The giant project consisting of the Mall of Triplex shopping centre, offices, apartments and a hotel won the Tekla BIM Awards 2019. The project made extensive use of information modelling and experimented with new technological solutions in an open-minded way. The jury concluded that this nationally significant project would not have been possible without information modelling, and in a public vote Tripla was called an exemplary project for the digital future.
Huge building complex in Pasila
Tripla is a three-block complex with a total area of approximately 360 000 brm2. The Mall of Tripla is the largest shopping centre in Finland in terms of the number of commercial premises. With Tripla, Central Pasila will become the new and vibrant centre of Helsinki, connecting East and West Pasila and the new residential areas to the north and south. Construction started in 2015 and the shopping centre and Pasila station opened to users in October 2019. The rest of the Triplea will be completed in phases during 2019-2020.
The entire design was done using information modelling
The benefits of extensive information modelling from the structural engineer's point of view were, for example, illustration of design solutions to other parties, easy access to and accuracy of quantity data, error-free matching and the use of up-to-date reference files, such as hole reservations, in the information model. The data models and the visualisations based on them proved to be essential, for example, in project negotiations with public authorities and in marketing. The common model allowed the coordination of structures and infrastructures, which was essential for the timely delivery of plans from the different design disciplines. Both the drawings and the data model were provided to the client.
"The modelling work started five years ago, and during the project 21 different versions of the model were produced," says Ramboll structural engineer Ilkka Mikkola. "The right information was filtered from them, with one planning the design phase and the other the implementation phase. We met with the architect in the early stages of the implementation modelling and looked at the situation floor by floor and block by block. The hole rotation went well, even though it took four years, with reservations and coordination right up to the opening of the shopping centre. The challenge was also posed by the largest steel structures and the IV machine rooms in the event area, which had to fit into very tight spaces." The quantity data created for the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) models for the Precast Concrete Element Design Guidelines (BEC project) was extended for the site by adding, among other things, the information on the placement areas of the cast-in-place formwork to the IFC model for the calculation of formwork quantities. The Finite Element Method (RFEM) software was used to perform the structural analysis and calculation. The data was transferred manually between the calculation software and Tekla Structures. In addition, AutoCAD and RC CADS software were used to document the frame.
At its best, the Tekla Model Sharing service had up to 70 people using the shared model, and in the busiest years, the hundreds of mega files were updated even on Christmas Eve. Mikkola made several trips to India to teach local Ramboll designers and draftsmen how to use Tekla.
"The schedule was tight, but we stuck to it well and there were few conflicts," says Mikkola. "One office building was designed every month, and the site progressed faster than any other in Finland. We formed an enthusiastic and committed team that remained more or less the same throughout the project."
Ramboll's BIM & Digi Center department manager Heikki Arvio considers the promotion of a participatory information model-based approach to be the project's greatest achievement. It was also great to see how our long-term and systematic development work at Ramboll paid off and we were able to meet the challenges of a massive project. The company also provided Tripla with the electrical and geotechnical engineering.
A record-breaking project for the developer completed ahead of schedule
Tripla is the largest project ever undertaken by developer-general contractor YIT, both in terms of square metres and euros, and also the most profitable, says virtual construction leader
Janne Salin
, who was responsible for the information modelling work on site.
"Tripla was completed 1.5 years earlier than originally planned," says Salin. "The main reason for this was a change in the production schedule. The project involved demolishing one part of the old Pasila station and building a temporary station in its place. The data model helped to outline the production options. The station situation also influenced the completion of the shopping centre and the apartments, as they are interlinked."
Salin was given free rein to take the project's data modelling forward, choosing the software and organising user support. In total, around 200 staff were involved in the project, a quarter of whom used the models on a daily basis, each user group from designers to production in their own way.
"The model was most useful by looking at the building services penetrations, for example, and planning the forks of the escalators in the narrow space in advance," Salin says. "One of the most important tasks of a project manager is to master the design so that the right things are planned at the right time. Having an aggregation model makes the project manager's life much easier, and having an up-to-date planning package means the project manager can always check where the planning is progressing. I feel that the client has been successful when designers insist on having a model to better plan the whole. The use of the model facilitated coordination, cooperation and communication with the city on matters such as permits, and avoided potential delays caused by complaints. It is also noteworthy that the largest competing structural design offices in Finland were involved and all of them used Tekla in harmony. That made things much easier."
Data model always visible in Big Room meetings
Gravicon, a consultancy specialising in multi-disciplinary information modelling services, was involved in the project since 2014. Gravicon's BIM coordinator Mikko Soininvaara was involved in the data model coordination of the shopping centre and car park design.
"I am really pleased that the developer appreciated the modelling and that it was used in so many places," says Soininvaara. "In the weekly Big Room meetings, there were two big screens, one of which had a data model visible at all times to illustrate the point under discussion. It made it easier to communicate in a large group, and all the locations became familiar.
"You remember by heart where each pumping station and heat room is, and the model helped us locate the HVAC ducts. The looping was done really early on and on the other hand kept open as long as possible to accommodate the tenants' wishes."
