BIM overlay added to architects’ management document.

The RIBA Plan of Work is set to be overhauled for the first time in 50 years to include bim processes. The RIBA’s new Plan of Work, which organises the process of managing and designing buildings, is due to be issued in early 2013 and will also include a green overlay, as well as changes in procurement. “It’s a different way of doing things,” said Richard Brindley, executive director for membership and professional support at the RIBA. “The actual processes are still there, but how they fit together is very different.” Though still in its infancy, it is known that the new Plan of Work will identify stages by numbers rather than letters. “The bim overlay is just highlighting key aspects through the different stages that we should be looking for,” said John Orrell, member of the core review group, which is led by Dale Sinclair. So far the group has produced a draft bim-overlay document and will meet this week to finalise the changes, which will eventually feed into the new Plan of Work.

Source: BDonline

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Britain's economy slid into its second recession since the financial crisis after official data unexpectedly showed a fall in output in the first three months of 2012, piling pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron's embattled coalition government.

Most economists had expected Britain's $2.4 trillion economy to eke out modest growth in the early 2012, but these forecasts were upset by the biggest fall in construction output in three years coupled with anaemic service sector growth and a fall in industrial output.

Wednesday's figures will be a deep blow for Britain's Conservative / Liberal Democrat coalition, which has slid in opinion polls since a poorly received annual budget statement in March and risks embarrassment at local elections on May 3.

The government is also under pressure over revelations about its close relationship with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

The government desperately needs growth to achieve its overriding goal of eliminating Britain's large budget deficit over the next five years.

Britain's economy contracted by 7.1 percent during its 2008-2009 recession and recovery since has been slow, with headwinds from the euro zone debt crisis, government spending cuts, high inflation and a damaged banking sector.

Wednesday's data showed that output was still 4.3 percent below its peak in the first quarter of 2008, and the economy has only grown by 0.4 percent since the government came to power in the second quarter of 2010.

Output in Britain's service sector - which makes up more than three quarters of GDP - rose by just 0.1 percent in the first quarter after falling 0.1 percent in Q4 2011, kept down by a fall in output in the large business services and finance sector.

Industrial output was 0.4 percent lower, while construction - which accounts for less than 8 percent of GDP - contracted by 3.0 percent, the biggest fall since Q1 2009.

Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts growth of 0.8 percent this year.

Wednesday's data shows that first quarter output was no higher than a year earlier.

The Bank of England has warned that there is a risk of another contraction in the second quarter of 2012, due to an extra public holiday.

But unlike during the previous two quarters, it does not appear keen to provide further monetary stimulus through quantitative easing asset purchases, due to above-target inflation which looks stickier than before.

The BoE, and a number of private-sector economists, had argued before Wednesday that the underlying health of Britain's economy was stronger than ONS data suggested, due to relatively upbeat private-sector surveys and a fall in unemployment.

The ONS's preliminary estimates of GDP are the first released in the European Union, and are based partly on estimated data.

On average, they are revised by 0.1 percentage points up or down by the time a second revision is published two months later, but bigger moves are not uncommon.

Source: CNBC

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Yechte Consulting finalises the web development for an Art Gallery in Brussels and New-York.

Charles Riva Collection is a private, contemporary art collection situated in a beautiful 19th century townhouse in the center of Brussels. The space officially opened on April 24, 2009 with an exhibition of work by Jim Lambie. There will be two-to-four exhibitions throughout the year that will feature solo and group shows of work by artists collected over the years by Charles Riva. Charles Riva Collection is open on Thursdays - Saturdays 13h-18h30 and by appointment.

Source: charlesrivacollection.com

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Yechte Consulting finalises renders for a private spa in the United Kingdom.

March saw the strongest upturn in new construction orders since September 2007, four and a half years ago.

The monthly survey of construction industry purchasing managers reports a marked expansion of UK construction sector output, with the rate of growth accelerating for a second successive survey period and confidence strengthening.

The seasonally adjusted Markit/CIPS Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) posted 56.7 in March. Up from 54.3 in February, the index has now posted above the 50.0 no-change level that separates growth from contraction in each month since January 2011. Moreover, the latest reading pointed to the sharpest expansion of output in 21 months.

