3D BIM - Virtual Design and Construction Gehry Technologies Experience

3D BIM - Virtual Design and Construction Gehry Technologies Experience Martin Riese OAA AIA - Director GT Asia, Hong Kong e-mail: martin.riese@gtasia.cn David Peake BE MBA Engineering Technology Consultant, Concentric, Australia e-mail: dpe@concentric.com.au Abstract. This paper outlines the experiences of Gehry Technologies in the adoption of Digital Project, a 3D platform for Design and Construction on the SWIRE, One Island East (OIE) Project in Hong Kong. This paper describes the Gehry Technologies experiences in using an integrated 3D model as an example of real world building and construction information modeling and potential for the construction industry s transformation. We outline the technical, procedural and organizational approach utilised by the project team as they took on this new way of working. Specifically, the paper describes the approach used for assembling a project team to leverage these technologies, the modelling requirements for implementing 3D and 4D Building Information Model projects, the 3D and 4D Construction sequence modelling processes, the benefits of the process and Digital Project technologies, the effect of these technologies on the project's outcome, lessons learned and comments on potential benefits for Industry. 1. INTRODUCTION In January 2005, Gehry Technologies (GT), a leading building design and construction technology company that provides 3D integrated, digitally driven construction practice tools and methodologies to companies and their projects, was commissioned by Swire Properties Limited in Hong Kong to provide the technology as well as organise and manage the Building Information Modeling (BIM) processes for its new high rise office tower. This paper, primarily developed by Martin Riese, a licensed architect, BIM consultant on the OIE project and Director of GT Asia in Hong Kong, provides an overview of the planning, design and management of the project. A BIM project office was initially established by the owner adjacent to the construction site in Hong Kong. The owner, Swire Properties Limited; project design consultants; and the project BIM consultant, Gehry Technologies (GT) began the process of working together in the same project space to create a single, 3D electronic Building Information Model. Swire Properties is one of Hong Kong s leading property developers. The company implemented Building Information Modeling with the objective to help bring about the following improvements in this project, and ultimately to the industry as a whole: Comprehensive 3-dimensional geometric coordination of all building elements prior to tender. Enhanced quantity take-off from the BIM to improve speed and accuracy of preparation of bill of quantities in Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors format prior to tender. Lower, more accurate tender pricing resulting from reduced unknowns and risks. Automation and interoperability of 2- Dimensional drawings with 3-Dimensional building information models. Creation of reusable catalogues of intelligent parametric building parts (knowledge capture). Management of the construction sequence and process modeling using the BIM elements. Reduction of waste in the construction throughout the entire process. Reduction of claims on site resulting from incomplete design coordination. Quicker and Safer construction. Lower construction cost. Continue to maximise safety and meet OH &S requirements. Better design and build quality. Provide ongoing Facilities maintenance using the BIM elements. 1.1 Initial project Set up Representatives from the organisations of the owner, the architect, the structural engineer, the mechanical and electrical services consultant, the quantity surveyor, potential main contractors and potential sub contractors were trained in the use of Digital Project the software tool chosen to create the BIM for this project. In this project, the BIM began after the scheme design phase. The BIM model was used as a vehicle to enhance the detailed design phase co-ordination, cost estimation, and to enable the potential main contractors to provide more accurate bids for the construction. The owner requires the successful contractor and major subcontractors to use the BIM model to record and communicate all aspects of the construction of the actual building. In this case, the owner will maintain the master BIM in his project office. Changes and improvements in the design and construction process, which are initiated by the contractor, are communicated to the

owner using Digital Project and are merged into the master BIM by Gehry Technologies on behalf of the owner. The owner is confident that by implementing BIM the building will be completed quicker, cheaper and better. Project Summary: 70-story spec office tower, shell & core fitout Status: In Construction Client: Swire Properties Budget: US $450M incl. land costs Size: 1.7M sq ft Architect: Wong & Ouyang Structures: ARUP MEP: Meinhardt QS: Levett & Bailey Builder: Gammon 3D Strategy: Gehry Technologies Figure 2: Construction Site One Island East HK. 1.2 3-dimensional design co-ordination prior to tender This image below shows the order of magnitude of information that needs to be co-ordinated in just a portion of a modern conventional building prior to construction. Shown here are: plumbing, drainage, HVAC, electrical and building stability systems. All clashes (roughly 2,000 in number) between these systems and the surrounding structural and architectural elements were identified and resolved prior to inviting potential contractors to tender for construction. In this way, the penalties of discovering these problems on site are greatly reduced and the entire process becomes more efficient. Standard catalogues, associated costs and parts are also utilized throughout the design project. Figure 1: One Island East Digital Building. The following sections outline the adoption of technology and their impact on the project. Its all about Construction - Site Preperation The main purpose of BIM is to improve the construction process. The relative success of this construction site is largely influenced by the quality of the information provided to the construction company and contractors.. Figure 3: Plumbing, HVAC, Systems 1.3 Automated Clash Detection and Management Central to the success of the team of 25 consultant designer-modelers working together to produce a single BIM is the ability of the system to identify and manage clashes. Here, a clash has been identified between an electrical cable tray and an air supply duct. Prior to using BIM, this kind of event may not have been detected until construction potentially causing cost and time penalties to the project. The organizational processes between the contractors requires management, however is easily coordinated with realtime reporting.

