BIM Competition Valladolid
BIM Valladolid is a Spanish organisation formed by building professionals enthusiastic about BIM technology with the aim to popularize this new methodology in the building field. As part of the initiative, it holds every year an annual competition in BIM called BIM Competition Valladolid. The best projects designed using BIM methodology throughout all its dimensions (3D, 4D, 5D, etc.) are awarded in several categories.
What makes this competition special and exciting is the fact that the projects have to be completed in six days only, which is a very short time. The third edition of the competition was held from 16th to 22nd November and I had the fantastic opportunity of joining an exciting team of BIM lovers. If you want to learn more about this competition or get further information about BIM news, you can visit www.bimvalladolid.com. I also invite you to continue reading, because I ensure you that you and your colleagues will want to participate in the next competition, as it is open to all professionals in this field.
The Competition - Roles, Software and Execution plan
Roles definition
First of all we had to define the roles of each of us in the team, such as BIM Manager, BIM Modeler, BIM Architect, BIM Structural Engineer, 3D Coordinator, BIM 4D Planner, BIM 5D Modeller and BIM Renderer.
Software
We used many different software (both BIM and Project management) according to the work each of us had to do. For example, we worked with software such as Revit, Archicad, Cype, Navisworks Manager, Solibri Model Checker, Drofus and Lumion. Other software used were Primavera P6, Arquimedes, Google docs, Podio, Redbooth.
BIM Execution Plan
Days before the beginning of the BIM Competition, we prepared a BIM Execution Plan (BEP), which was based on Pennsylvania BEP model. We defined the Process map level 1, which contained the overview of the BIM process applied to our health center and also the Process maps level 2, containing the different stages we wanted to achieve in the health center´s design project.
Core of the BIM Competition
Program Requirements
At the day of the competition, we were given the project scope and the requirements program. This last was the core of the project because we had to design the model according to the project scope. The aim of the competition was to design a health centre in Valladolid. We were given the site location and from there on we had to begin the schematic design and develop this to the design development stage (LOD300).
Defining the health centre
We decided as the best option to design a two floor building with rooms disposed as a comb design.
We worked collaboratively in a Revit server, so everyone could open the Architectural model in Revit and see the design, model, comment and update.
Clash detection
When the structural model and the architectural model were at least LOD 200 the 3D Coordinator checked both models in order to detect some collisions between them by means of clash detection in Solibri Model Checker software. Both models were imported as IFC2x3 models and the collisions were exported as IFC2x3 models too.
4D Planning
As far as the 4D planning is concerned, I was in charge of this stage. I needed the architectural model and also the structural model in an advanced level of development so as to be able to plan and define the construction process in Navisworks. When both models were LOD 300, I planned the construction process in Primavera P6 and exported this to Navisworks as a .csv file. I had to define shared parameters in Revit, the same ones that I would define in Navisworks, so that when I import the architectural model in IFC2x3 in Navisworks it would recognize these parameters. However I faced a problem with shared parameters when importing in Navisworks. Despite the fact that Revit and Navisworks software were both Spanish version, the shared parameters to define were Spanish in Revit and English in Navisworks, so Navisworks did not recognize them properly. Thus, I had to configure most parameters manually in Navisworks. Thereby, I imported both architectural and structural IFC2x3 models in Navisworks, and also the planning. I assigned each task in the planning with its element in the model, according to the construction sequence and the final result was acceptable, despite all the inconvenience I faced.
Rendering with Lumion Software
After the architectural and structural models were completed and the landscape outdoors designed, the next step was to render the project by means of Lumion software.
You can find the final result by clicking on the video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tby9jA8q4U&vl=es
Final presentation video weBETTERbim team
I invite you to watch the final presentation video of our team in which we summarize the whole process of our participation in this competition. You can click this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcF0NRrfGk
Lumion prize to the best rendering project
At the end of this competition, all our effort was recognized and my team weBETTERbim was awarded with the Lumion prize for the best rendering. I was very satisfied with the final result, because thanks to the expertise, skills and abilities of my team members, we coped with this challenge, even though we worked remotely as a scattered team. It was a very intense and fast paced competition and was an excellent learning experience for me.
About Mara Sierra
I am Mara Sierra, a Spanish Civil Engineer and I have recently completed a Master´s in BIM Management at Zigurat Global Institute of Technology (Barcelona-Spain). Zigurat informed its students community about the opportunity to join this competition and I felt I could practice my BIM knowledge acquired during my training and I could also learn much more about this discipline. So I joined this competition. In my team called weBETERbim, we were all eight professionals, such Architects and Building Engineers. Thanks to the different skills and abilities each of us had we achieved a great and satisfactory final result which I am proud of.
