Deputy Head of the Nikken Sekkei Design Department Tomohiko Yamanashi on the possibilities of BIM technologies and the experience of using them in the bureau's projects: the House on the Water residence and the building of passenger terminal No. 3 at Narita International Airport.
Nikken Sekkei, one of the largest architecture and construction companies in Japan and in the world, is a consistent pioneer in the use and distribution of BIM technologies. Nikken Sekkei was one of the first to use and distribute BIM technologies - about five years ago. Initially, only to improve the quality of design and optimize the workflow, but with the intention of someday completely switch to BIM. Today the bureau is already creating buildings that could hardly have been realized without BIM.
Innovation made possible by BIM
The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has brought about major changes in some areas of architecture. The construction industry began to use additive technologies, which include the gaining popularity of 3D printing. In the projects Wooden Hall and the Hoki Museum, BIM data was used throughout the entire production process, right down to the management of the machines.
In architectural design, thanks to ICT, it is now possible to use simulations and modeling … Because these methods take time and effort, they previously only made sense for large buildings and only a few times during the design process. In the case of NBF Osaki Building (formerly Sony City Osaki), the BIM has been repeatedly used to get customer feedback on the property. And when creating the "On the Water" residence, the air flow, temperature drops, etc. were modeled. This approach pays off even when designing small private houses.
Computer aided design thanks to ICT, it can become a new method in which the main task of an architect is to develop a concept or an algorithm. For example, in the Kawasaki Toshiba Building, the architects created an algorithm and set the number of gratings on the facade, and the program calculated their location. The result is a complex design and design, while reducing design costs.
The fourth area of ICT application is close to the concept
"Internet of things" … An architectural object itself becomes a digital device. Sensors are attached to buildings to warn of natural disasters. Such sensors can also be used to ensure safety by capturing the movement of people. It is one of the technologies used in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Another example is the aforementioned NBF Osaki Building. The bio-shell of the building blocks the effect of the heat island around it: by detecting the level of heat and light using sensors, it circulates water and turns rainwater into steam. To effectively use a small amount of rainwater, the computer monitors its even distribution around the building.
Distribution of BIM in Japan
Currently, Nikken Sekkei uses only two or three of these innovations, but soon it will become common practice to use all four in one building. This requires a large common platform. Since ICT is based on digital information, BIM is suitable as such a platform. 2D drawings are no longer a good source of information, as are their scanned PDF versions. BIM in this sense is absolutely essential.
In Japan, BIM adoption is slow and has limited use. In the construction industry, the manufacturing system in its current state is considered to be sufficiently developed to produce high quality architecture. Mostly BIM is used by designers or general contractors to improve efficiency and quality of work. Explosive growth is hard to expect at this level.
For the spread of BIM technologies to go faster, the client must understand all the benefits that they provide. For example, in addition to what has already been said, with the help of ICT, it is possible to automatically control the loss of energy and thereby reduce the cost of building a building.
It is also important to create an environment that allows information to be digitized quickly and easily. It should be a comfortable environment in which anyone: designer, contractor or client, can easily create data for BIM and get immediate results. The key to creating such an environment is powerful and efficient BIM solutions. That's why we use ARCHICAD®.
ARCHICAD is very easy to learn, but a serious product. In addition to its high performance, this software also has another important advantage: powerful support for “OPEN BIM®-approach . It implies the use of a universal IFC file format for organizing interaction between all specialists involved in the design process. “It is especially important for architectural companies today to be able to cooperate and exchange information, regardless of the software used. Collaboration in the field of data transmission is essential. Information should not remain exclusive to one company, so the key indicator for us is the quality of data transfer from ARCHICAD to other programs,”Yamanashi comments
example from practice:
House on the water
Year: 2016
Software: GRAPHISOFT ARCHICAD, AutoCAD, STREAM
On the Water Project is a summer home located in a quiet location on the shores of Lake Chuzenjiko in Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. The two-story building stands right next to the water on a slope that drops seven meters from the road to the lake.
Recreating the project environment
The architects wanted to emphasize the secluded atmosphere of the place and create a space in which to enjoy nature. Since the owners were expecting many guests in their house, it was necessary to think about the thermal regime. But the concept did not emerge until the customer dropped the phrase that "even the cold can be pleasant." Then the architects realized that cold air is an integral part of this place, in contrast to the city, where the environment is homogeneous and regulated. From this idea, the shape of the building was born - a spiral, moving along which the guest feels that not only the view outside the window is changing, but also the temperature. The closer you get to the water, the colder it gets.