more time researching the market to find where the best prices for the project could be obtained. This helped to save the project money and gave the owner and the design team quicker feedback on the development of the design. Figure 4: Clash Detection Reports 1.3 Rule based parametric object creation and knowledge capture Here, a number of simple rules for the assembly of a part of the building structural stability system, which were input via this graphically friendly template. Steel plates and stiffeners are no longer modeled one at a time, but rather are generated directly by the programme according to the rules and existing geometric framework. This saves time and reduces errors, and by enabling dynamic change management, enhances the collaborative design process. Figure 6: Quantity Surveyor Reports 1.5 Interoperability between 2-D drawings and 3-D BIM model In the automobile and aerospace industries, paper drawings have been virtually eliminated. Unfortunately, due to the nature of construction, paper drawings are likely to be with us for the foreseeable future. Current BIM software technology provides interoperability between the paper drawings and the BIM model. If the design is changed in the 3-D model, the drawing is automatically updated. If the design is changed in the 2- D drawing, the 3-D model is automatically updated. This saves time, reduces errors, and can provide advantages to the designers. Figure 5: Parametric Structural Elements 1.4 Enhanced quantity take off from the BIM All necessary information about building elements such as size, material, weight, location and sequence is organised and integrated into the BIM model. On this project, quantities taken from the BIM were formatted in Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors format using automated scripting functions. As the design developed, the database of quantities was automatically updated. The quantity surveyors were able to track costs more quickly and accurately during the design process. Rather than spending time trying to take quantities off different sets of large-scale 2-dimensional paper drawings, the quantity surveyors were able to spend Figure 7: 2D Drawings from 3D Model 1.6 File sharing and interoperability over the Internet New forms of 3-D data compression combined with file sharing protocols make it possible for construction project teams to develop and share large,

complex BIM models over the Internet. The highly effective project team collaboration that took place in this project BIM office can also take place in the virtual project office of any construction team. Owners and project managers can have full and instant visibility into the current state of the BIM database without the need for drawing issues or special meetings. The 3DXML format can be used in sharing on the net, inserted in Microsoft applications like word and distributed via email to suppliers and subcontractors. The format can be read by a free viewer so there is no need for suppliers to have the Digital Project application. Figure 9: Virtual 3D Data Models 1.8 Construction sequence modeling The elements of the project created for the BIM model can be used by the constructor to explore, design and optimise the sequence of construction. By comparing different construction sequences and methodologies, the contractor can have a much clearer understanding of the time required and the associated risks before he submits his price. When he initiates changes on site, he can determine in advance what effect these changes will have on the outcome of the entire sequence. Figure 8: 3D XML Formats for Internet 1.7 The Virtual building On the Hong Kong BIM project, the weekly team virtual building walk through became a primary tool for identifying coordination issues. Often problems were identified and solutions found within minutes of each other. This reduced the volume of inter-consultant correspondence and reduced the need for e-mail chains. As the project evolved more than 25 Design Engineers, Architects and Project Managers were involved in developing the one integrated Digital Project Model. The model became the Virtual building. The 3D model Structures, piping and equipment were also used as the one design reference and utilized in downstream Structural Analysis applications and Simulation programs. Figure 10: 3D Model Integration with Project Management Further applications such as 3D Digital Process Simulation including human and crane simulation from an application called DELMIA were also applied to optimizing floor construction sequencing. Resources such construction workers, cranes and tools were analysed in 3D to determine requirements to fit the prefabricated walls and detailed concrete construction processes were used as inputs to project planning times and sequences. 1.9 OH &S Aspects Safety First When designing the construction sequence and methodology in 3-D using the actual parts of the building, the constructor can fairly precisely pre-define most of the tasks that will be performed by his operatives on site. By encouraging the operatives not to deviate from pre-planned construction sequences, site safety is improved. 3D Models of scaffolds and safety requirements are also built into process planning and training video s.. 1.10 Global Construction Industry transformation

