MANAGED ENVIRONMENT
Virtual Plant
Volkswagen de México
Project Wise was used to control the design
standards of all the models employed by the
different disciplines, departments, and out-
side suppliers; to manage the information sys-
tems and planning data; to standardize docu-
ments codes and structure levels; and to inte-
grate the different disciplines using refer-
ences files. In addition, it helped improve the
process of project querying. ;
The goal of the project was to derive work
process improvements, including:
• Cost savings due to modifications of halls,
• Cost savings due to modifications of the
processes,
• Reduction of interferences in plant
engineering,
NEW TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
Capital City Al Asima
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Capital City is a new mixed-use retail/enter-tainment center with an upper executive
hotel and an adjacent high-rise office
tower. “Smoothness in form” is the essential concept of the buildings. For the retail
center, this is captured on the exterior via
the visual suggestion of glacial coolness,
and on the interior via ease of shopper
movement.
Parametric modeling of the tower’s linked
twisted trapezoidal planes was made possible by the development of GenerativeComponents. Using MicroStation V8 2004
Edition and the more advanced features of
GenerativeComponents, the tapering and
torquing forms were modeled, manipulated, and prototyped within the virtual
authenticity of the computer.
The complex task of restricting the maximum deformation of each glass panel was
simplified and achievable within the project’s tight deadline and budgetary restrictions. And the efficiencies provided by this
innovative approach to pragmatic geometric
design permitted KPF’s model shop the additional time to create various detailed prototype elements throughout the period of
design alongside the digital prefabrication
process.
These solutions, built on the MicroStation
platform, allowed great economies in the
design process, requiring 50 percent of the
predicted design time, at 30 percent of the
budgeted cost, using just 20 percent of the
allocated personnel. ;
