Case Studt Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta HimesAquariumBIMreport

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Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn Atlanta, GA

BIM Case Study

May 2, 2008

Prepared by: Mark Himes Bryan Steed

Introduction
As the construction industry evolves and economic conditions tighten, project requirements continue to become more challenging while costs of labor and materials are on the rise. Whether it is a difficult construction timeline, budget restrictions, innovative design techniques, or a restrictive work site, the project team must continuously find ways to build faster, cheaper, and better. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has emerged as an innovative technology that enables a collaborative construction process, while reducing construction costs, increasing productivity, and lowering project risk for the team members. Currently, every owner, designer, construction manager, or trade contractor are not familiar with the capabilities and applications of BIM technology and do not utilize BIM construction practices in their design and construction processes. Change is not easily implemented into the construction industry which prohibits quickly implementing BIM into all construction projects. While this project team (owner, architect, and contractor) has worked together on previous projects, they possess little to no BIM experience prior to this project. This is the scenario faced by Holder Construction Company as they came on board as the general contractor to construct the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. None of the other team members, including the owner, architect, or trade contractors had previous project experience utilizing BIM applications. Despite the limited project experience, Holder Construction committed to utilizing certain BIM applications and made the decision to integrate BIM on the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project. The intent was to find a way to apply Building Information Modeling technologies across the entire team, in a way that was effective, inexpensive, and beneficial to the overall project objectives.

Project Description
The Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn is a $46 million project consisting of the construction of a 484,000 square foot facility. The mixed-use development consists of a 14-story, 242 room hotel, a 700 vehicle parking structure, and 25,000 square foot of retail space at the ground level. The structure occupies a prominent corner in downtown Atlanta adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park and the Georgia Aquarium. The owner, Legacy Property Group, utilized a Construction Management at Risk (CM at-Risk) with a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) project delivery approach contracting with Stevens and Wilkinson Stang and Newdow, Inc. as the design architect and Holder Construction Company as the general contractor. The project schedule, from design through construction was 24 months. Design and preconstruction services began in February 2005, construction began in June 2006, and substantial completion was March 2008.

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Initial BIM Objectives
Since there was limited BIM experience on the project team, the initial BIM objectives for the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project were limited. The owner was not necessarily interested in exploring new construction technologies with a project team possessing limited experience. The architect had little experience with BIM and had not utilized 3D technology to design the structure. The only true BIM ‘expert’ was Holder Construction as they had been gaining BIM experience on other projects for about a year at this point. Holder had already utilized BIM models for business development while pursuing the project contract. They also had utilized 3D models to visualize and understand the design concept and verify the project scope of work. With limited input or experience from the other project team members, the contractor and owner decided that the Building Information Modeling technology would be utilized for visualization, understanding and enhancing the design, and for collision detection. These BIM applications are simple and relatively easy tasks associated with 3D BIM technology, especially considering some of the more aggressive applications such as energy analysis and performance monitoring, structural design analysis, optimization of various mechanical systems, 4D production scheduling, quantity extraction, cost estimating, and code checking. Despite the limited initial BIM objectives for this project, the project team was bound to discover some additional emerging uses and benefits for the application of the 3D models. These emerging uses are explored later in this report as the owner, architect, and contractor perspectives are examined and the overall BIM benefits of the project are realized.

Integration of Building Information Modeling Owners’ Perspective
Legacy Property Group is an Atlanta-based real estate development firm who prides themselves on fulfilling unique market opportunities as well as improving the existing environment and leading the industry into tomorrow. With over 75 years of combined experience, the Legacy Property Group has established their reputation of fluidity across multiple real estate fields. They are committed to quality and effectively work with partners and local governments, and maintaining these characteristics have allowed the Legacy Property Group to remain at the cutting edge of development. Confirming their reputation, Legacy Property Group has led to projects as the 2002 award winning $200 million Legacy at Centennial Olympic Park mixed use project. Combining their experience, reputation of teamwork and familiarity with hotel and mixed use developments, Legacy Property Group was the perfect owner for Holder Construction to approach in regards to leading the use of BIM technology for Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn, Atlanta, GA  Page 2 

the first time. The owner’s knowledge and experience, or lack thereof, in the use of 3D modeling immediately attributed them with the label of non-BIM savvy and, although they were willing, added an additional challenge for Holder in their use of BIM. The Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn is the first project in Legacy Property Group’s extensive resume in which they utilized BIM. Because of this, they were somewhat reserved in regards to the breadth of the potential usage of BIM within the project. Also, as the additional investment to create and use a BIM model on the project was considerable in the eyes of the non-BIM savvy owner, Legacy Property Group wanted to ensure that this investment would see a positive return. Therefore, they limited Holder to the extent in which they applied BIM to the project. They permitted the use of the model to enhance team coordination, visualization, and clash detection. Legacy Property Group decided to limit BIM use purely based on a cost-benefit analysis and. Although there is no way to compare using BIM on the project against not using BIM, Legacy Property Group does believe that the incorporation and investment to use BIM paid off. Legacy Property Group and Holder agreed to the use of BIM and have acquired tangible evidence to see the benefits of clash detection, yet there were some areas of the project that presented room for improvement. To begin with, the original model designed by the architect was produced in traditional CAD rather than BIM. This proved to be less than optimal, as the general contractor (Holder Construction), and not the architect, was responsible for creating the BIM model. Also, the project was labeled a “fast-tracked building”, meaning design would continue while construction was underway. These two factors contributed to added challenges faced by all teams involved including the teams’ inability to detect 100% of the potential collisions, as well as the added pressures of continual design during construction. From Legacy Property Group’s perspective, the overall project and use of BIM was beneficial and viewed as a success with benefits that would have never been realized by using traditional methods. The main issue with BIM usage during the project had nothing to do with BIM technology and its capabilities but rather with at what stage those capabilities were incorporated and not using BIM to cover a greater scope of the project. Legacy Property Group now understands that having the architect design the model in BIM from the onset of the project presents benefits and luxuries that are not realized if the project team incorporates BIM on the backside of the design phase.

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Architect’s Perspective
The architectural firm for the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn was Stevens and Wilkinson, one of the most experienced and progressive firms in the Southeast. Stevens and Wilkinson considers integrity, intelligence, and imagination to be the foundation of their company. Therefore, it comes to no surprise that they were on board when Holder took the initiative and decided to use BIM for the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project. Stevens and Wilkinson were not responsible for building the 3D model, yet they were still able to realize several benefits from the use of BIM on the project. According to Stevens and Wilkinson, the buyout and shop drawing phase proved to be the most beneficial process. Design coordination, one of the main goals for the use of BIM from the inception of the project, also saw many benefits through coordination meetings. At these meetings, members from every team involved in the project would gather and create solutions to problems and collisions found through the BIM model. These issues were categorized and presented to the various team members before meetings, and through the visualization capabilities and model sharing through Navisworks, the teams were able to collaborate and find answers that otherwise would have cost the teams money and time if they were first discovered in the field. Although Stevens and Wilkinson realized firsthand the many benefits BIM can bring to a project, they also discovered some shortcomings and learned lessons that they will incorporate in the future. The project was labeled a “fast-track building”, meaning design continued past the start of construction. Everything on the project was not modeled in BIM, and problems arose as a Figure 1 - 3D rendering combination of not using BIM on every portion of the “fast-track building”. The power of BIM visualization is still rudimentary and Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn, Atlanta, GA  Page 4 

diagrammatic according to the architect, yet the future of BIM is vivid and undeniable. Stevens and Wilkinson is now incorporating BIM into their projects and undoubtedly will see new benefits as they bring the BIM model to the forefront of the design phase.

General Contractor’s Perspective
Holder Construction previously utilized BIM technology on a limited number of projects. As a company, they are committed to integrating 3D modeling and BIM applications into its construction practices. Holder Construction created a BIM department within the Preconstruction Services Division with a dozen full-time 3D modelers. The company also utilizes a Field BIM coordinator who is responsible for manipulating and updating the model for specific tasks and uses on the project site. For the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project the direct project costs associated with BIM were $40,000. Holder Construction utilized a three-person BIM modeling team over a 12-month duration for design document and construction document model completion. There were no additional costs to the design team, trade contractors, or the owner for their model use because they were able to utilize a free model viewer distributed by Holder for the project team’s usage. All software and hardware costs were incorporated into the corporate overhead for the project. The software and hardware technology used on this project: Software: • • • • • • • Graphisoft ArchiCad v9.0, v10.0 Graphisoft Constructor 2005 NavisWorks 5.0-5.2 NavisWorks Redline Tool AutoCad 2007 AutoDesk DWG True View 2007 Graphisoft Change Manager 2005