Creating this diversity has proven to be a daunting task. To solve it, detailed studies and modeling of the future building were required already at an early stage of design. It's expensive and time consuming for private homes, but ARCHICAD has made the impossible possible. The company created a special BIM group that promptly released a 3D model in ARCHICAD for further research.
“I couldn't imagine the lake view through 2D drawings at all. But by adding the surrounding mountains and landscape to the BIM model, ARCHICAD made it possible to see the project as if we were inside a future building,”says one of the authors of the project, Satoshi Onda. With ARCHICAD, it was possible to determine the best location for the building within the site, the scale of the rooms, and the shape and size of window openings.
Predictable results with BIM
“We were able to pinpoint where to stand or sit to see Mount Nantai from the best possible angle. We could analyze everything that will enter the panorama of the window, - says the head of the design department Hajime Aoyagi. "From the very beginning, not only the view was modeled, but also the thermal environment and ventilation - nothing was created by accident."
The BIM model was also useful for meetings with the client and contractors. “Since it was difficult to understand the shape of the building from the floor plan alone, we used a 3D model. Both the client and the contractor immediately understood the space, it was easy to explain our design intentions. I think it saved us a lot of trips to the construction site."
example from practice:
Passenger Terminal No. 3, Narita International Airport
Year: 2015
Software: GRAPHISOFT ARCHICAD, AutoCAD
Narita International Airport Passenger Terminal No. 3 is intended to serve low-cost airlines. With a low budget - one and a half times less than is usually spent on such a building - it was necessary to create a functional and effective building.
Optimization of the construction budget
Due to monetary restrictions, they immediately had to abandon the standard elements for the airport: the ceiling, the atrium, travelators. The number of lifts was also limited. As a result, problems arose: passengers would have to walk for a long time, the routes were confusing, the ventilation pipes were open, and it was difficult to organize navigation due to the lack of an atrium. The architects decided to change the approach to airport design standards and began to think about how to compensate for the lack of standard elements.
“Since the passenger has to walk for a long time, we must find material that will make this trip enjoyable. - says one of the authors of the project Yasumasa Motoe. "For example, a rubberized floor surface." This is how "treadmills" appeared, which not only orientated passengers, but also made the whole space more soulful.
There were many other ideas that ARCHICAD helped to visualize and check for budget or comfort.
Structures and MEP systems in BIM
“From the very beginning, we planned the design, structure and utilities as a whole, without a BIM model, this would be difficult to achieve,” says architect Wataru Tanaka. - The model turned out to be especially useful for solving the problem of the lack of a ceiling. We hid the ventilation inside the floor beams and attached signs to the beams. We had an ARCHICAD model, with the help of which we analyzed engineering networks and structures - so we understood that we were realizing the idea."
Motoe adds that there were many more ideas, but even very successful ones had to be ignored if they did not meet budget requirements or did not help create the right atmosphere for passengers. With the help of the BIM model, it also turned out to check the safety of the building, visually present it to the client and explain to the network engineers what is required of them. “When we walked through the completed building, it looked exactly like the 3D model. To be honest, it's amazing. Nevertheless, I miss the magic of ordinary blueprints that turn into three-dimensional buildings."
About Nikken Sekkei
At the turn of the 20th century, when modernization was taking over the minds of architects, a small company of twenty-nine forward-thinking architects, designers and engineers was formed in Japan to build a new library in Osaka. The critical acclaim of the completed building led to the continuation of the firm's activities. The company now has over 2,500 employees. Projects have been implemented in forty countries of the world. Nikken Sekkei is the largest - and for many the most successful architecture company in the world.
The company's attitude towards innovation has become legendary. By the 1930s, a prototype of a design revision system was created, which later evolved into a "design process innovation" aimed at strengthening collective creative thinking. In 1964 Nikken Sekkei became the first firm in Japan to use computers in architectural design.
Nikken Sekkei's projects have had a huge impact on the cityscape, especially in the Pacific region, where its presence is most strongly felt since the beginning of the 21st century. Over the years, Nikken Sekkei has been actively expanding its activities to encompass a wide range of design and construction services, from the design of commercial, industrial and cultural facilities to urban policy planning and the conceptualization of tomorrow's green cities.
