Collaboration par excellence

Example: Hasselt City Hall, Belgium — The building of the new municipal administration center in Hasselt, Belgium, demonstrates how seamless collaboration in building projects can minimize risks and save costs from the design phase all the way to commissioning.
A joint project of several brands of the Nemetschek Group.
Nemetschek brands involved: Allplan, GRAPHISOFT, Solibri

Pioneering planning and project execution with Open BIM

“The end-to-end use of BIM solutions constitutes genuine added value for all stakeholders in the building process
because it enables seamless and efficient collboration”
Steven Hendrickx, Head Architect in Hasselt

Large-scale, highly complex building projects in particular require ongoing, reliable and efficient coodination between all stakeholders – both internal and external – across disciplines and between companies. Therefore, in association with other market players, the Nemetschek Group is promoting the Open BIM data standard. This is a universal, collaborative approach to designing, constructing and operating buildings based on open standards and workflows It makes it possible for project stakeholders to collaborate, even if the type of software varies from user to user. The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) interface has established itself as an open standard and is therefore of central significance.

Sharing and evaluating data throughout the entire product life cycle saves time and money and improves quality. The administration of data is key to this digital transformation, for it is only possible to take full advantage of the potential if each stakeholder can access the data that he or she needs at any given time. This begins with a realistic BIM building model, which is an essential prerequisite for a genuine 5D workflo. This model is no longer limited to just 3D construction data; it also includes data concerning the dimensions of time and costs.

Seamless collaboration exemplified by the Hasselt City Hall

Under the management of the architect team comprising Jaspers-Eyers, MASS Architects and Michel Janssen, a new municipal administration center is being built in Hasselt. The complex, consisting of a renovated building section and a new building, provides approx. 17,000 m2 for the city administration and social services as well as offices. The architects and their most important partners are using Open BIM software solutions for the entire construction process. Three Nemetschek solutions are being implemented for this project: Archicad from Graphisoft for the design and planning of the architects, Allplan Engineering for civil engineering, and the Solibri Model Checker for the BIM quality control carried out by the construction company.

From the beginning, all information concerning the building project is contained in the digital building model – from the draft to implementation – including all design details, desired materials, fire protection requirements, acoustic properties, insulation and building structures, and administration. This constitutes considerable added value for all stakeholders compared to the old standard model, which was purely 3D. Thus, this improvement ensures more than just seamless collaboration between all those involved. The complex project can be turned over to the municipality – the proud building owner – with the required quality, on time and within the specified budget.

Hasselt City Hall is groundbreaking – in terms of design, planning and project implementation.

Independent and yet consistent

Steven Hendrickx, the head architect in Hasselt, recognized four decisive factors with Open BIM over the course of the successful project:

  • Individual partners design their model with their preferred BIM software, and with their own templates. Outstanding collaboration is ensured, though, thanks to a common, uniform standard which is specified in advance.
  • The division of labor is defined at the beginning of the project. Data on statics, for instance, have an essential impact on the architecture and structural design. Data on heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, on the other hand, are also important but don’t generally flow directly into the architecture. These data, for example, can be sufficiently analyzed with the BIM solution for quality assurance from Solibri.
  • Design changes in one area don’t necessarily affect the plans of all the others involved in the project. The architecture and the building stage are inherently the most closely linked.
  • The expertise of the staff, i.e., extensive holistic knowledge of the various building disciplines, is also critical for the success of the project.

Two examples of the advantage of precise planning

In Hasselt, the construction company was commissioned with excavation, among other tasks. An assessment of the amount of sand that needed to be removed was done based on a cal culation using conventional 2D planning methods, which yielded a result of 800 cubic meters. The engineers used the Solibri Model Checker based on Open BIM and the data provided by the architects and arrived at a figue that was just half this amount, i.e., 400 cubic meters of sand. This shows how exact the work with Open BIM solutions can be.

