B4 - Applications and Benefits of BIM in healthcare building design -Individule project

Applications and Benefits of BIM in healthcare building design

1      Introduction

Background of BIM application in building design

The importance of applying BIM in healthcare building design

BIM can help architects and contractors to improve their production efficiency and reduce the risk of human error remarkably. “In fact, all buildings benefit from BIM, however, it is believed that healthcare is the segment that can benefit the most out of BIM services (Bhushan Avsatthi).” “Usually an office building consists of four moving parts, whereas a hospital generally consists of 50 or 100 moving parts (Bhushan Avsatthi).” This makes BIM become more essential for collaborating multiple processes of design and construction.

The trend of healthcare design

“A wave of green building design and sustainability has swept across the construction industry, and it is now becoming more aware of the fact that their contribution will prove to be significant in shaping the future of energy worldwide (Bhushan Avsatthi).”

2      What is BIM

2.1     The definition of BIM

2.2     Current application of BIM in architecture industry

3      Current applications of BIM in healthcare design processes

3.1     Site analysis and Layout plan

3.2     Building conceptual design

3.3     Indoor environment quality analysis

3.4     Envelope design and analysis

3.5     Construction drawings production

4      Benefits of applying BIM in healthcare design (including a comparison between BIM supported and traditional design method)

4.1     Visualization

4.2     Efficiency improvement

4.3     Complexity organization

4.4     Multiple software collaboration

5      Challenges and prospects of BIM application in healthcare building design

5.1     Longer design cycles

5.2     Complexity of application process (especially for developing countries due to the immature technology)

5.3     Data loses during software communication

6      Conclusion

Comment:

Yicheng Li

I am sure that through this project, you can be proficient in modeling in Revit and I believe this will help you a lot in your future works. From the floor plan, I can tell it is a very typical layout of the two-level house in the U.S. The only thing I might concern is the materials of each element of the house. And maybe you can try to create new families with specific features that you need. As a novice of Revit, the model you already did looks pretty. I am sure that your final output will be great. Good luck!

Albert Hanan 

Your project sounds exciting.to me. I am looking forward to see your final model and especially the document of your progress. As I new user of Revit, I. unfortunately. can not give you more suggestions on using Revit and Dynamo. But I think your collaboration of multiple software is a smart way to build the BIM and will be very helpful after you are proficient in them. Good luck!

Weiyi Tang 

I find your topic is very interesting. With the developments of AI and robotics, houses have changed a lot and will keep changing with new technologies progress. From the lectures of AE510, we have learned that there are so many emerging technologies including AI supported design, robotic construction, smart home, etc., that have pushed the AEC industry to a new age. And through your research, I believe we can have a better understanding of the prospect of the AEC industry.

Chapter 5: BIM for Architects and Engineers

BIM software can be used in every stage of the construction process. They are commonly used for developing construction level information and the design and analysis of building structures. Another helpful service that BIM software provides is the ability to coordinate design integration. These three services are imperative to intelligent building design. Google Sketchup, IES, Vectorworks, and Revit are several of the most commonly used softwares to mass buildings, meet programming requirements, conduct environmental analyses, execute energy analysis, and create construction level documents.

Revit is often used as a link to other software to reduce redundant design. If a Revit model is constructed well, the amount of redundant data input required from auxiliary software is minimized. Add ons for other software are available to perform even more specific tasks. For example, Apache HVAC, is used by IES to complete HVAC plant calculations. This is an area that I have personally worked in.  The advantage that a central BIM model provides over traditional drawings is that it can be analyzed directly and offers an array of information that can be extrapolated for engineers efficiently. [1]

Structural analysis can also be completed from a central BIM model. By using RAM, structural engineers can ensure design integrity under a varying set of design conditions. BIM also allows for efficient building scheduling. Revit can be used to assign material properties which can be extrapolated into tables within the software. Additionally, construction phases and design sets can be used for different building options and phasing for construction.

Additional advantages that BIM has provided over the course of its life include the fabrication and design of unique parts which was traditionally impossible. However, using BIM models, fabricators can take a 3-D drawing and manufacture abstract shapes. Another advantage of BIM software is the ability to value engineer. Engineers can analyze and compare different building systems to provide the most economical solutions to their clients. Additionally, the ease of early exploration of building massing and programming ensures that architects create the best experience for clients in a building.

Sources:

[1] Sacks, Rafael. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Designers, Engineers, Contractors, and Facility Managers. Wiley, 2018.

Comments:
Adam Raifsnider:

 I have also noticed the lack of access to 3-D models by smaller contractors. I think for BIM to reach its full potential, it is imperative that all parties involved in the creation of a building have access to 3-D models. I also think with the emergence of AI and 3-D printing on construction sites, we will reduce the need for subcontractors, and the subcontractors who do remain will have the technology to allow them to see a real time 3-D model containing addendums and changes to the original design.

Alec Silverstone:

 In order for contractors to make less mistakes in construction design, and for engineers to produce plans that accurately reflect what contractors will actually build, there should be contractors present during the design process of a building. I think contractors and engineers have a responsibility to coordinate physical construction to meet client demands and occupant safety.