Growth was registered across all three of the broad construction categories monitored – housing, commercial and civil engineering. Commercial was again the strongest performing of the sub-sectors, in line with the recent trend. However, the increase in civil engineering activity strengthened and was the fastest since March 2011. Only a slight increase in residential construction was indicated.

A substantial rise in new business received by UK construction companies was seen in March. Growth has now been sustained for six consecutive months, and the latest rise was the sharpest since September 2007. Panellists commented that a general improvement in market activity, increased tender opportunities and long-running negotiations coming to completion had boosted new work intakes in the latest survey period.

March data signalled a rise of employment in the UK construction sector, reflective of growth of both output and new orders. However, the rate of job creation was only modest. Increased usage of sub-contractors was also indicated.

Purchasing activity rose at the fastest pace for more than four years in March, in line with a faster expansion of output requirements. Subsequently, suppliers’ delivery times lengthened again. Anecdotal evidence suggested that vendors continued to hold low inventories.

Input prices faced by UK construction companies rose sharply in March. Higher raw material costs, particularly for oil, were cited as the main driver of inflation. Nonetheless, the latest increase was below the long-run trend.

UK construction companies were optimistic in March that activity would rise over the next year. Positive sentiment strengthened to a 22-month high, indicating that confidence continued to improve. Expectations for new marketing initiatives, a more buoyant outlook among clients, rising tender opportunities and company expansions are all anticipated to support growth. Nonetheless, optimism remained below the historical average.

Markit chief economist Chris Williamson said: “The good weather appears to have led to a surge in demand for construction projects in March, adding to the recent flow of good news which suggests the economy will have skirted a recession.

“Construction companies reported the largest monthly rise in new orders for four-and-a-half years, driving building activity higher at the fastest rate since mid-2010. Coupled with increasing activity recorded in the first two months of the year, this bodes well for the sector’s contribution to overall growth of the economy in the first quarter and will raise hopes that the country has avoided a slide back into recession.

“Looking ahead, the lack of big new projects such as Crossrail and the Olympics means expectations about the year ahead continued to run well below the pre-crisis peaks, but business confidence nevertheless reached the highest for nearly two years, driven up by expectations of increases in new order intakes and improving client optimism.

“The particularly encouraging news is that the improvement in confidence is generating more jobs, with employment rising modestly.”

Source: The Construction Network

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New York practice Pei Cobb Freed has joined the race to design a new European headquarters in the City of London for investment bank Goldman Sachs.

BD understands the practice, which has worked on schemes in Canary Wharf, is one of three firms chasing the commission. The other two are Foster’s and KPF – and not SOM as previously reported.

The US bank is looking at building its new office on Farringdon Street and switching staff from a series of offices elsewhere in the City. Any new building would have to be limited to 15 storeys to avoid blocking views of nearby St Paul’s Cathedral.

Pei Cobb Freed designed a building for Credit Suisse bank in the 1990s but its work in the UK has been limited since then. It was one of the firms to miss out on the chance to design the new US embassy building at Nine Elms, which was won by rival US firm Kieran Timberlake.

Source: BDonline

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BIM enables the design team to work together to model every detail of a building.

Up until the 1980s, the main purpose of architectural models was as a presentational material, to show clients and stakeholders how a concept would look as a finished building. They were often made to a very high standard, but could be expensive, fragile and cumbersome. Drawing and modelling were also often laborious processes.

If major amendments were needed after technical information and costs had been fed into the detailed specification and tender package, you would literally have to “go back to the drawing board” and start again.

Advances in technology have allowed designers to cut the time they spend on models and drawings, and have also enabled greater accuracy of design. The introduction of more advanced computing into mainstream business during the 1980s saw computer aided design take off across a number of industries. CAD is used extensively to design everything from shampoo bottles to cars, trains and buildings. This has automated much of the redrawing and remodelling process.

The introduction of 3D CAD, which was developed in the 1980s but became more mainstream in the 1990s and 2000s, further increased the quality of design. With 3D CAD there is no need for the designer to imagine how 2D objects fit together, therefore reducing errors.

Advantages of BIM

BIM offers benefits for everyone involved in construction projects, including clients, designers, contractors, suppliers and facilities managers.
The government has recognised this, and adopted a strategy that all projects worth more than £5 million will be managed using BIM by 2016. This is another good reason for companies to adopt BIM.