BIM images, like the one below, are sometimes criticised for not being sexy enough. The industry is flooded with seductive visual fantasies about how wonderful the future built environment will be. But in reality, to get to those images, 3D building models are worked on with high end visualization rendering systems that have almost no value to the builder or building process. In order to reduce waste and become more efficient, we need to start by knowing where every duct, pipe, light and door hinge are relative to each other. It is a huge process, which benefits greatly from the power of the computer to store, manipulate and organise very large amounts of information. The adoption of integrated 3D BIM technology like Digital Project includes capabilities for a comprehensive data set for use in the entire process from Design concept, Construction sequencing and feedback on as built data, through to Facilities Management. The challenge for Industry is the change required to invest the time and resources up front in technology, process-re engineering, training and organizational behaviour. This method does take more time and effort, however the benefits can be substantial if adopted correctly with appropriate technology and possible strategic partners and suppliers. There is no doubt a lot of inbuilt inertia in the Construction industry relative to Aerospace and Automotive segments as it is a much more fragmented contracting model, however as technology is becoming more pervasive, lower cost of entry and academic institutions are initiating more technology into their programs for Architects and Engineers, the benefits will be more understood by the industry at large. Using BIM technology, the global construction industry is now beginning to implement this process of transformation as proven on the Hong Kong BIM project and many others that are being lauded by the industry around the world, the construction industry is already beginning to benefit from this in the following ways: Fully coordinated design information prior to tender. Semi-automated quantity and control. Industry Foundation Class (IFC) interoperability and compatibility. 3-D construction sequence modeling is used to shorten build time and increase safety. Reduced risk and reduced claims resulting from the construction process. Buildings built sooner, at lower cost and better quality The emergence of machine intelligence in the design process. The integration of supply chains Improved Design, Analysis, Simulation and Construction Change Management. BIM lead-in to advanced facilities management tools. As the improvements in the construction process on pioneering implementations like the Hong Kong BIM project spread to the regional and global construction industry as a whole, very significant gains will be realised. By dollar value, the construction industry is much larger than the automobile industry and so this increased efficiency will benefit those strategic supply chains that adopt this approach. Gehry Technologies and our partners have adopted the Digital Project technology on many projects over the past decade including the Beijing Olympic Stadium, Disney Concert Hall, MIT Centre and the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum. It is our aim to continue utilizing this technology with our customers and partners to assist industry in this transformation from 2D to integrated 3D supply chains, bringing it to more mainstream projects like the One Island East project in Hong Kong. 2.2 Potential Benefits of BIM Adoption Figure 11: 3D Models of OIE Project 2. GLOBAL CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES 2.1 Benfits of BIM Methedologies using 3D Visualisation and 4D Construction Sequencing Construction is a $1Trillion Industry in the USA, and $3Trillion Worldwide 30% of construction is rework 40% of the manpower used on construction sites can be wasted At least 10% materials are wasted Over 40% of projects are completed late or over budget. [1] The Global Construction Industry when compared to Automotive Industry at $1Trillion, is more than 3 times the size with only half the spend on Computer Aided Design (CAD) Technology. Gehry technologies estimates that today more than 90% of Construction

projects using CAD would be conducted with contractors using 2D, disparate non-integrated systems; While almost all OEM Automotive and Aerospace firms are utilising 3D integrated CAD technology. Another set of studies from Stanford University Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) has provided relevant Statistics for Building Information Modeling (BIM) Value (Based On 32 Major Projects Constructed Using BIM) Summary Benefits:- 40% elimination of unbudgeted change (4 to 8 % of project cost) Improve cost estimate accuracy to within +/- 3% Less than 1% cost growth Bids within +/- 2.5% 60% less RFI s 80% reduction in time to generate cost estimate Return of Investment (ROI) of 3D model: 5 to 10 times Overall savings: 10% of contract sum through clash detection (based on 2D versus 3D project) 7% schedule reduction [2] REFERENCES 1. Egan, Sir John. 1998, Rethinking Construction 2. Fischer, Martin (fischer@stanford.edu) Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Construction Engineering and Management Program, Center for Integrated Facility Engineering Voice: (650) 725-4649, Fax: (650) 725-6014 3D and 4D BIM Modeling Project Studies See the following website:- http://www.stanford.edu/~gaoju/3d4dframework/cases.htm CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDEMENTS - Portions of this paper are from an article by Riese, M, printed in the Southeast Asia Building Magazine, March/April 2006 Issue. Thank you SAEB for permission to reprint some sections. - Portions of this paper have been included in the Proceedings of the Australasian Universities Building Educators Association (AUBEA) Conference 2006. Thanks for permission to reprint some information - Portions of this paper have been included in the Proceedings document for the 2006 Salford University Think Lab Conference on Virtual Prototyping in Construction.