Environmental Design + Construction - November 2008 - (Page 140)

STUDIO By JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D. Beneﬁts of BIM ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS DRAWN TO CUSTOMER-FRIENDLY DESIGN PROGRAM. After the bombing campaign ceased in Kosovo in 1999, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was called upon to design and build both Camp Bondsteel and Camp Monteith in Kosovo from the ground up. David Rackmales, a structural engineer with the Corps’ New York District, found himself working in a tent in the dead of winter in Kosovo designing the camps with a team of project managers and engineers. He said, “We were working very closely in an intense, energized environment.” Rackmales had the same feeling recently while taking part in a Building Information Modeling (BIM) workshop at the New York District facilitated by Bentley Systems, the Corps’ primary vendor for BIM computer design software. Building Information Modeling BIM is a new way of approaching the design and documentation of building projects, including those pursuing sustainability, according to Bentley Systems Inc.: Building: The entire life cycle of the building is considered (design/build/operations). Information: All information about the building and its life cycle is included. Modeling: Deﬁning and simulating the building, its delivery, and operation using integrated tools. For more information, visit www.bentley.com. BIM is a collaborative approach to designing that involves integrating the various disciplines to build a structure in a virtual environment. The process allows the design team to work effectively, particularly when identifying potential problems before they arise during construction. “We came together as a team,” said Rackmales, who served as the BIM manager. Army Corps of Engineers BIM teams work together side-by-side with a focus on a single design project. The designs are completed at a rapid, intense pace and generally much sooner than it would normally take if they worked individually at their respective workstations, which can be in different areas of the country. Members are equipped with state-of-theart desktop computers, which are networked together and contain BIM three-dimensional (3D) modeling software with discipline-specific files for various design disciplines and a master file. The buildings each member works on are projected on a large screen, enabling them to virtually “walk through” during the design process. “There’s an old adage for designers that says, ‘build it on paper first,’” said Rackmales. “Now that we are in the 21st Century we are building things virtually in a 3D environment, that is, we’re building it in electrons first.” USING THE BIM SOFTWARE, THE TEAM’S STRUCTURAL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT SHARED THEIR BIM MODELS AND DISCOVERED THAT THIS STAIRCASE WAS LEADING TO A WALL INSTEAD OF A DOOR. THIS ALLOWED THE TEAM TO MAKE THE CORRECTION, IN THE EARLY DESIGN STAGE. PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, NEW YORK DISTRICT. FOUR OF THE GARAGE DOORS SHOWN ON A COMBINED STRUCTURAL AND ARCHITECTURAL MODEL. THE TEAM COLLABORATION FOSTERED BY THE BIM DESIGN PROCESS ENABLED THE NEW YORK DISTRICT BIM TEAM TO AGREE ON A SINGLE GARAGE DOOR SIZE FOR ALL OF THE WEST POINT BUILDINGS. PHOTO COURTESY OF U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, NEW YORK DISTRICT. 140 ed+c N OV E MBE R 08 http://www.bentley.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Environmental Design + Construction - November 2008

Environmental Design %2B Construction - November 2008 Contents Web TOC Editor's Note Newsline New %2B Notable Green by Nature Award Winner: Juvenile Justice Award Winner: Desert Living FSC Special Section Designing a Greener Building with BIM The Case for Modular Creating a Rustle Lessons Learned The Move Toward Sustainability Lead by Example A%2B Rating Nurture by Nature Commitment to Sustainability Eyeing the Future Work of Art Green has Gone to the Dogs Sensible Upgrade Moisture Issues in Courthouses Green Build - Green Product Buzz Guide Benefi ts of BIM Product Focus Marketplace %2B Classifieds Advertiser's Index Parting Shot

Environmental Design + Construction - November 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.