Early design clarity

Late design changes can result in extra cost and delays to a project. With BIM, architectural models, structural models and MEP models can be brought together to carry out virtual testing and highlight conflicting design decisions.

These errors can then be rectified very early in the process. For example, if an architect specifies a window and a structural engineer specifies a beam that conflict, this will be picked up immediately.

Likewise, if a specification does change, BIM can be used to ensure that no new clashes are introduced. To give an example, if a 20mm hardwood floor covering is specified and the client demands a re-specification to 3mm LVT Designflooring, the BIM software will alert the specifier to the conflict with door frame heights and door sizes.

Virtual testing

BIM allows the creation of a building virtually before it is built, so virtual testing can be done early on in the design process to ensure that standards are met.

Aspects of the design that can be tested include:

• Consumption of energy
• Carbon emission rates
• Airflow
• Daylighting

By visualising daylighting, for example, the project team can ensure that skylights are installed at the correct angle and the right size to let in sufficient light. This avoids the need to replace a non-conforming skylight at the end of a build, saving money and time.

Improved visualisations

Architectural models have come a long way since the pre-CAD era of wood, cardboard and glue.

By using 3D studio maps, details can be highlighted and highly detailed planning undertaken, not just by the project team but by the client and end user. BIM visualisations can be used in a number of ways:

• Simulating pedestrian use

Pedestrian simulations can be included to view the density of use and identify bottlenecks, flow rates, queue sizes, journey times and so on. Such information has been used to alter timetables for schools and determine optimum numbers of students.

• Close design analysis

3D parametric models can be used to identify the specifics of products used, for example, in walls and floors, as BIM objects can include a variety of details.

• Fit-out design

Room loading can also be completed early on to ensure accessibility standards are met with the introduction of furniture, for example under the Disability Discrimination Act.

• Managing time & budget

Time and cost are often referred to as the fourth and fifth dimensions of BIM.

By incorporating all of the elements of a construction project, including the time scale, BIM can establish sequencing early on in a project and flag up whether there are any potential clashes in the programme. This can avert delays and, by consequence, save additional costs. For example, when time is added to the model, detailed visualisations of the following can take place:

• What is being done at any given moment
• Activities on a certain date
• What plant is needed
• What hoardings are needed
• Impact on the local area

At present, the major software packages do not automate this process and major revisions still need reworking, but it is a good start.

Cost information can then be added to form the 5D model, including:

• Quantities
• Labour
• Schedule
• Equipment

Rates can then be added, to better understand the cost of the build at a micro scale.

BIM Academy case study

The BIM Academy cites a real-life example from the US.

The use of BIM on a recent project highlighted a structural beam conflict with a sprinkler pipe, enabling it to be immediately rectified.

If it had not been dealt with at an early stage, the conflict would have become apparent during construction, after all the structural supports had been set. In other words, it would have cost $4,664 per clash, which, as there would have been 10 instances per storey, would have risen to $46,640. And as it was a 15-storey building, the total cost would have been $699,600.

It would have incurred the following costs per clash:

• $3,800 for replacing materials
• $205 for removing the beam with a crane
• $195 for installing the new beam with a crane
• $464 for cutting the hole for the pipe in the beam

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Yechte Consulting launches its Demo Reel for fiscal year 2011-2012

31 redundancies in Leeds and Manchester

Careyojnes Chapmantolcher’s two northern offices have gone into administration, resulting in 31 redundancies.

The London-based practice’s offices in Leeds and Manchester – collectively known as Studio North – will close as a result of a “greatly reduced workload”.

Joint administrator Mike Kienlen of Armstrong Watson said: “Careyjones Chapmantolcher is one of the best known architectural practices in the UK and has a national reputation for high-quality award-winning schemes.

“Eighteen months ago, the business adopted a new structure, dividing its operations into north and south. Unfortunately, the northern company has suffered particularly badly from the poor financial conditions in the property market which have delayed the start of many of its projects.

“Rather than waiting for cash-flow problems to escalate, the management has taken decisive action in order to protect as many of its creditors as possible.”

Tim Tolcher of Careyjones Chapmantolcher added: “The London-based group company will be maintaining and developing its national presence and continuing to provide a high level of service to all of our clients.”

Last April the practice submitted plans for student housing in Salford.

Source: BDonline

Yechte Consulting finalises modelisation for a concept shopping mall.