"The data model was so heavy that it was a good bet to block out the apartment-specific slices in IFC format so that a technically skilled interior designer could use them," Soininvaara adds. "This filtering of model data for the right need, or 'Simple BIM splitting', is what I am marketing for future projects."
The largest hybrid project in the country and a leading LEED retail centre
The IT challenge in architectural design was the increasing size of the models, which could be managed by splitting the models into smaller entities and separating the publication and documentation from the actual building component models. The challenges of the decision timetable were addressed by agreeing on an email protocol. Product component deliveries for facades were modelled at the detail level, and these models were used by other design disciplines. This ensured that the façades would have a spectacular architectural appearance.
Kalle Soini of Architects Soini & Horto Oy was responsible for the architectural design of the entire Tripla with an open attitude towards information modelling. The firm decided at its inception that all its projects would be modelled.
"Due to its large size, the project had to be divided into four main designers, and without modelling, a project with such a large amount of information could not have been carried out," says Soini.
"Tripla is the largest hybrid project in the country, a multi-use project, and in that sense it is any architect's dream project. We are honoured to have been involved in creating a building that will remain in place for at least the next 100 years. It was also great to be able to contribute to the ecological footprint of the site. Tripla is aiming for the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) score of any shopping centre in Finland. At the same time, it was important to understand that this was a market-driven project, not a public one. The shopping centre will live off the rental of commercial space."
Tripla employed more than 100 building services engineers
Granlund Oy had more than 100 building services engineers involved at different stages of the project, says Juho Lepistö, an HVAC engineer who was involved in the project for five years. Granlund was responsible for the HVAC, building automation and fire-fighting design.
"Tripla is the largest single property we have designed, and it brought us many lessons learned and successes. No two properties are the same, and the tight schedule and the large number of changes inherent in the nature of the site presented their own challenges. The data model had to be kept up to date in order to be able to comment on tenants' wishes. At best, there were dozens of designers working on the same part of the building at the same time, in slightly different locations and on different floors, while construction was going on at the same time."
Lepistö praises Gravicon's Mikko Soininvaara as BIM coordinator. "In that role, it's important to focus on the essentials and ensure that the model is viewed at the right level of detail for the stage and situation of the project. The quality of designs is currently measured too much by the number of collisions. We have a huge amount more information in the model than just a modelled pipeline; including all the calculations that can show at any time how much air, noise and power is in the system. The integrity of the systems and the sizing calculations are primarily more important to us in the modelling than the rubbing of small bumps in the pipes."
"The building services installers used the combined models on their laptops directly on site. In the next project, Gravicon will also apply 4D scheduling, which will require long-term commitment from contractors."
Model data was used extensively in production planning
Trimble software was used in the project to prepare and build the construction. Tekla was also used for modelling by the casting contractor and the reinforcement manufacturer, and Tekla Warehouse prefabricated parts were used in the project. Reference models from all design disciplines were used as design input for structural, element and mechanical design. The model information was fed into the production planning by distributing the model to the steel component manufacturer and their production management information system. Site coordination and information flow was facilitated by a continuously updated area model, which was distributed to more than 400 people via the cloud to help with logistics planning. All in all, thousands of professionals from different disciplines were involved in the project.
"The data model certainly helped with logistics planning, but it wasn't as useful from a fleet perspective as it could have been in theory," says Juuli Sild, a developer in Ramirent's planning services. "So there is still room for improvement. For example, fall protection was not modelled, which made it difficult to order quantities.
If all the equipment, quantities and schedules can be linked to the data model, it will reduce the waste associated with temporary equipment enormously. Juuli Sild, Design Services Developer, Ramirent Finland Oy
The main benefit for us was still the visual aspect, i.e. the fact that the matching points can be viewed at different levels and that people who speak different languages can easily understand what the model is about. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for the 4D modelling."
Sild was also responsible for traffic management on the site. For years, Ramirent has been investing in modelling, introducing new software, training staff and creating 3D objects for its own product categories. The library already contains hundreds of products. Ramirent invests in design automation and continuous development.
"We want to be ready when the whole site is included in the data model," says Sild. "Modelling the site helps us to better understand the needs of the site. It's a good idea to plan the site logistics and equipment well in advance to get more accurate quantity and cost data. Logistics should also be linked to the production schedule in good time to avoid hasty changes on site - which increase costs. However, the contractor must understand that we need to be involved as early as possible in thinking about where and when which equipment is needed. Above all, construction is a team effort."
The parties involved in the project
Developer/Subscriber: YIT Oyj
Main contractor: YIT Oyj
Main and architectural design: architects Soini & Horto Oy
Structural, geo- and electrical design by Ramboll Finland Oy
HVAC, building automation and sprinkler design by Granlund Oy
Data coordination: by Gravicon Oy
3D space design and logistics: Ramirent Finland Oy
Triple in brief
Investment of €1.2 billion
Gross area 360 000m2
Data models (IFC) approx. 100 pcs
On-site cast concrete 170 000 m3
Precast concrete elements 24 000 units
Workshop premises over 5000 m2
Watch a video about the project:
