Automating Solar Mounting Designs

SkyCiv is an all-in-one Structural Design and Analysis Software for professionals and engineering firms. As a company created by engineers, we are dedicated to build a product that can meet the evolving needs of the profession.

SkyCiv

Cantilevered Solar Array Prototype

HVAC plant mounting systems 

TBI Hazenberg Bouw

Hazenberg developed Vredeoord in collaboration with Sint Trudo: a special neighborhood with about 250 homes. 

Problem:

Collecting and classifying the data from the  different subcontractors was one of the challenges for  Hazenberg Bouw. Importing and converting files in different  formats was even a bigger one: bringing .IFC files to  Navisworks or Solibri resulted in loss of data and details.  Merging different Revit models (creating federated models) and model coordination (making sure all project  participants have the latest version) was another issue  they wanted to address. A coherent, integrated  workflow with their already existing Common Data  Envronment was high priority as well to improve communication during the design and pre-construction  stage. Another issue mentioned by Hazenberg Bouw was  synchronizing files from Autodesk BIM 360 to Navisworks  and Solibri - every time a new update was available, the files  had to be manually synced.  

Solution:
 
Verifi3D by Xinaps was the perfect choice for  Hazenberg Bouw’s needs as it optimizes and automates  model checking. Offered as a cloud-based SaaS, Verifi3D  allows classifying building design data, conducting  automated checks in compliance with regulations and  reporting issues real-time, all in one platform. 


Advantages Verifi3D

The building construction industry is currently undergoing a major shift globally, as it is starting to massively digitalize and standardize its design and engineering processes. A significant part of the classification and checking of building models is still performed manually, costing a lot of time, effort and is prone to error. Verifi3D bridges the gap between the design and the construction stage by automating the manual checking tasks and enhancing the quality of BIM data. 

With Verifi3D, a cloud based ( model checking solution, it's our ambition to become the spell checker of every BIM model in the building construction industry. Verifi3D offers seamless integration with CDEs such as Autodesk Construction Cloud and Autodesk BIM 360, and issue trackers such as BIM Track, BIMcollab and Autodesk BIM 360 Issues. All your favourite tools integrated in one place!

How Helena simplifies her model checking workflow with Verifi3D

Verifi3D

AUDA (Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority)

Mummadpura Flyover project has been implemented by Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) as a project management consultancy and Ranjit Buildcon as a general contractor. The aim of this project was to improve traffic management on the outer ring road of Ahmadabad city. 
In VisiLean, BIM model elements are linked to executable tasks, so any updates from site are applied to the model. It’s like a LIVE 4D representation of the construction project. This platform enables live monitoring and comfort for sharing data.

Another amazing VisiLean feature is enabling project managers get to review the Planned vs. Actual statue with a slider! Also by enabling real-time updates from site, you can get weekly and monthly progress reports (include progress updates, visualizations of project statue on the BIM model and site images) at the click-of-a-button. By VisiLean, the team can report on Constraints directly from the app; Therefore, the relevant stakeholders can take action and provide resolution.

source: https://visilean.com/bim-based-pmc-driving-infrastructure-development-a-case-study/


Mummadpura Flyover

 VisiLean is a construction planning and control application that includes BIM integration; While it can also be used for construction planning without BIM.

VisiLean

The Rail Implementers forum was established to allow railway stakeholders and software vendors to work together to test the implementation of the IFC 4.3 standard.  The forum was part of the  international project of BuildingSMART International to extend the IFC standard to the railway sector, the IFC Rail project, and the objective of the Forum was to test and validate the IFC 4.3 standard.

In this context, railway stakeholders, software vendors and IFC technical experts worked together to test the standard through some real life use cases. For each use case, the stakeholders supported by the experts defined information requirements (specification) for the BIM models and the software vendors produced the models according to those requierements.
regola was used both to create the model specification by selecting rules that described the expected content and behavior of the BIM models, and to validate the models against the specification.
The result was the production of high quality BIM models and the thorough testing of the IFC 4.3 standard. 