Hardware: • 19” Dell M90 Laptop, 2.16 Dual Core Processor, NVDIA Quadro FX 2500M video card, 4gig RAM (Office use) HP Compaq nc6230 Laptop, Processor x86 Family 6 Model 13, Stepping Genuine Intel 1862 MHz Total Physical Processor 512.00MB (Field use) Page 5 



Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn, Atlanta, GA 

• •

Projector HP laser Printer

Holder Construction used a three person team for BIM to produce models from 2D CAD files on two occasions; 50% design documents, and 100% construction documents. The also used a Filed BIM coordinator once the project construction began to facilitate BIM uses on the project site. The three person BIM team at Holder Construction during the design development phase developed 3D models of the architectural, structural, and MEP systems of the proposed building design. These initials models were used for visualization, scope verification, and initial clash detection. They truly helped the owner understand the layout and ‘look’ of the proposed design and quickly identified potential design conflicts prior to beginning actual construction.

Figure 2 - Structural model

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Figure 3 - MEP model

Figure 4 - Composite model

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The immediate impact of these models sparked interest among the owner and designer. They immediately wanted to use the models to visualize others aspects of the design, but they did not have the in-house BIM capabilities. Since Holder Construction was the BIM lead effort on this project and the remaining project team had little or no experience with BIM applications, they did not have the software and hardware capabilities to support most BIM applications, nor did the owner want to commit additional money to support BIM operations. It became a necessity for Holder to figure out how to use the BIM software, hardware, and training they already had, find a way to provide access for the entire project team to view the 3D models at no additional cost, and educate the owner and other project team members on the how to utilize the 3D model and how to best realize the added value and benefits of the new construction technology. Holder realized the impact of the 3D models could have on the project, but needed to quickly educate the owner in order to support the modeling cost and be able to realize the savings. Holder developed a packaged CD/DVD that contained the model they had developed, a free downloadable version of NavisWorks to be able to open and view the models, and a ‘dashboard’ table of contents with instructional videos and tutorials to help navigate the 3D models. Holder distributed the CD/DVD package to all members of the project team enabling free open access to anyone that wanted to navigate the BIM models created by Holder. This unique solution provided tremendous opportunities for the owner, architect, and trade contractors to begin to visualize, understand, and collaborate with other project team members about various construction tasks in 3D.
Figure 5 – CD/DVD package created by Holder Construction

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After the initial visualization uses of the 3D models, Holder began to utilize the models for clash detection analysis. This BIM application enabled the contractor to identify potential collisions or clashes between various structural and mechanical systems with in the building design during the design development which avoid costly design changes once actual construction begins in the field. During the Design Development (DD) stage, 55 clashes were identified resulting in avoided RFIs for the project. The resolved collisions were tracked resulting in a cost avoidance of $124,500. Just this stage alone yielded a return savings of $84,500 on the original $40,000 BIM expense. At the Construction Documents (CD) phase the model was updated and resolved collisions were tracked. Each critical clash was shared with the design team via the model viewer and a numbered collision log with a record of individual images of each collision per the architectural or structural discipline. The collision cost savings value were based on estimates for make design change or field modifications had the collision not been detected earlier and clash would have need to be addressed in the field. Over 590 clashes were detected via the NavisWorks software. The overall cost savings based on the 590 collision detected throughout the project were estimated at $800,000, providing a net return on the BIM investment at $760,000.

Figure 6 – collision analysis detected beam through ceiling

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Throughout the project, the contractor identified some additional applications of the 3D model which became helpful during project execution. One of the big uses was trade contractor coordination. In the field, the 3D models were used to identify and coordinate trade contractor work in order to avoid delays caused by poor scheduling. The model also enabled the various trade contractors to coordinate amongst themselves on precise locations for specific MEP systems. The ability to coordinate the details ahead of time provided for more efficient construction scheduling on the job site, enabled conflicts to be resolved well ahead of the scheduled tasks, and reduced on-site conflicts. The 3D model became important for 4D phasing of construction task particular in the unique concrete placements which were required for the parking decks. Because of the various elevations between parking deck floors and hotel floors, the coordination of concrete formwork became difficult. The field team was able to cut specific cross sections of the concrete structure to identify exactly how the formwork needed to be placed and developed a 4D schedule using the BIM model and the MS Project schedule to synchronize these construction tasks. This coordination saved valuable construction time and reduced materials.

