Year In Infrastructure 2005

BIM FOR MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES
Buckley AFB Army
Aviation Support Facility

the design review process. Bentley tools made communications among the entire project team easier. ;

CH2M HILL

The expansion of the Colorado Army National Guard’s Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora, Colorado, was required to support the state’s growing role in national defense and search and rescue. CH2M HILL led the design of an efficient, low-maintenance, energy-efficient helicopter operations and maintenance facility serving as an architectural landmark on Buckley Air Force Base.

All disciplines participated in the BIM modeling effort, focusing on their specific discipline’s model without losing the multidisciplinary integration benefits, which added efficiency and cost-savings to the design process.

The building was designed as a steel frame superstructure surrounded by load-bearing masonry construction. High snow loads, structural spans in excess of 120 feet, and a complex integration of heating, ventilation, fire protection, electronics, and heavy equip-menthandling made using Bentley’s building information modeling (BIM) solutions to design the facility a must.

It offered the opportunity for interference checks during structure and equipment layout, evaluation of structural performance, and the integration of energy-saving HVAC and lighting technologies. One of the main improvements in project workflow came from the ability to better communicate with the client and engage them in

BIM FOR MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES
Float Glass Furnace
Design
Glaverbel

The Glaverbel Group is a leading flat glass producer with industrial locations throughout Europe. All of its glass is produced in huge furnaces that consist of 250,000 to 1 million bricks of 150 different types. Each type has its own location and specification, and fulfills a key role in the glass melting process.

specifications to each brick were important
given the precision required in the selection
and placement of the different brick types. It
was also critical that the information
attached to each brick not be lost once 2D
plans were made out of the 3D model. All of
the 3D objects are parametrically linked to a
Microsoft Access database, which makes it
possible to customize routines for the con-
struction of assemblies and subassemblies.
With this approach, a detailed specification
and quantity sheet for pricing requests and
cost analysis can be quickly generated. ;

For the new furnaces built in Belgium, Glaverbel used Bentley’s MicroStation V8. Only 2D plans were needed for construction, but 3D models were used for design. The 3D models proved quite useful in finding mistakes and collisions in the plans for these very complex designs.