Building Information Modeling

From An Engineer’s View

Dipl.-Ing. Christof Lorenz I Nemetschek AG I November 15, 2012

Photo: marcwinkel.de
Company Portrait

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 Company Portrait

Nemetschek Allplan GmbH

 member of the Nemetschek group, Europe’s largest vendor for A/E/C
software (Architecture, Engineering, Construction)
 subsidiary with the highest revenue
 worldwide operating software vendor for architects, structural and civil
engineers, contractors and authorities
 more than 25 years experience in software development for the A/E/C
industry
 Allplan product family with solutions for CAD, building costs management,
CAE and Facility Management, with more than 60.000 users, available in 20
languages
 3 development centers in Munich, Bratislava and Sofia
 sales channel with worldwide network of qualified sales partners

Headquarters in Munich

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 What is BIM?

BIM – Building Information Modeling

 term has been coined by Jerry Laiserin, an A/E/C industry analyst and
editor of the LaiserinLetter, see www.laiserin.com

 definition
 “Building information modeling is a process of representation, which
creates and maintains multidimensional, data-rich views throughout a
project lifecycle.

Jerry Laiserin
 objectives
 communication (sharing data)
 collaboration (acting on data)
 simulation (using data for prediction)
 optimization (using feedback to improve design, documentation and
delivery)

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Allplan – Product Family

Facility
Architecture
Management

Building
Contractors
Costs

Allplan
platform

Precast Structural
Plants Engineering

Building Building
Systems Physics
4
 Levels of Application of CAD Software

Level 1 – Digital Drawing Board

 traditional approach, still used by some existing customers
 ceiling plans, elevations and sections are manually drawn, bending
schedules are managed manually
2D objects / 2D reinforcement

Level 2 – Hybrid Approach

 pragmatic approach, based on 2D general arrangement drawings a 3D
reinforcement model is created
 elevations, sections and bending schedules are automatically derived
 especially beneficial, if no 3D building model is available
2D objects / 3D reinforcement

Level 3 – Building Information Modeling

 recommended approach for highest productivity and quality
 ceiling plans, elevations, sections and bending schedules are automatically
derived
 especially beneficial for projects with complex geometrical shape and
frequent design modifications
3D objects / 3D reinforcement 5
 Comparison of Productivity 2D versus 3D

Reinforcement Design and Detailing in 3D

 ceiling views, elevations, sections, quantities and bending schedules are
derived from an intelligent building model
 collisions and other issues can be detected during the design process
Reinforcement Design and Detailing in 2D  modifications of building objects and reinforcement are automatically and
Wall corner consistently updated in all drawings and schedules
Allplan Engineering
30:45 min
Traditional Approach
 ceiling views, elevations and sections are manually produced and
completely independent from each other
 bending schedule is managed manually
 risk of inconsistent design documents, especially if modifications occur

Reinforcement Design and Detailing in 3D

Wall corner
Benefits
Allplan Engineering  considerable time savings through optimized work processes
8:45 min  clear and consistent design documents
 improved comfort
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 From the 3D Model to 2D Drawings

How to derive Drawings according to local Practice from a 3D Model?

3D Model Approval Drawing GA Drawing Reinforcement Drawing

 drawing types enable completely different content and presentation

 required are different views on the same model
 solution with so called line and face styles for 3D and 2D approach

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 Reinforcement Design and Detailing in 3D

Free, interactive Reinforcement Design and Detailing in 3D

Individually shaped members can be
reinforced rapidly
 software philosophy perfectly suitable for highly individual construction
projects
 unique automatic formwork finder technology (FF reinforcement)
 predefined reinforcement groups (FF components)
 reinforcement can be adapted by grips
 enormous efficiency and flexibility compared with other solutions

Traditional Approach
 time-consuming definition of bar shape and manual placement