Figure 7 - Schedule linked to model for analysis and planning

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H P

H P H P H H

= Hotel Beams (Flat)

P H P H

P

= Parking Deck Beams (Sloped)

Structural Model Identified Formwork

P Figure 8 - model view showing various elevations between concrete placements

Another BIM advantage realized by Holder during the construction phase was code official review. Because of the detail of the 3D model city building officials were able to better understand the design concept and conduct code reviews. “This is the first good thing I’ve seen that really shows what the building will look like. This will really help me better understand the building”, Mike Powell, City of Atlanta Building Inspector. One of the difficult tasks of utilizing Building Information Modeling is being able to manage to model and all the associated updates, revisions, and changes associated with it. For this project, Holder was the model creator and the model manager. Since all of the design was in 2D, they utilized the 2D drawings to create the 3D models. Although all of the project team was able to view the model through NavisWorks, they could not modify or change anything on the model. The model itself was stored on the main server at the Holder office. The field team could access this server from remote locations. They developed a number/date system which enabled the team to track and manage various versions or updates to the model. All revisions or modifications were completed in the Holder officer by the BIM staff. As trade contractors identified issues or potential conflicts, these RFIs were sent back to the Holder office, issues

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identified, and the model updated at one central location. Nobody outside of the Holder BIM staff was able to modify or change the 3D models.

BIM Benefits Realized
By taking the initiative and incorporating BIM technology into a project with non BIM-savvy players, Holder Construction was able to achieve benefits that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Enhanced design coordination, conflict detection and resolution, the avoiding of additional costs and the easy accommodation of design change are all benefits readily attributed to BIM use on the project. Also, indirect benefits surfaced as a direct result of Holder implementing BIM. These include: BIM Champions instated at their regional offices, initiation of Holder MEP BIM action plan, updated version of BIM purchasing language, development of an automatic collision detection program and the capability of quantity extraction. As we can see, by incorporating BIM into the Aquarium Hilton Garden project Holder was able to realize benefits that affected how the project was completed as well as how Holder will address projects in the future. To begin with, creating the 3D models in ArchiCAD from the 2D drawings provided by the architect, engineers and trade contractors enabled the project team members to work with traditional CAD software while reducing the risk of using 2D models. Benefits of this coordination were seen very early in the project, as 55 critical collisions were identified during the Pre-RFI stage. Seeing the benefit of collision detection this early in the project enabled a collision detection log to be implemented, which strengthened the coordination and communication between the teams. The collision log continued to be a huge benefit to all stakeholders as an estimated $800,000 worth of collisions were detected and corrected before they were constructed. This figure is broken down in the chart below:

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Figure 9 - Collision detection value log

As one can see from the chart above, 590 collisions were identified through the 3D coordination enabled by the Navisworks software. These collisions were estimated to have potentially cost over $800,000 and over 1000 hrs. of labor, and when compared to the $40,000 cost of the 3D model one can easily see both the financial and time benefits realized through the incorporation of BIM. These collisions and solutions would not have been able to be identified without the 3D coordination among all contributing members of the project. This level of coordination is only achieved through the use of BIM and the ability of instant visualization for all members. Not only did this coordination and instant, 3D visualization allow for collision detection from the design, but also for routing conflicts within the MEP model. Traditionally, trade subcontractors install their systems without considering what space the other systems will occupy. This is not due to careless behavior but rather the difficult task of translating a 2D drawing into 3D. Through BIM, the trade subcontractors were able to visualize their systems within the building in 3D allowing for efficient installation with other teams and systems in mind. For this reason, most of the benefits seen as a result of incorporating BIM were experienced during the shop drawing phase. By supporting design through the sharing of the structural and architectural models as well as minimizing changes with MEP coordination, project members were able to Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn, Atlanta, GA  Page 13 

minimize inefficiency and costs while at the same time producing a superior product.

