An international agreement has led to the establishment of a branch of one of the world's most prestigious universities, Paris-Sorbonne, in the heart of Abu Dhabi. The construction of the new campus, which required the integration of complex elements, was completed on schedule. Tekla Structures software was used by Al Habtoor Murray and Roberts Joint Venture to combine all the building elements without any delays.
Managed by modeling
In 2006, Paris-Sorbonne University and the Abu Dhabi government signed an international agreement to establish a French-speaking higher education facility in the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The University opened its doors for its first phase of operation in August 2009. The second and final phase, scheduled for completion in August 2010, was finally completed ahead of schedule.
A site where concrete and steel are in harmony
When the first structural elements were delivered to the site of the new university campus, an alignment problem arose between the steel and concrete elements. Tekla Structures building information modeling (BIM) software was then used by Al Habtoor Murray and Roberts Joint Venture (HMR) to validate the construction of the structures.
Validation and construction
Coordination between our company, the main developer and the subcontractors responsible for the steel structures and facades proved to be a real challenge, which we were able to overcome thanks to Tekla software. Changes made to the construction model from the design model were communicated to the subcontractors so that they could take them into account when manufacturing the steel and reinforced concrete structures. In this way, we were able to avoid later conflicts and possible delays on site, while speeding up the installation process.
We used Trimble survey equipment to obtain the construction coordinates, which were superimposed on the Tekla model to validate them against the exact theoretical positions of the parts in the design model," explains Ron Brinkman.
Impressive productivity gains
"Productivity, efficiency and accuracy of operations have increased impressively with the use of BIM in the advanced stages of the project," recounts Ron Brinkman. "Rework in the design, fabrication and erection of the steel structures and façade elements was considerably reduced thanks to the validation of the construction of the main structural elements: columns, beams and other parts that had already been built."
"I believe that by using BIM, we were able to reduce the lead time by 50%, or even more if you consider that if we hadn't used building information modeling, each steel structure would have had to be installed so that its difference from the concrete structure could be measured, and then would have had to be uninstalled and sent back to the fabrication shop for modification, before its final reinstallation."
BIM is an extraordinary tool
MR is considered a pioneer in the application of the BIM approach to tendering, pre-construction, construction and construction validation. This joint venture currently employs fully dedicated, expert and trained BIM teams, who play a "centralizing" role in the design-build phase of projects. Since its adoption, Building Information Modeling has been used for many major projects, such as the St Regis resort and Trump Tower, as well as for multiple tenders.
BIM comes into play in many phases of work at HMR, including quantity surveying and 5D estimating, 4D planning simulation, model design coordination, drawing production for reinforced concrete elements, equipment and construction planning, liaison with surveying equipment, supply chain management, progress monitoring and reporting, and construction validation of structural elements.