The steel struts to be installed are another example: With the interface function IFC Exports from Allplan, it was possible to use the BIM model to automatically calculate which steel struts needed fieproofing. All it took was a mouse click to obtain precise results, right down to the running meter. In projects that don’t use Open BIM solutions, these calculations are made by manually entering the data from 2D drawings in Excel or some other software and then recalculating and evaluating the data for use in quotations and planning, a process that is susceptible to error and one that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. These errors often go undetected until the actual cost planning is already completed. In the case of the Hasselt City Hall,  it was possible to avoid such errors from the outset.

Converting to Open BIM pays off

As is the case with any change, it takes a certain amount of time for companies and employees to accept BIM as the norm. The best way, according to Steven Hendrickx, is to start out by planning smaller projects using BIM. The experience thereby gained will make it possible to complete successively larger BIM projects. The advantages of collaborating through Open BIM are obvious: The entire workflow is much simpler for all project stakeholders, and building projects are completed within time and cost budgets.

CONCLUSION

Consistent standards and open interfaces in par-ticular are essential for successful building projects. Stakeholders need solutions that can “work together” for all and any individual tasks being performed. Seamless collaboration between humans and machines: This is ensured with Open BIM, and backed by the brands of the Nemetschek Group.

Reference projects on this topic:

Vectorworks Releases Version 2018 and Entertainment Rigging Analysis Module

Vectorworks Brand News News Company News

A milestone release that focuses on BIM usability, design productivity and analysis

Columbia, MD, September 12, 2017 – Global design and BIM software developer Vectorworks, Inc. announces the English-version release of its 2018 Vectorworks software. The release includes Vectorworks® Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Designer and Fundamentals, as well as Vision. New this year is Braceworks™, a structural load analysis add-on module targeted to designers and riggers working on temporary entertainment structures.

“With Vectorworks 2018, we focused on user workflows, making them more robust and efficient,” said Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar. “In BIM, you can best see this in our direct section and elevation editing and multiview capabilities, and more subtly in all the Wall tool enhancements that allow designers to correctly model wall constructions so walls appear accurately in plan, section and elevation drawings. The direct site model contour editing and enhanced seating sections are other good examples of our usability improvements.”

Another theme for this launch was the integration of analysis and design. With the addition of Braceworks to the entertainment portfolio that already includes the industry-leading Spotlight and Vision software, entertainment professionals can complete their entire workflow, from design to documentation to production, in one interface. Also, customers will notice the simplification of Vectorworks worksheet capabilities, which makes it easier for them to create custom reports from model or drawing data.

This release is the first in the 2018 worldwide rollout, which will include the release of ten additional localized-language versions.

Some of the highly anticipated additions for Vectorworks 2018 include:

For architecture, notable improvements include:

Enhancements for entertainment design include:

For landscape design, important updates include:

As in past years, many updates to the software directly correlated with customer feedback. Designers with early access have already begun to share their thoughts on the new edition.

“Truly amazing new features for Vectorworks, ones that will make working in 3D and using BIM workflows much easier and more compelling,” said Jonathan Reeves, director of Jonathan Reeves Architecture.

Additional testimonials are below:

“Multiple view drawing support will be one of the most celebrated features of Vectorworks 2018. It gives users the ability to think about projects in different ways and from different perspectives, all at the same time!” –C. Andrew Dunning, Owner of Landru Design

“I really like the new improved title block — it is easier to use, and it puts the details needed for project information, and issue and revision data all in one place — for easier management and tracking.” –Chad Hamilton, AIA, LEED, AP, BD+C, Principal Architect at Hamilton + Aitken Architects

“Braceworks is an extremely helpful tool to simplify and shorten the workflow within our projects. It allows us to calculate loads directly from the CAD plan and to analyze the feasibility at any time. The easy connection to our partners in the field of structural analysis considerably reduces the costs in this area and ensures faster results. This makes it possible for us to work in constant exchange and thus always to achieve the best solution with a comparable, favorable price.” – John van Look, Head of Production Rigging at PRG Germany

“Direct contour editing, where have you been all my life? I’m In Love! Our digital terrain modeling workflow with the site modeling tools, was quite often a lot of experimentation and modification to achieve the desired grade. Now with the ability to directly edit the site model contours in Vectorworks 2018, our workflow has been cut in half. This has greatly improved our design production, giving us a higher profitability on site grading throughout!” –Bryan Goff, Director of Design + Sciences at Grey Leaf Design, Inc.

