Harnessing BIM Technology and Integrated Project Delivery for Sustainable Design
Improving Performance of All Buildings by Improving Information (session #1P32)
Deke Smith is perhaps the most engaging speaker of the 2008 TAP conference.
I don't mean any offense to Harry Gordon nor Dave Harris, both of whom spoke during this session. These speakers not only gave thoughtful presentations, but also stayed through an extended question and answer session at the end.
Yet between the time that Deke hid among the audience and rushed out of the room to join another session, there was an electricity among the audience. He was able to hit upon the root causes of issues we all face. There are a few words to describe that feeling we have all expereinced on our projects, that sinking feeling that no matter what you are building, the process of getting there is similar to that merry-go-round you rode on when you were a kid. The term is: 'non value added effort'.
The disconnects that exist between Architect and consultants (as well as between builder, fabricator and suppliers) do not disapper with the introduction of BIM, but there is not an initiative that won't benefit from the application of BIM.
Deke encouraged us to join in the NBIMS effort and to help shape the comprehensive standards of tomorrow. Architects have a choice: Take the life-cycle view of a project by the horns and lead, deliver a comprehensive facility -or- become irrelevant.
Much of the non-value added effort could be eliminated if we would develop the tools that allow for open exchange of information. Rather than working on translators to get from every proprietary format to another we could get behind the IFC effort and allow everyone to communicate. If Deke had called for volunteers I think at least a dozen people in the audience would have come forward. (myself included)
As Dave Harris noted in his comments, there are several NIBS councils and committees that are doing great work for the benefit of the industry as a whole. There is movement towards voluntary standards, not just for uniformity but to reinforce minimum safety requirements. While most other countries have adopted a universal tandard we have more than 300. If we want to meet the promise of sustainability, we must move beyond the chicken and egg of specialty softwares and 3D cad that doesn't amount to a building information model.
Dave also cautioned against using rating systems like LEED to define project requirements. Energy efficient features should be considered based on their appropriatness for a given project, and not just to meet the measures of LEED certification.
Harry Gordon provided some baseline statistics on green legislation before going into a case study. He distinguished rating systems such as LEED from legilation and incentive programs that can help us to be more sustainable.
The David L Lawrence convention center, identified as the largest project to earn the Gold certification, was designed with great sensitivity towards the use of available light, air and water. As Harry walked us through the features of this design, he noted that the energy analyses that were done for the project were effective because of information models and the iterations of design these made possible.
As alluded to earlier, there were many good questions and thoughtful answers at the end of this session. I'll share some of the most salient in a subsequent posting.
I don't mean any offense to Harry Gordon nor Dave Harris, both of whom spoke during this session. These speakers not only gave thoughtful presentations, but also stayed through an extended question and answer session at the end.
Yet between the time that Deke hid among the audience and rushed out of the room to join another session, there was an electricity among the audience. He was able to hit upon the root causes of issues we all face. There are a few words to describe that feeling we have all expereinced on our projects, that sinking feeling that no matter what you are building, the process of getting there is similar to that merry-go-round you rode on when you were a kid. The term is: 'non value added effort'.
The disconnects that exist between Architect and consultants (as well as between builder, fabricator and suppliers) do not disapper with the introduction of BIM, but there is not an initiative that won't benefit from the application of BIM.
Deke encouraged us to join in the NBIMS effort and to help shape the comprehensive standards of tomorrow. Architects have a choice: Take the life-cycle view of a project by the horns and lead, deliver a comprehensive facility -or- become irrelevant.
Much of the non-value added effort could be eliminated if we would develop the tools that allow for open exchange of information. Rather than working on translators to get from every proprietary format to another we could get behind the IFC effort and allow everyone to communicate. If Deke had called for volunteers I think at least a dozen people in the audience would have come forward. (myself included)
As Dave Harris noted in his comments, there are several NIBS councils and committees that are doing great work for the benefit of the industry as a whole. There is movement towards voluntary standards, not just for uniformity but to reinforce minimum safety requirements. While most other countries have adopted a universal tandard we have more than 300. If we want to meet the promise of sustainability, we must move beyond the chicken and egg of specialty softwares and 3D cad that doesn't amount to a building information model.
Dave also cautioned against using rating systems like LEED to define project requirements. Energy efficient features should be considered based on their appropriatness for a given project, and not just to meet the measures of LEED certification.
Harry Gordon provided some baseline statistics on green legislation before going into a case study. He distinguished rating systems such as LEED from legilation and incentive programs that can help us to be more sustainable.
The David L Lawrence convention center, identified as the largest project to earn the Gold certification, was designed with great sensitivity towards the use of available light, air and water. As Harry walked us through the features of this design, he noted that the energy analyses that were done for the project were effective because of information models and the iterations of design these made possible.
As alluded to earlier, there were many good questions and thoughtful answers at the end of this session. I'll share some of the most salient in a subsequent posting.
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