Revit BIM Experience Award - Sponsored Content
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Brought to you by:  View the slideshow Interview with: David Bleiman View All Winners: Click Here Links: ::BIM Information ::Building Solutions ::Revit BIM Platform ::Revit BIM Experience Award |
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Revit BIM Experience Award Winner Rutherford & Chekene Interview with David Bleiman, S.E., Principal at Rutherford & Chekene 1. What differentiates Rutherford & Chekene in the marketplace? Our status as a leader in the use of Revit BIM in our work has become a strong differentiator for Rutherford & Chekene in the marketplace. I was originally inspired by the book The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, which explained the role of “connectors” in the introduction of new technology into communities. Two years ago, I could see the potential for BIM and Integrated Project Delivery to re-define how we do our work, and I realized I could become a “connector” to the technology for our business partners—architects and general contractors. Through one-on-one meetings, speaking engagements, committee work, and the continuous expansion of the use of Revit within our practice, connections were made, and today we are recognized as the “go to” structural engineering firm for BIM in Northern California. In fact, we have over $3 Billion dollars in design or construction underway at this point using the technology. 2. Why is BIM valuable to structural engineering firms such as yours? A BIM solution like Revit Structure offers a series of efficiencies throughout the design process, particularly in the areas of analysis, documentation and visualization. The Revit Structure model is both a physical model (used for design coordination and drawing production) as well as an analytical model (used directly by structural analysis programs). This means we don’t have to recreate the structural model in our analysis software. The connection between Revit Structure and analysis programs also means that changes and output from the analysis software are automatically reflected in the Revit Structure model. In addition, the Revit software automatically coordinates the design with the construction documentation and lets us easily create 3D views, renderings, even animations—visualizations that we can use during our design, and also share with our partners and extended project team during design reviews and construction. All of this makes us more efficient, increases the quality of our design services, and provides more value for our clients. 3. How has BIM and the use of an integrated building information model helped you to achieve better results on recent building projects? Collaboration with the project architect is an important aspect on many of our projects. Often the architects we work with are using Revit Architecture, in which case we can use the Revit platform to coordinate our structural design with their architectural design throughout the design process. On some projects, the general contractor has also used Autodesk NavisWorks for clash detection between our Revit Structure model and non-Revit architectural or MEP models, and even leveraged our building information model for 4D and 5D modeling, extending BIM into construction scheduling and costing estimating. This close collaboration lets the integrated project team identify issues early in the design phase and gives the clients advanced decision-making capabilities. For example, on a recent project for the University of California, Santa Cruz(UCSC), we worked with EHDD Architects on the design of a new $65M biomedical life sciences building that included 100,000 square feet of space for laboratory, office, administrative functions as well as a vivarium. EHDD uses Revit Architecture, so we were able to leverage each other’s design models to coordinate the structural and architectural elements early in the design process. During conceptual design, we used Revit Structure to create four design options: two different structural systems (buckling-restrained braced frames and moment frames) for two different building configurations (with and without a basement). We then used the link between Revit and ETABS (the analysis module we used on this project) to analyze those design options and size the structural members. Once that was done, the Revit model was updated accordingly and we produced quantity takeoffs, helping UCSC to make informed decisions at this very early stage in the project. On another university project, this time for California State University, Chico, we worked closely with the architect, Sasaki Associates, on the design of a 109,000 square-foot student activity center. The new facility, currently under construction, features a three-court gym, a 15,000 square-foot fitness facility, an indoor running track, four multi-purpose rooms, a 10-lane recreational pool and spa, and a central atrium that houses a 35-foot climbing wall and a cafeteria. We collaborated with Sasaki (who use Revit Architecture) throughout the design process, sharing our Revit design models with each other. The building design is quite complex so the ability to reference each other’s models helped us coordinate the overall design as it emerged and gave everyone—including project stakeholders such University officials, student body representatives, constructors, steel erectors, and so on—a better understanding of how the structural and architectural elements all fit together. 4. How has your firm used BIM for digital fabrication? Digital design-to-fabrication workflows are just starting to gain traction within the industry and BIM solutions are paving the way towards these leaner building construction processes. On one of our most recent Revit projects—a 425,000 square-foot, 11-story replacement facility for Sutter General Hospital in Sacramento—we have a partnering relationship with both the steel detailer (Dowco Consultants) and the fabricator (Herrick Steel) and we’re also working closely with the construction company (Turner Construction). The first step is to coordinate our Revit design model and the steel detailer’s fabrication model using digital data exchanges. Once the steel detailing gets underway we’ll use Autodesk NavisWorks for a completely digital review of the structural steel shop drawings, eliminating the paperwork that would be approximately 30,000 sheets of drawings for a project this size. After construction, we’ll use Autodesk NavisWorks to compare and coordinate the completed fabrication model and the original design model. In addition, Turner will also be using Autodesk NavisWorks, combining the structural fabrication model with models of other building disciplines for the purposes of clash detection. 5. How do you envision the industry changing in the future? I see a growing trend in the building industry towards integrated project delivery or IPD: a project delivery approach that integrates people, systems, business structures and practices into processes that collaboratively harness the talents and insights of all participants to reduce waste and optimize efficiency through all phases of design, fabrication and construction. IPD is the result of a convergence of opportunities brought about by owner demands, technology, and business process innovation. Enabling technology such as BIM has an important role to play in IPD: promoting integration among design professionals, improving building collaboration, and supporting the building industry in its drive for more predictable, accurate, and responsible outcomes.
Rutherford & Chekene received the Revit BIM Experience Award based on their use of a Revit BIM process with NavisWorks for improved inter-discipline design collaboration and coordination, for their innovation in digital design-to-fabrication workflows, and for their leadership role in the promotion of integrated project delivery. Ideate, Inc. provided training and implementation services to facilitate Rutherford & Chekene’s move to BIM. |
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