Figure 10 - model views used during shop drawing phase

Figure 11 - 3D model allowed easy MEP coordination

The final benefit to the project is the visualization capabilities of modeling in 3D. Through the BIM model, “the team could now see, walk through and engage in the model collectively to understand the design and construction better. The spaces they designed and approved with 2D drawings and static renderings now could be experienced in an active 3D model.” (Paul Hedgepath, BIM Project Senior Engineer). By enabling design review in which team members can virtually walk through the model, all members of the project were able to better visualize the final product as well view concrete beams protruding through ceilings and develop a quick, collaborative solution. Overall, the implementation of BIM into the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn proved to be beneficial to all members involved. From financial benefits, avoided delays and developments that will effect not only the future of the teams involved but the construction industry as a whole, BIM proved well beyond its worth during the project. As an affirmation of this, Holder as awarded the 2007 Construction Best Information Technology Solutions Award from the AGC of America for the most innovative use of technology to solve a particular business problem. Winning this award not only provides tangible evidence as to the success and benefits Holder has realized but also enables Holder to increase their marketability by solidifying their usage of BIM technology in the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn, Atlanta, GA  Page 14 

construction industry.

Figure 12 - Visualization added value for the owner

Despite the limited initial BIM objectives established for this project. The end result yielded considerable uses for the emerging construction technology that went far beyond the intent or expectations of the project team. Some of resultant uses of BIM technology in one form or another on this project included: • • • • • • • • • • Preconstruction trades scope and verification Weekly jobsite meetings Trade contractor coordination 4D phasing and scheduling animations and workflow sequencing 3 week look-ahead schedules Site logistics Document quality control and constructability review Quantity extraction and cost estimating Code official review Owner sales, presentation, and marketing

Lessons Learned
With any construction project, there are always things that went well and were successful and lessons learned about areas that need to be improved on for next time. With the implementation of BIM on this project, there were certainly some lessons learned. One of the first was in the area of software interoperability. As the 3D modelers were trying to import certain data files from 2D drawings into ArchiCad Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn, Atlanta, GA  Page 15 

software, there was not always interoperability to enable this import. Particularly, the import of MicroStation (.DGN) files. The modelers recommended that all .DGN files be converted into .DWG files to enable easy import into ArchiCad software. Also, there needs to be a file transfer procedure agreement established at the beginning of the project. This agreement would establish clear procedures for sharing and transferring files between various project team members and enable better communication between the groups. In this project, there was not a transfer agreement or standard procedure identified early in the project. Another lesson learned is to have the trade contractors brought on board as early as possible. This is not always easy depending on the type of project delivery system being utilized for the project. If possible, it is important to get trade contractors involved early in the design and constructability phase of the project. These trade contractors have the expertise and knowledge to identify potential design and constructability issues early when they can still be resolved inexpensively and with major schedule delays. The use of trade contractor coordination is important to identifying potential collisions and good collaboration between the project team. Finally, although the project team was not BIM savvy at the beginning of the project, they quickly understood the potential savings and benefits of 3D technology. The ability to visualize the design and truly understand the design intent was invaluable to the project team. The 3D models enabled the owner to see exactly what he was getting for the construction cost and be able to provide knowledgeable feedback about the design and construction. One issue identified by the team was once they had a 3D model it became difficult to translate between 2D drawing and 3D models. There was particular difficulty in anything that had not been modeled in 3D. It seemed as though the project team quickly grasped the 3D concept and most the problems on the project were associated with items that had not been modeled in 3D.

Conclusion
The Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project proved to be an excellent example of the benefits that Building Information Modeling can bring to a project. More importantly, it proved the significance of what can be achieved by a determined industry leader that sets out to make an impact on a project through pioneering innovative construction technologies. Holder Construction won the 2007 Construction Best Information Technology Solutions (BITS) Award from the Associate General Contractors of America for the most innovative use of technology to solve a particular business problem for its use of BIM technology on the Aquarium Hilton Garden Inn project.

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This project realized some excellent benefits through the utilization of BIM and certainly exceeded the expectations of the owner and other project team members. The cost benefits to the owner were significant and the unknown costs that were avoided through collaboration, visualization, understanding, and identifying conflicts early will never be known. After this project, the architect is now using BIM on all projects, the owner is using BIM for sales and marketing presentations, and the general contractor is using BIM on over 20 projects while adopting new software platforms and expanding BIM capabilities and expertise.

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