AECOM deploys BIM for U.K. schools

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 LOS ANGELES — AECOM Technology Corporation continues to advance the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) across its operations, including recently the Ormesby & Priory Woods School in Middlesbrough, United Kingdom. AECOM provided civil and structural engineering for the approximately £30,000,000 project.

Using Autodesk’s Revit Structure, AutoCAD and Navisworks software programs, AECOM designed a new secondary and special needs school facility consisting of five separate teaching blocks. AECOM, along with the architect, AEDAS, then combined the Revit Structure and Revit Architecture models to create a 3D BIM environment.

“Working in a BIM environment allowed the team to exchange information and develop detailed designs in one intelligent, 3D model with more speed and efficiency,” said Craig Mason, a CAD manager and structural BIM modeler for AECOM’s building engineering practice in Europe. “BIM gave all of the parties a full understanding of the buildings throughout all stages of the design and construction process, resulting in improved workflow, increased productivity and improved quality of the end product.”

To ensure the most efficient and effective delivery of this project, and to aid in the model-sharing process, AECOM used the copy-monitor and the clash-detection tools within Autodesk Revit Structure and Navisworks. This allowed AECOM to fully coordinate and detail the structures to meet the requirements and function of the buildings, as well as the smooth integration of structural and architectural Revit 3D models.

“Modeling everything in 3D within Revit allowed the design team to fully review the proposed design and check for clashes and potential problems prior to fabrication and construction,” said Mason.

Navisworks was also used throughout the project for visualization purposes, creating 3D imagery and flythroughs.

“The mechanical and electrical services were originally detailed in 2D within AutoCAD, but the services contractor’s 3D model, which was produced in CADduct, was brought into Navisworks,” said Mason. “This final BIM Navisworks model, which combined the structural, architectural and services disciplines, shows the key to a successful delivery of a project is to integrate and align a design team’s 3D models to create a 3D BIM environment.”

“The Ormesby & Priory Woods School project is a great example of AECOM’s continuous integration of technology software programs to offer solutions that add value to our clients’ projects,” said Jim Walsh, AECOM senior vice president and chief technology officer.

The Ormesby & Priory Woods School project is part of a larger initiative for the Middlesbrough Building Schools for the Future (BSF) program.