While increasing numbers of building projects are now being designed with building information modeling, very few property owners are retroactively applying BIM to their existing buildings.
But that may slowly start to change as a noteworthy initiative on the part of Ohio State University Medical Center to fully convert its 55 Medical Center buildings from AutoCAD to BIM gains attention.
With a deadline set for late summer, the Medical Center is well on the way to its ultimate goal to improve its quality and speed of decision making as it relates to facility use, renovations, maintenance, wayfinding, and energy use. However, the Medical Center has already begun benefitting from their newly converted models.
“We started using the BIM models much quicker than we expected,” said Joe Porostosky, the Medical Center’s manager of facilities information and technology services. “For example, we’re currently renovating our emergency room, and we were able to produce very high-quality renderings and a video walkthrough to show senior leaders some different design possibilities.”
In another instance, the hospital had to decide where to construct a new donor sign. Because the exterior of that particular building had already been modeled, the BIM team could easily present several rendered options of where the sign could be placed. “Our staff was just amazed at how quickly we could move the sign around and show them what that space would look like,” said Porostosky.
INCUBATING THE BIM CONCEPT
The seeds for the BIM conversion idea were first planted in 2008, when Porostosky decided to take a closer look at how the Medical Center was managing its floor plans and what kinds of technology were available. Realizing that Ohio State had access to a lot of Autodesk software at a discounted rate, Porostosky began mulling over the idea of using BIM.
Then, in 2010, he met Brian Skripac, the BIM director at Columbus-based architecture firm DesignGroup, and the two began to formulate a plan. Porostosky also consulted with Western Michigan University for advice, as that institution was going through a similar conversion project, although at a smaller scale.
Once the funding was pulled together and an official process was mapped out, the project officially kicked off in the spring of 2011. Five students were trained in Revit and began the conversion of the AutoCAD drawings, covering 5.7 million sf of building property.
In addition to tracing the original drawings, the conversion team is incorporating an additional level of detail into the Revit models, including exteriors, roofs, and window placement, height and volume, ceilings and floors, and GIS location data.
The emerging BIM models are chalking up some interesting possibilities. For instance, with energy modeling and building performance capabilities, the Medical Center will be able to decided more effectively where and how to upgrade different buildings on a limited budget while complying with the university’s requirement that all renovations attempt to achieve at least LEED Silver.
“The energy analysis aspect of this project is something that’s pretty exciting and is really one of the most important aspects of the project,” says Skripac.
As for operations, the Medical Center is looking at ways in which it can use the BIM models to set up maintenance schedules for items like carpet, tile, and finishes. The team would also like to take equipment-heavy spaces and laser scan the machinery to build into the model so that the engineers know exactly what the mechanical room looks like and can more easily expand the systems as needed.
“The more we get into it, the more we’re finding other values: Now that we have all this data, what can we do with it? For example, how can we improve our wayfinding using BIM?” asked Porostosky. With 34% of the Medical Center’s 1.8 million annual visitors requiring wayfinding help, Porostosky envisions his team can eventually using the Revit models to create video renderings, analyze hallway widths, and identify congestion points.
UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF BIM
Porostosky sees BIM’s huge potential application in the realm of ongoing building operations. Once the Medical Center completes its conversion to BIM, he believes there may even be the opportunity to roll it out across Ohio State’s portfolio of more than 750 buildings.
Skripac sees the higher education and healthcare markets as the most ideal candidates for BIM conversions due to their longer life cycles and the constant space use changes that occur within them. He points out that “often reimbursement opportunities and grant research funding are tied into having up-to-date tracking information and data in terms of how the spaces are specifically being used, and BIM is a great way to accomplish that.” BD+C
Related Stories
AEC Innovators | Apr 26, 2024
National Institute of Building Sciences announces Building Innovation 2024 schedule
The National Institute of Building Sciences is hosting its annual Building Innovation conference, May 22-24 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. BI2024 brings together everyone who impacts the built environment: government agencies, contractors, the private sector, architects, scientists, and more.
Mass Timber | Apr 25, 2024
Bjarke Ingels Group designs a mass timber cube structure for the University of Kansas
Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and executive architect BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 25, 2024
How pools can positively affect communities
Clark Nexsen senior architects Jennifer Heintz and Dorothea Schulz discuss how pools can create jobs, break down barriers, and create opportunities within communities.
Senior Living Design | Apr 24, 2024
Nation's largest Passive House senior living facility completed in Portland, Ore.
Construction of Parkview, a high-rise expansion of a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Portland, Ore., completed recently. The senior living facility is touted as the largest Passive House structure on the West Coast, and the largest Passive House senior living building in the country.
Hotel Facilities | Apr 24, 2024
The U.S. hotel construction market sees record highs in the first quarter of 2024
As seen in the Q1 2024 U.S. Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend Report from Lodging Econometrics (LE), at the end of the first quarter, there are 6,065 projects with 702,990 rooms in the pipeline. This new all-time high represents a 9% year-over-year (YOY) increase in projects and a 7% YOY increase in rooms compared to last year.
Architects | Apr 24, 2024
Shepley Bulfinch appoints new Board of Director: Evelyn Lee, FAIA
Shepley Bulfinch, a national architecture firm announced the appointment of new Board of Director member Evelyn Lee, FAIA as an outside director. With this new appointment, Lucia Quinn has stepped down from the firm’s Board, after serving many years as an outside board advisor and then as an outside director.
ProConnect Events | Apr 23, 2024
5 more ProConnect events scheduled for 2024, including all-new 'AEC Giants'
SGC Horizon present 7 ProConnect events in 2024.
75 Top Building Products | Apr 22, 2024
Enter today! BD+C's 75 Top Building Products for 2024
BD+C editors are now accepting submissions for the annual 75 Top Building Products awards. The winners will be featured in the November/December 2024 issue of Building Design+Construction.
Laboratories | Apr 22, 2024
Why lab designers should aim to ‘speak the language’ of scientists
Learning more about the scientific work being done in the lab gives designers of those spaces an edge, according to Adrian Walters, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Principal and Director of SMMA's Science & Technology team.
Resiliency | Apr 22, 2024
Controversy erupts in Florida over how homes are being rebuilt after Hurricane Ian
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently sent a letter to officials in Lee County, Florida alleging that hundreds of homes were rebuilt in violation of the agency’s rules following Hurricane Ian. The letter provoked a sharp backlash as homeowners struggle to rebuild following the devastating 2022 storm that destroyed a large swath of the county.