the new entry-level colour Designjet T120 printer. Directly aimed at small to single-person businesses, or students, the latest addition to the Designjet family is compact. At 987 x 530 x 285 mm and 25.5kg it’s small and light enough to sit on any standard office surface, while the care put into its looks won’t have aesthetes trying to hide it from view. Those that prefer a free-standing device can invest in a pair of attachable legs and a catch-bin for around £120. However, by not forcing its customers to buy it as part of a package, HP seems to have shed as much weight as possible to bring the price down. Despite its size the T120 adequately handles engineering- and architecture-sized output. It supports media up to 610 mm (24-inches) wide (A1) via a conventional front-loading roll. A built-in tray at the rear 32
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ePrint & Share What is it? A free cloud-based distribution service for large-format print files. When printing, a PDF can be created at the same time and sent to the cloud. These files can then be distributed to team members and sent directly to print on any web-connected HP ePrinter. With multi function Designjet printers, marked up drawings can be scanned and shared in the cloud How can I access the service? ePrint & Share apps are available for Windows, iPad/iPhone and Android. Users can print direct from AutoCAD WS. Files can also be retrieved from the Designjet ePrinter touch panel What if I don’t have a HP ePrinter?? The service can still be used to share PDFs, which can then be printed in the normal way - download, open, print.
takes A4 and A3 cut sheets, meaning no doubling up on a separate desktop printer. Print quality is as one has come to expect from a HP Designjet. With the appropriate media, the optimised 1,200 x 1,200 dpi print resolution outputs high quality colour photorealistic renders, even though the resolution is half that of other Designjets. The 0.04mm minimum line width allows for detailed architectural drawings. Throughput is more modest with a quoted speed for line drawings of 40 A1 sheets per hour. The Designjet T120 comes with new generation print head technology. The new ‘longlife’ CMYK print head is claimed to have a lifespan of five years, printing at a rate of 3,000 prints per six months, reducing the hardware consumable costs. According to HP, the head benefits from improved ink efficiency technology, requiring less ‘purging’ of ink during preparation, offering further savings. This should also help extend periods of unattended operation. www.AECmag.com
9/11/12 12:34:56
Review
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It’s small and light enough to sit on any standard office surface, while the care put into its looks won’t have aesthetes trying to hide it from view
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Compared to its older siblings, the ink cartridge capacities are modest — black (80ml); black (38ml); cyan, magenta, yellow (29ml). With 256MB memory and no hard drive to store queued jobs, the Designjet T120 is very much a ‘personal printer’. But this doesn’t mean it must be tethered to a computer via USB or Ethernet. It’s one of the first Designjets to offer WiFi built-in. WiFi is a standard feature in many desktop printers, but not wide format. Like all new HP Designjet ePrinters, the T120 is web-connected and supports HP Designjet ePrint & Share technology. This means users can print direct from a webbrowser, iPhone, iPad or Android device, or by sending an email to the machine. Documents stored on the ePrint & Share cloud service can also be accessed from the T120 using the touchscreen. HP’s touchscreen controls has also been refined. With a clean and simple user interface the 4.3-inch screen is easy to navigate, and extremely quick to pick up and to operate. The full colour screen presents clear and useful print previews where users can pan and zoom around a drawing prior to committing to print.