Benefits
Free reinforcement of individual
components  from the beginning on high productivity, even for individually shaped
Socket foundation members
Foundation for wind turbine
Digestion tower  working consequently in 3D ensures high quality standards by avoiding
Bridge abutment
inconsistencies, collisions and other design faults
Allplan Engineering
2:35 min or 10:13 min
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 Round-Trip Engineering
A complete building model can be
transfered to Scia Engineer
Integrated CAD solution with structural
analysis
Office building made from cast-in-
place concrete
Allplan Engineering
Scia Engineer
6:18 min or 21:49 min
Integrated Design: CAD and CAE
 transfer of the structural model from the CAD system Allplan to the CAE
software Scia Engineer
 analytical model derived from the structural model
 tracking of design changes
 required reinforcement and steel sections can be transferred back to Allplan
Traditional Approach
 cumbersome reentry of the geometry in the CAE software
 manual creation of the analytical model
 time-consuming search and incorporation of design modifications
Benefits
 considerable time-savings through avoiding double entries
 better clarity and quality through update mechanism
 improved comfort
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Round-Trip Engineering: Working with different Models

Architectural Model
 architect’s view (Allplan Architecture)
 contains all visible objects
(walls, curtain walls, windows, doors, railings, shading elements)

Structural Model
 structural draftsmen's view (Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer)
 contains all load-bearing members (walls, slabs, beams, columns,
foundations, …)
 non-bearing objects are hidden
(thermal insulation, curtain walls, windows, doors, railings, shading
elements)

Analytical Model
 structural engineer’s view (Scia Engineer)
 3D members are simplified to lines (1D) and planes (2D) and transferred
into a valid structural system
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 Round-Trip Engineering: Data Transfer

Data Transfer from Allplan to Scia Engineer

 structural model is transferred from the CAD system Allplan to the structural
analysis software Scia Engineer

The structural model is exported from Traditional Approach

Allplan to …
 cumbersome reentry of the geometry in the CAE software

Benefits
 considerable time-savings through avoiding double entries
 improved comfort
… to Scia Engineer …

… where the analytical model is

derived
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 Round-Trip Engineering: Derivation of the Analytical System

Deriving the Analytical System

 automatically derived from the structural model
 3D members are simplified to lines (1D) and planes (2D)
 system lines and planes are connected to a valid structural system

Traditional Approach
Analytical model for a steel structure
 manual specification of the analytical system from the scratch
 alternatively connecting elements manually

Benefits
 considerable time-savings through avoiding double entries
 improved comfort

Analytical model for a concrete structure

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 Round-Trip Engineering: Model Comparison

Update Mechanism
 modified model is transferred again from Allplan to Scia Engineer
 changes between old and new model are detected and highlighted
 changes can be individually accepted or rejected
Changes are detected and graphically  structural analysis can be performed again immediately, since all necessary
highlighted
information is already available

Traditional Approach
 search for design changes
 manual adaption of the analytical model
 alternatively complete reentry of geometry, support conditions, material
properties and loads

Benefits
 repeated time-savings through preserving the model
 better clarity and quality
 improved comfort
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 Round-Trip Engineering: Optimization

Bidirectional Exchange of Reinforcement

Structural model with reinforcement in
Allplan
 particularity of reinforced concrete structure: optimization usually happens
not by modifying sections, but by adjusting the amount of reinforcement
 design in the ultimate limit state is performed with Scia Engineer
 reinforcement detailing is carried out with Allplan
 transfer of the reinforcement model from Allplan to Scia Engineer
 verifications in the serviceability limit state (deflections, cracks) with Scia
Engineer based on the detailed reinforcement model

Traditional Approach
… to Scia Engineer …  simplified verification of the serviceability – may lead to unnecessarily large
member dimensions and reinforcement quantities

Benefits
Structural model with
reinforcement in Scia Engineer  highly accurate results
 more efficient structures
 improved comfort
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 Round-Trip Engineering: Workflow in the Engineering Office

Structural Engineer Architectural Model

Architect, Draftsmen
Structural Model
Structural Draftsmen
Analytical Model
Structural Engineer

 defines structural system

 defines loads
 performs structural analysis
and design
 masters structural analysis Architectural CAD Structural CAD
Architect, Draftsmen Structural Draftsmen
software

Structural Analysis Structural Analysis

Structural Draftsmen Structural Engineer Structural Engineer

 creates general arrangement and reinforcement drawings

 performs structural detailing
 masters CAD software

Conclusion
 definition of the structural system and loads not should happen in the CAD software, but in the structural
analysis software

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 Round-Trip Engineering: Workflow in the Engineering Office