“The new Renderworks is an amazing upgrade, with more detail and quality of lighting being delivered at the same speed in Vectorworks 2017, or shockingly — even faster.” –Ion Webster, Principal at Pults & Associates, LLP

Beginning today, the English-language version of Vectorworks 2018 software is available by download for Vectorworks Service Select customers.

To learn more about Vectorworks 2018, visit vectorworks.net/2018 or follow #Vectorworks2018 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Press interested in learning more about this release can access the Vectorworks 2018 press kit at vectorworks.net/2018/press. For further information and requests, contact Communications Manager Lauren Burke Meyer at lmeyer@vectorworks.net.

About Vectorworks, Inc.

Vectorworks, Inc. is a global design and BIM software developer serving over 650,000 professionals in the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries. Since 1985, we’ve been committed to helping designers capture inspiration, nurture innovation, communicate effectively and bring their visions to life. With our cross-platform software, designers can build data-rich, visual models without sacrificing the design process, while collaborating efficiently throughout the project life-cycle. Headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Newbury, England, Vectorworks is a part of the Nemetschek Group. Learn how we empower designers to create experiences that transform the world at vectorworks.net.

  • Multiple drawing views: Use multiple views of a project simultaneously, and begin work in one view pane and finish it in another. Switch effortlessly between viewports, views and visibility settings — simply set up panes and view them all at once. Instantly gauge the impact of a design change across 3D, plan, section and elevation views, and even start a rendering in one view while working in another.
  • Direct section and elevation editing: Edit models directly from viewports: add openings, align and distribute windows, reposition doors across multiple layers, reshape walls — it’s all possible. Change the 3D views while in the section to see how edits simultaneously affect plans and model views. And, create better-looking, more-accurate drawings in a fraction of the time.
    • Improved graphic output for architectural documents: Generate documentation from a BIM file much more efficiently. Improved graphic controls within section views of wall joins and wall, or slab and roof components provides the flexibility to quickly achieve high-quality documentation from a 3D model.
    • Robust wall modeling options: Control individual component heights by instance, attach information to them, insert component caps and simultaneously edit multiple selected components from an easy-to-use dialog box. Plus, swiftly make wall graphic display changes with the new ability to switch all attributes by class.
    • Easier title block customization: Customize items such as variables and orientation, choose from an unlimited set of information to include in a title block, and use styles to more simply manage many title blocks across one or multiple projects.
    • Streamlined drawing distribution: Publish drawings based on issue date and a tightly integrated new title block object; generate and distribute drawing sets, issue information and reports throughout the duration of a project; and automate the typically laborious process of creating a BIM project or lighting a stage.
    • New zoom option for video and blended screens: It's now easier than ever to manage the planning and visualization of video screens in designs. With new graphic output capabilities, more accurately understand, estimate and adjust available throw and zoom, to enable final equipment choices earlier in the design process.
    • Enhanced seating section: Choose from additional layout methods, multiple seat numbering options and graphic controls to easily set and modify seating sections from the Object Info palette. Generate more precise seating layout visualizations for an event and automate seating schedules for inventory and ordering.
    • Direct site model contour editing: Edit a site model easier than ever with improved site model settings and direct 2D contour editing. Modify each contour line as easily as editing a polyline.
    • New import/export tree survey options: Generate existing site conditions from GIS and tree survey data without the need for external tools. Just use geolocated tree species data to create existing tree objects and export back to clients via Shapefile (SHP), TXT and DXF formats.
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