IFC Rail Implementers forum

regola is a web-based platform that allows clients to specify their information requirements , to share them with their suppliers and to validate openBIM models. 
The suppliers can check their IFC models against the specification provided by the client and the same can do clients when they receive the models.
The ultimate goal is to provide clear visibility over a specification, plus a validation capability available to both parties. This will allow to produce high quality BIM models.


regola

NBBJ

Serving as the centerpiece amenity of Amazon’s new urban campus is a four-story, 65,000-square-foot, glass-enclosed “urban forest,” located on Block 19. Standing variably at 85 to 95 feet tall, the three interconnected domes feature a steel frame with Catalan-inspired geometric patterns, made to resemble sprouting, intertwined vines. The concept for the spheres relies on the well-documented effects of natural light, plant life, movement and visual stimulation on employee productivity, sleep and wellbeing. Data was employed for every step of the Spheres’ design process, from the shapes of the structure, to the delicate combination of natural and indoor lighting, to humidity and temperature controls for people and plant life, to the workplace strategy design. 

The plants in the spheres are unique species from around the world. Many of them require more daylight than is achievable in an all glass building in Seattle, so supplemental lighting was required. The NBBJ team worked with horticultural experts to understand the calculations to determine usable light from the sun and a variety of different fixtures. A custom daylighting tool was created in grasshopper to simplify the lighting calculation to allow the lighting designers to test the impact of adding or removing lights in real time. This enabled our designers to quickly craft a custom solution that provided the right amount of light in each of the planting areas with the least amount of fixtures.

Parametric tools were also created to optimize the Spheres’ structures, which resulted in a highly efficient manufacturing and construction process. The steel fabricator said significant money could be saved if the sweeping free form curved steel could be rationalized into 3 distinct radii. The engineer said that the steel would lose too much strength if the steel curved tighter than an 8' radius. The team used Galapagos in Grasshopper to iteratively divided each curve into three tangent arcs and measured their deviation from the original curves until the optimal division points were located.
A custom Grasshopper tool was also developed to rationalize the glass and steel geometry into to fabricatable pieces. Our subcontractor told us that we could reduce the cost of the glazing system if we standardized the glazing pieces within specific extents. The custom tool dimensioned the glass pieces that would not fit on the standard sheet. It also allowed the designers to push points in 2d while projecting the glass shapes back into the 3d which made the modification process much faster. Creating the tool, and modifying the glazing scheme took only 3 hours.

Amazon in the Regrade, Spheres

Grasshopper is a visual programming language and environment that pairs with Rhino 3D, a software program also developed by Robert McNeel & Associates. Grasshopper allows users to build algorithms by dragging and connecting components on a digital canvas. From parametric modeling and fabrication, lighting performance analysis, to building energy consumption, Grasshopper provides an intuitive way to explore design without requiring programming experience.

Grasshopper

Rhinoceros 3D is a 3D computer graphics and computer-aided design application software developed by the American company Robert McNeel & Associates. Utilizing NURBS mathematical modeling to produce precise representations of free-form, curving surfaces, Rhino is used in industries such as architecture, industrial design, automotive design, product design, and multimedia and graphic design.

Rhino 3D

Autodesk Revit is a building information modeling (BIM) software used by architects, landscape architects, structural engineers, NEP engineers, designers, and contractors. 

Revit

Ladybug Tools is a collection of free computer applications that support environmental design and education. Of all the available environmental design software packages, Ladybug Tools is among the most comprehensive, connecting 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) interfaces to a host of validated simulation engines.

Ladybug

NBBJ, in partnership with CCDI, designed the Hangzhou Sports Park on a 400,000-square-meter site on the Qian Tang riverfront opposite the city’s new Central Business District. The main stadium broke ground in 2011 and is slated for completion in 2017.

As worldwide demand for steel increases — by 78% in the last decade alone — so does the cost, which has skyrocketed 217% since 2007. That’s why we use parametric design to cut waste while creating functionality and form.

Our designers leveraged advanced parametric scripts and modeling techniques to develop and optimize the exterior shell of the Hangzhou stadium. The steel shell and concrete bowl systems were coordinated and linked for stability and optimized steel use. Because the model was parametric, design changes could be made with an extremely short turnaround, eliminating the “build-test-discard” method common in traditional modeling.