Nemetschek Integration Architectural Model

Architect, Draftsmen
Structural Model
Structural Draftsmen
Analytical Model
Structural Engineer

 analytical model is defined in

structural analysis software

Benefits
 respects established workflow Allplan Architecture Allplan Engineering
Architect, Draftsmen Structural Draftsmen
 structural engineer continues to work in the
structural analysis software and is responsible
Scia Engineer Scia Engineer
for the definition of structural system, loads, etc. Structural Engineer Structural Engineer

 functionality of the structural analysis software is fully available

Drawback
 less attractive for vendors of structural analysis software, due to higher development effort
 on the first glance less attractive for the customer, as integration is less obvious

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 Round-Trip Engineering: Workflow in the Engineering Office

Classic Integration Architectural Model

Architect, Draftsmen
Structural Model
Structural Draftsmen
Analytical Model
Structural Engineer

 analytical model is defined in

the CAD software

Benefits
 attractive for vendors of Architectural CAD Structural CAD Structural CAD
Architect, Draftsmen Structural Draftsmen Structural Draftsmen
structural analysis software,
due to lower development effort
Structural Analysis
 attractive for customers, since only one program must be mastered Structural Engineer

Drawbacks
 unfamiliar workflow, structural engineer must accustom himself to CAD software
 structural system, loads etc. cannot be defined by structural draftsmen
 functionality of the structural analysis software is usually not fully available (e.g. wind and snow,
earthquakes, fire)

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 Design2Cost

Integrated Design: CAD and Building Costs

 bill of materials is derived from the intelligent building model
 every object is linked with one or several items in the bill of materials
 prices are stored in database and can be easily adjusted
 comparison of design variants supported

An object is linked with several items in

the BOM Traditional Approach
 quantities are computed manually
 manual compilation of the bill of materials
 during many design stages no reliable price quotes possible

Integrated CAD solution with building Benefits

costs management
Hall in skeleton construction
 huge time savings
Allplan Engineering  comfortable, reliable and transparent building costs management
Allplan BCM
9:01 min or 15:47 min

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 Infrastructure

Civil Engineering Work: Bridges, Tunnels and Dams

 Allplan Engineering and Allplan Terrain optimally complement each other
 dedicated bridge and civil engineering modeler for elongated engineering
structures and earthworks
Engineering structure tunnel
Drilled and blasted tunnel
Traditional Approach
Allplan Engineering
Allplan Terrain  design and detailing almost exclusively done in 2D
3:47 min or 8:28 min

Benefits
Engineering structure dam
Arch dam and surrounding terrain
Allplan Terrain
1:23 min
 avoids time-consuming work with multiple systems
 shortened training period
 optimized interdisciplinary teamwork
 consideration of real ground level and the surrounding road system
 working consequently in 3D ensures high quality standards by avoiding
inconsistencies, collisions and other design faults
 convincing design documents for professional presentations

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 Efficient Communication

Interactive 3D PDF Documents

 illustration of designs with visualizations
 illustration of complex details with isometric views or exploded drawings
 providing documents with drawings, schedules and interactive 3D models
that can be viewed with the free Adobe Reader to design partners, clients
and site managers
A 3D model can be viewed interactively in
the free Adobe Reader

Traditional Approach
 time-consuming production of visualizations from fixed points of view
 time-consuming production of numerous 2D details

Benefits
Communication with 3D PDF documents
 better mutual understanding
Highly reinforced precast column
Allplan Engineering  fewer inquiries
Adobe Acrobat Extended Pro  time-savings through reduced effort to create visualizations und details
1:37 min

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 What hampers the transition to BIM?

output

building information
modeling

investment

return

Does the new approach turn out to be

profitable?
digital drawing board

time

Digital Drawing Board

 first results are visible immediately after project start

Building Information Modeling

 high effort for creation of 3D model, without immediately visible results
(e.g. drawings)
 benefits become visible on a later stage of the design process 21
User Projects – Building

Orchidea Tower, Bukarest (201x - 201x)

 BEHF Ebner Hasenauer Ferenczy ZT, Wien (A)
 Inginerie Structurala, Bukarest (RO)
 Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer

 butterfly-shaped office building with 23 stories

and 77.000 m² gross building area
 frequent earthquakes necessitated a spatial
composite structure out of steel and concrete
 integrated design, building model has been
used for structural analysis and general
arrangement and reinforcement drawings