Conclusion The HP Designjet T120 looks to be an excellent proposition for the independent architect or engineer. It may lack the print throughput and workgroup capabilities of the more expensive members of the Designjet family, but it’s good to see HP hasn’t cut back on other key features, notably the touchscreen control, ePrint & Share and built in WiFi. The 2-in-1 print capability is also a clever way of reducing the cost and space of running two separate machines. At under £750 the T120 seems like a great piece of equipment for small offices, but the T520, another new addition to HP’s Designjet family, will arguably be the better option for those with more print heavy workflows. www.AECmag.com
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November / December 2012
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Review
InterPro IPW-iB A good all round CAD / BIM workstation, though some users may demand more from their local storage Intel’s ‘Ivy Bridge’ Core i7 3770K looks to be the processor of choice for mainstream CAD and Building Information Modelling (BIM) software. In this new workstation from Staffordbased InterPro the 3.5GHz chip has undergone ‘entrylevel’ overclocking. InterPro does not divulge the exact clock speed, but with our CPU tests running about 4% slower than Scan’s 3XS GW-MT15 (Sept / Oct 2012), we expect it’s below 4.4GHz. InterPro’s mid-sized machine comes with a
Dell Precision T7600
an issue for those that mostly generous 16GB of memory. Product spec store data on servers, but is not With all four memory slots really sufficient for local CAD filled with 4GB DIMMs there ■ Intel Core i7 3770K (3.5GHz with entrywork. A 1TB or 2TB SATA can is no room for future upgrades. level overclock) easily be added at time of purThe IPW-iB’s secret weapon (Quad Core) (Ivy Bridge) CPU chase without pushing the is the FirePro W5000, one of ■ 16GB (4 x 4GB) price up much. AMD’s new Southern Islands DDR-3 1600MHz InterPro’s chosen SSD is a Graphics Processing Units (PC3-12800) memory 240GB Intel SSD 330 Series. (GPUs). ■ AMD FirePro W5000 (2GB GDDR5) While the drive is intended The 2GB card performed well GPU more as a retail product, there in all of our graphics intensive ■ 240GB Intel 330 are many similarities with the tests, though performance is Series SATA3 SSD more expensive Intel SSD 520 likely to vary ■ ASUS P8Z77-V motherboard Series. Indeed, the read and from applica■ Microsoft Windows write speeds of 500 and tion to applica7 Professional 64-bit 450MB/s are only slightly slowtion, depend■ 3 year return to er than Intel 520’s quoted ing on AMD’s base (Incl parts and labour) 550MB and 520MB/s. However, driver optim■ £1,195 the Intel 520 does come with a sations. ipworkstations.com five-year limited warranty, InterPro has while the Intel SSD 330 Series gone for a bold only gives three years. choice in storOverall, the IPW-iB is a good all round age — a single 240GB Solid State Drive (SSD) with no CAD / BIM workstation, though some users supplementary SATA may demand more from their local storage. drive. This should not be Greg Corke
drives — before being expelled at the rear. The downside of this CFD-optimised design is you can really feel the hot air coming out of the back of the machine at peak loads. We pity the engineer who sits A beautifully engineered dual Xeon directly opposite. Kitted out with two eight core 3.1GHz workstation with server grade storage Xeon E5-2687W chips, our test machine is Dell first unveiled the Precision T7600 in literally brimming with processing power. April 2012. Timed to coincide with the With a total of 32 threads (16 physical launch of Intel’s ‘Sandy Bridge’ and 16 hyperXeon processors, the machine Product spec threading) the also heralded what was argu■ 2 x Intel Xeon T7600 blitzed ably the biggest re-design in E5-2687W (eight core) (3.1GHz) CPU the history of Dell Precision our 3ds Max ■ 16GB (4X4GB) workstations. benchmark, 1,600MHZ DDR3 ECC RDIMM memory With a stylish aluminium rendering test. ■ AMD FirePro chassis, the T7600 is hot on Our test V7900 (2GB) GPU looks, but the most impressive machine’s ■ 146GB 2.5-inch SAS thing about the design is its serhigh-end pedi(15,000RPM) + 2 x 600GB 2.5-inch viceability. Hard drives that pop gree does not SAS (10,000RPM) out from the front, a rear facing stop with hard drives (RAID 0) power supply that can be CPUs. There is ■ PERC H710P SATA/ SAS controller replaced in seconds and well close to £1,500 ■ Dell motherboard ordered internal components of storage tech(Intel C600 series are the standout features. nology inside, chipset) A completely re-engineered including a ■ Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit thermal-management system 146GB SAS (15,000RPM) for ■ 3-year ProSupport means there is little to worry OS and apps and two 600GB and Next Business Day On-Site Service when it comes to noise. Low SAS (10,000RPM) hard drives duty fans draw air in at the (RAID 0) for data. RAID is ■ £7,475 front of the machine — cooling handled by a PERC H710P PCI dell.co.uk/precision the CPUs, memory and hard Express controller. This high34
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performance controller is usually deployed in data-intensive servers so may be overkill for many workstation-based design workflows. For graphics, Dell has chosen the midrange AMD FirePro V7900. It is a solid 3D card, but will soon be replaced by AMD’s new FirePro W Series Southern Island GPUs. Nvidia’s new Kepler-based Quadro K5000 is also on Dell’s roadmap so it may be worth waiting to get the most up to date graphics technology. We are hugely impressed with the Dell Precision T7600. It is well-built, sleek, and incredibly easy to service — possibly the best dual Xeon workstation we have seen. Our test machine is probably a little too high-end for most users of CAD/BIM software but some tweaks here and there should bring the price down. Meanwhile, to learn more about the T7600’s chassis see our in-depth preview in the May / June 2012 edition of AEC. Greg Corke www.AECmag.com
8/11/12 17:46:41
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