Creating Stellar Architecture Using BIM

Creating Stellar Architecture Using BIM

M. A. Mortenson Company, more commonly known as Mortenson Construction, won the BIM award in this category for its work as the lead contractor on the Fredric C. Hamilton Building, a titanium clad sculptural form designed by Daniel Libeskind with Davis Partnership that adds 146,000 square feet of new exhibit space to the Denver Art Museum (see Figure 1). A brief overview of Mortenson's BIM work on this project has already appeared in my recent article, "BIM Symposium at the University of Minnesota," where Jim Yowan, Vice President of Mortenson Construction, described how the firm had started using 3D/4D technology in geometrically complex and challenging projects such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall (designed by Frank Gehry) and subsequently, the Denver Art Museum Expansion. Mortenson's submission materials for the BIM Awards provided a lot of additional information about its use of BIM on this project. Because of its complexity, Mortenson was brought on early in the design phase so that it could play an active role in the design and cost estimates for the construction of the proposed building.

Figure 1. Two different 3D visualizations of the Denver Art Museum Expansion project. (Courtesy: Mortenson)

The building's rigorous geometry and sculptural form and the need to coordinate and communicate the geometry to multiple disciples quickly and accurately were a driving force for adopting BIM technologies. The design team developed detailed 3D models to visualize and analyze different alternatives for the gallery spaces, structure, enclosure, and MEP systems (see Figure 2). The design model was shared with the construction team, and Mortenson took on the role of model manager, linking the design models to the manufacturing (shop drawing) models used to build the project. This was provided to pre-qualified subcontractors who used it as the basis for design and built system-specific BIM models of each system. These were then used for 3D coordination and collaboration, allowing the building to be constructed virtually prior to work in the field and checked for aspects such as maximize ceiling heights for gallery spaces, equipment access for serviceability, MEP and structural system conflicts, and so on. 4D models combining geometry and time were created for simulating and visualizing the project schedule. BIM was extensively used for construction and fabrication as well, in placing components accurately using coordinates from the models, as well as to plan and build non-permanent structures such as scaffold systems, access equipment, and hoisting equipment. The 3D models were also used to generate the 2D construction drawings required for regulatory building plan review and estimating.

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Figure 2. Some examples of the different 3D models developed for the Denver Art Museum Expansion project. (Courtesy: Mortenson)

With regard to software, many different 3D applications were used in this project to create system-specific models, and not all of them were BIM applications. For instance, Daniel Libeskind's office worked primarily with form.Z. The BIM models for the structural steel, however, were developed using a BIM application: Tekla Structures. So while 3D did form the basis for all communication and collaboration between the project stakeholders in this project, this is not technically an "all-BIM" project. But it received the BIM award for creating stellar architecture since it used a virtual modeling process whose benefits were realized during all the phases of the project—design, procurement, detailing, fabrication, erection, and geometric control. Many of these benefits were tangible, such as the discovery of over 1,200 collisions prior to steel arrival, the completion of steel erection three months early which allowed the contractor to return nearly $400,000 to the City and County of Denver, the virtual elimination of field concrete core drilling and field steel sleeve installation, and the maintaining of the project schedule by using the model to ensure coordinate points and avoid the cycle of waiting for "field verified" dimensions. The models became the nucleus of communication and changed how the team interacted and collaborated, allowing conflicts to be resolved on the basis of the best "global" solution for the project. BIM is also starting to be used post-construction, with the 3D models and "fly-throughs" engaging the museum curators in special qualities of the galleries.

All of the major project stakeholders have used their experience on the Denver Art Museum project to further BIM and collaboration on subsequent projects. It has become a catalyst for innovation in the Denver design and construction market as well, with a wave of BIM utilization as a result of the intense adoption of BIM on this project.