Christian Tate:

 It has been the responsibility of engineers and architects to produce an accurate set of plans that reflect industry standards. It is interesting to think about the possibility of this being translated to three dimensions as construction documents shift away from paper and towards building models. Hopefully, this improves as design professionals will have standards built into the software they use.

B2_Chapter 5_Scope of design services

  For Chapter 5, the author introduced the BIM (Building Information Modeling) for the architects and engineers.  Many experts of architectural, engineering and construction are currently using BIM tools for modeling. This design approach is evolving from simple warehouses to new complex buildings.  The BIM provides a virtual building model for the design teams (such as architects, surveyors, civil engineers, structural engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers) to be delivered to the contractor/owner, who can add their professional information, update, and track at each stage. Change and maintain this standard, single model. The result is a desire to reduce the information gaps and communication conflicts that occur when the project provides and receives information between participants.

  Design-bid-build is a traditional project delivery process. In this process, architects and engineers will do the design work individually, so they will not cooperate with the constructor and fabricators. When there is litigation, since collaboration is not the architects’ responsibility, they may withhold the information for their design. Therefore, it is not efficient both for money and time. For the improvement, there is the design-build process. In order to involve in the larger projects and to deal with the capitalization, the large firms will cooperate with small firms. For design-build delivery, the efficiency raised, but I like the new option—Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). For IPD, the architects, engineers, constructors, fabricators, and the owners will come together to form a single cooperation unit. During the collaboration, the architect and the engineer can receive potential payment and benefits for their contribution for the design performance, such as the project can be finished before the deadline, the building sustainability, the energy use saving, and environmentally friendly improvements. The reason why I like IPD the most is that it can dramatically increase the efficiency of time. Because of the potentially lucrative rule, the architects and the engineers will push the effort to design a better building. On the other hand, the technic improvement for saving the environment and energy will happen during this process. Moreover, the collaboration will reduce the conflicts between the constructors/owners and the designers. Different from the traditional methods, architecture and engineering take important roles in IPD, so it also benefits the design services.



Work Cited:

Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, 

Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Vol. 2nd ed, Wiley, 2011. EBSCOhost, http://ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=364239&site=ehost-live.

Comments:

Harvin Bhandal:
I agree that using BIM tools will save your time and your money, for example, when you finished a 2-D drawing on Revit, you can also get a 3-D model for your floor, and you can also use Revit to analysis the sunlight effects on your design. You mentioned in your article that you never used Revit before.  Don't need to worry, the processes for using it is not complicated, and you might also find fun from it because when you can put your thought from the brain on an actual 3-D model is very cool.

Alec Silverstone:
I agree with you. Because of designed-bid-build and designed-build, which are the two traditional procurement processes, the relationship between architects, engineers, and constructors is not close cooperation. Therefore, for many cases, the constructors will join into the project at the very late, so the conflicts are hard to avoid at that time.  This case will waste time and money.

Christian Tait:
I agree with you because when I use Sketchup and Revit, or other Autodesk related products, I suffered a lot because of their incompatibility. Formit is undoubtedly a great product, but for now, it is not as widely used as Sketchup. As well, for some function tools, such as the content library, Formit is not as developed as Sketchup, because the database of Formit is not as plentiful as that of Sketchup. Therefore, the different BIM products from different companies cannot perfectly match each other, which is a problem for BIM.

First Post: Introduction

     My name is Kunlun Ren. I am from China and I am a Ph.D. student in architectural engineering, second year here. I graduated from IIT, Chicago, with MArch degree. My advisor now is Dr. Simi Hoque. My interests include evidence-based design, green building technology, vernacular architecture design, etc.. Currently, I am doing a project on the impact of indoor environment conditions on patients health in CHOP. The main reason I take this course is to learn how to use Revit which will also be used as a tool for data storage and visual display in my project.

     The most interesting note I found in Evernote is a piece of news about Foster + Partners added a skybridge for the design of headquarters for DJI. The most exciting point is not about the building itself, but the ambitions of DJI and a conceivable future where building built by drones are also operated and connected by drones. Not only the building can be intelligent, but the whole city can also be intelligent with the help of AI, robots, drones, etc..

Figure 1. A future city vision. 

(Baig, Z. A., Szewczyk, P., Valli, C., Rabadia, P., Hannay, P., Chernyshev, M., . . . Peacock, M. (2017). Future challenges for smart cities: Cyber-security and digital forensics. Digital Investigation,22, 3-13. doi:10.1016/j.diin.2017.06.015)

     From my point of view, the intelligent building should be defined by the whole life of a building from the proposal stage to demolishment. The site of the intelligent building can be chosen based on AI processed data; The design decisions can be made by architects with the help of AI; The building operation can be controlled by robots adaptively, etc.. In brief, the intelligent building is the building that is optimized in a system to face the best needs of occupants and any other people related.

About This Blog

AE-410/510 is a course primarily for Seniors and Graduate Students in Architectural Engineering at Drexel University in Philadelphia, USA.  We consider the uses of Information Technology on the Design, Construction and Operation of buildings, hence the course title: Intelligent Buildings.

This blog is created by students in the course responding to assignments and class exercises.  Use the "Labels" on the right to see the work of individual students OR the topics on which they've written.

The syllabus for the course is available from the "Pages" link.