“Most important was checking the structure

against earthquake. The entire behavior of the
building was taken into consideration, including
the soil-structure interaction.”
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User Projects – Buildings

Office Building, Vilnius (2009 - 2011)

 HKT Architekten, Hamburg (D)
 Conserela, Vilnius (LT)
 Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer

 office complex with 8 stories and 6.500 m²

gross building area
 geometrically challenging situation between
existing buildings
 to save space, slabs of the parking level are
sloped and a load-bearing façade is used

“Using Allplan helped to reduce the amount of

errors. Some details were provided as 3D PDF
documents to the construction site. It was
extremely helpful to automatically produce the
bending schedules.”
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User Projects – Buildings

Residential and Commercial Buildings, Druten

(2008 - …)
 Adams Bouwadviesbureau, Druten (NL)
 Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer

 integrated BIM approach of architects and

engineers
 3D model has been used for structural analysis,
the automated derivation of drawings and for
quantity take-off

“From the 3D model, architectural drawings and

engineering drawings (general arrangement
and reinforcement drawings) have been
derived. Any changes in one discipline are
automatically considered in the other discipline.
Through additional effort at the beginning, time
could be saved over the entire project.”
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User Projects – Buildings

Showroom, Hapert (2011 - 2012)

 van der Sande, Bladel (NL)
 J. H. de Kwaadsteniet, Bladel (NL)
 Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer

 show room for a furniture plant

 structure made of steel beams and columns,
hollow-core slabs and reinforced concrete walls
 3D model was created in Allplan and has been
used for structural analysis and design as well
as for drawing generation

“The combination of two programs made it

possible to base structural analysis and drawing
production on the same model. With this
approach, all aspects of a building project can
be considered.”
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User Projects – Buildings

University Campus, Trnava (2010 - 2012)

 PROMA, Žilina (SK)
 HESCON, Trenčín (SK)
 Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer

 5 story campus building 119 m long, 20 m wide,

18 m high
 semi-prefabricated reinforced concrete
structure, façade supported by steel purlin,
foundation on piles
 main challenge was to find an optimal structural
arrangement for coping with the heavy load-
bearing structure

“One of the greatest benefits is the automatic

adaption of reinforcement when modifying
structural elements. This leads to reduced
design costs.”
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User Projects – Buildings

Branch Rabobank, Roermond (2010 - 2011)

 Engelman Architecten, Roermond (NL)
 van der Werf en Nass, Maastricht (NL)
 Allplan Engineering

 shape of the building resembles a snake raising

its head and was inspired by a sculpture of the
artist Isamu Noguchi
 load-bearing structure was very challenging,
due to a highly unconventional load-transfer
 made of precast concrete elements, only the
sub-structure uses cast-in place concrete

“From the building model, not only the drawings

were generated. It was also the optimal mean
to determine the appropriate assembly order.”

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User Projects – Buildings

Extension of Ferihegy Airport, Budapest

(2008 - 2010)
 KÖZTI, Budapest (H)
 KÉSZ Building and Construction, Budapest (H)
 Allplan Engineering

 extensive refurbishment of 2 existing terminals,

construction of commercial area “Sky Court”
 70 m wide steel roof structure, sub-structure
made of 7.000 m³ of reinforced concrete
 challenging details, e.g. to connect heavily
reinforced beams (with 46 Ø 32) and columns

“Allplan Engineering made our work a lot easier.

We checked for clashes between reinforced
concrete and steel structures. All structures
have been build without serious issues.”
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User Projects – Buildings

College for Television and Film, Munich (2008

- 2011)
 Peter Böhm Architekten, Cologne (D)
 Sailer Stepan und Partner, Munich (D)
 Allplan Engineering

 8-story, 150 m long movie and lecture hall with

multi-colored fair-faced concrete and curtain
walls
 joint-less reinforced-concrete and steel
structure with spans up to 30 m
 load-transfer through two three-story trusses
inside the corridor walls

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User Projects – Buildings

Kamppi Chapel of Silence, Helsinki

(2011 - 2012)
 Arkkitehtitoimisto K2S, Helsinki (FIN)
 Vahanen, Helsinki (FIN)
 Allplan Engineering

 wooden curved façade and inner walls, glulam

columns and reinforced concrete structure
 extremely strict acoustic demands heavily
influenced structural design
 floor plans, sections, details, rebar schedules
and CNC files derived from a one Allplan model