The parametric model was used as the basis for cross-disciplinary collaboration with engineers and material consultants. The engineers and consultants could use the design team’s output directly for performing their specialized design and analysis operations. The close communication between disciplines enabled the design team to ensure quality control and also find opportunities for further optimization.

The end result? We achieved a 67% steel savings over similar arenas like the famed Bird’s Nest, the Beijing National Stadium.

Hangzhou Sports Center

AutoCAD

The campus comprises a 10-story tower, an amenity pavilion and parking garage. The design encourages interaction among staff and invites the community on campus. The tower houses 2,000 Samsung employees. A courtyard connects the entire building, creating a central gathering place. The headquarters is also a highly energy-efficient building. The tower’s façade is designed to reduce solar heat gain, which reduces energy costs related to cooling a building; clear glass allows natural light deep into the floorplate; and trees and water features provide connections to the environment.

Through the utilization of a custom Grasshopper plugin that analyzes circulation, an expressive simulation was performed to study spontaneous interactions between employees that can increase innovation within a company. The tool allowed decisions makers to study how people working at Samsung would occupy the space, how much potential for visual connection there was throughout the day, and how many calories each individual might burn

By designing a space that fosters these interactions the designers can improve the potential for innovation of their client. Spontaneous interactions are most likely to occur when employees cross each other's paths or can easily see each other. 

The tool makes assumptions about how employees will use the space and simulates a full day for each employee, specifically looking at unobstructed sightlines – blue are on the same floor, red are on different floors. By comparing the results of multiple studies, decision makers can quickly understand the impact of building form on employee innovation.

Samsung America Headquarters (DS)

Fologram and All Brick have invented an entirely new way of building in augmented reality to improve precision, reliability and control over the construction of part of the Royal Hobart Hospital.

The bricklayers built several hundred meters of complex curved benches spread over 6 floors of the hospital without using a single printed drawing or template. This is the first time that part of a large, commercial project has been built from holographic models in augmented reality. All Brick have embraced working in augmented reality because it introduces minimal disruption to their normal workflow while enabling them to work in larger, more efficient and highly skilled teams. New techniques and uses for augmented reality were constantly being improvised by the bricklayers on the job site, creating holographic tools for templating and cutting bricks, setting out block work, rebar and ties, locating services and scheduling construction. 


Hobert Hospital Redevelopment

Fologram’s software provides designers with a toolkit to create mixed reality experiences within design software they already use, and view and share these experiences through the Fologram app running on mobile phones or Microsoft's mixed reality headsets the Hololens.  Fologram’s clients include leading universities, multinational architectural firms, industrial designers, engineers and artists who using Fologram to create mixed reality applications for full scale construction, public art, architectural fabrication, sculpture, automotive design and visualisation.

Fologram is a software ecosystem that allows Mixed Reality hardware running our standalone application to talk to desktop design software running the Fologram plugin. Geometry and other model information from your design software is streamed to your headset or mobile phone, and spatial information like device or hand positions are sent back in real time. By using this spatial information to trigger changes in design models, designers can use Fologram to build interactive mixed reality experiences. 

A feature rich free mobile version is avaible at https://fologram.com/download, and a 14 day trial for Hololens users.


AllBrick using Fologram on the Hobart Hospital Redevelopment

Jack Hunter from Uni of Washington using Fologam for robotic control and path visualization 

Akio Hamada Architects & Eri Sumitomo Architects using Fologram to guide a chainsaw operator in producing furniture

UAP using Fologram in their production of large scale public art

Fologram

Artillion studio using Fologram as part of their fabrication process

Explore Latest Case Studies

Discover all the latest real-world projects featuring the latest technology in AEC.

Automating Solar Mounting Designs

Cantilevered Solar Array Prototype

HVAC plant mounting systems

Advantages Verifi3D

TBI Hazenberg Bouw

Mummadpura Flyover

AUDA (Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority)

IFC Rail Implementers forum

Amazon in the Regrade, Spheres

NBBJ

Hangzhou Sports Center

NBBJ

Samsung America Headquarters (DS)

NBBJ

Hobert Hospital Redevelopment

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