Building Information Modelling (in short BIM) is the high ideal of a fully synchronised information-based process in a more and more digitally driven built environment. It is the necessary evolution of our industry, and therefore we do not see it per se as a service but in its most basic state of things as a matter of course.
We have always been striving towards a technology-assisted design approach, which materialises throughout the various projects. We are experienced in working in contractual open and native BIM projects in file- and cloud-based environments.
BIM is not a rigid software technology but an adaptive digitally assisted process; it needs an open mindset for the set-up and execution. We have a solid commitment to settled project-specific agreements.
As we are designing buildings not only by means of design analysis but to make them constructible in the best possible and holistic way, we are leveraging our design expertise and the most advanced tools on the market. Every project is designed in BIM methodology, either based on our office standards or requirements formulated in the employer information requirements and BIM execution plans of our projects.
Model-based design data will play a more and more critical role in the AEC industry as it allows for more informed decisions in the early phases of design, where design decisions also have their most significant impact.
As proper data extraction and evaluation are usually not guaranteed by default and not by pushing a button, we ensure proper model quality beforehand by leveraging checking routines based on our templates and tools.
We started the company-wide BIM implementation in the year 2014 and since then has developed and improved its standards, workflows, and custom-developed tools. With the examples below, we want to showcase a selection of our major milestone projects:
This university expansion building was planned in close collaboration with the architects. Both teams using the same software solution allowed for seamless integration and coordination of the BIM models. The coordinated MEP model contributed to a building process without any significant necessary adaptions.
The characteristic feature of the shell construction is the folded concrete roof construction with the ramp below, which is suspended into the roof by tension rods. The ramp stretches as a large spiral staircase from the fourth to the fifth floor and floats above the main library entrance. As is now the case for all public projects in Norway, BIM planning was a central component of the entire project. The supporting structure was already developed as a parametric model in the early phases.
The Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) campus consists of four buildings supporting a suspended steel structure 7 m above the ground level. The direct interoperability between the parametric calculation model and the BIM model made it possible to test numerous configurations of the Warren trusses to optimise their position from a geometric and structural perspective.
The façade of the Elbtower in Hamburg was the first large-scale BIM project of our façade department. The goal was to rationalise the geometry of the facade elements, optimise them based on the chosen construction system and reduce the number of unique elements significantly. Due to the complexity of the geometry, the project was designed in close collaboration with our parametric department. The façade geometry was generated with Dynamo for Revit and in close collaboration with our Parametric Group.
With this project, we delivered our first large-scale open BIM project. We were able to leverage model-based coordination and planning processes to reduce the efforts of late problem-solving on the construction site.