“Allplan Engineering is a powerful program for

this kind of complex free-shape constructions.
Its hard to imagine to make construction
drawings without a program like Allplan.”
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User Projects – Buildings

Anchor Plaza Office Building, Bucharest

(201x - 201x)
 B-Design, Istanbul (TR)
 Z Group_Birou de Structuri, Bucharest (RO)
 Allplan Engineering

 office building with 27 stories and 75.000 m²

gross building area and a height of 99 m
 poor soil required a raft foundation supported
by 30 m long and 1,2 m diameter piles
 frequent earthquakes necessitated a composite
structure out of steel tubes filled with reinforced
concrete

“It is really helpful to see connection joints in

Allplan, especially in mixed steel and concrete
structures, and to realize potential problems
that could occur during execution works.” 31
User Projects – Civil Structures

Gotthard Base Tunnel, Erstfeld - Bodio (1996

- 2016)
 Gähler und Partner, Ennetbaden (CH)
 Allplan Engineering

 longest railway tunnel in the world (57 km), 20

years of construction, cost about 9 billion €
 up to 2.400 m of overlying rock resulted in
extreme pressure in disturbance zones
 hybrid approach with 2D formwork/3D
reinforcement in standard situations , full 3D
design and visualizations at complex points

“Despite standardization, about 120 blocks

plans and more than 1.000 plans have been
produced. This is a huge amount of data, but
Allplan dealt with it effortlessly.”
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User Projects – Civil Structures

Fly-Over Haarlem (2010 - 2011)

 Royal Haskoning Architecten, Amsterdam (NL)
 Iv-Infra, Nieuwegein (NL)
 Allplan Engineering

 fly-over at freeway A200 and railway, 200 m

long, 20 m wide, 4 pillars, 5 spans
 beams on top of pillars are precast and pre-
stressed elements with CFRP edges
 pillar shapes have been modeled with Allplan’s
Bridge and Civil Engineering modeler, then
exported to mechanical engineering software
SolidEdge for CNC formwork production

“The rebar supplier was extremely pleased with

the supplied bending schedules, which can be
generated with Allplan almost automatically.”
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User Projects – Civil Structures

Railroad Junction Riekerpolder

(2010 - 2016)
 Railinfra Solutions, Amsterdam (NL)
 Allplan Engineering

 railroad junction and numerous railroad bridges

crossing a freeway, urban roads and waterways
 complete structure available as 3D model in
Allplan, from which general arrangement and
reinforcement drawings were derived
 investigation of the best placements of supports
to achieve technically and economically feasible
spans

“One of the advantages of modeling with Allplan

in 3D was, that execution conflicts could
already be identified during the design.”
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User Projects – Civil Structures

Offshore Island Drilling Center,

Caspian Sea (2010 - 2011)
 Witteveen + Bos Kasakhstan, Aktau (KZ)
 Allplan Engineering

 artificial island for oil and gas exploration in the

largest oilfield of the Northern Caspian Sea
 strict environmental regulation requires strong
protection against major ice build-ups.
 construction with sheet piles, rock-filled sub-
structure, concrete foundations for installations
 clashes must be avoided by any means, harsh
conditions limit construction to 7-8 months

“Using Allplan we can provide a 3D model for

our client (e.g. for the piping design) and
identify conflicts in an early stage.”
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User Projects – Industrial Buildings

Covered storage facility, Gurain

(2010 - 2011)
 Adem, Mons (B)
 Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer

 construction of covered storage facilities for

CCB Italcementi
 140 m length, 48 m span, 23 m useable height
 extremely tight schedule, tendering based on
preliminary design, execution documents
produced during construction
 construction on schedule and without conflicts

“A challenging experience that has been

profitable thanks to a 3D model, that has been
used for the calculation with Scia Engineer and
for the drawing production with Allplan”
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User Projects – Industrialized Planning

Fly-Over Kerensheide (2011 - 2012)

 Movares, Utrecht (NL)
 Allplan Engineering, Scia Engineer

 fly-over at freeways A2 and A76, 600 m long,

17 m wide, 11 sections with a span of up 57 m
 engineering consultancy, contractor and rebar
supplier have been working together from the
preliminary design to the construction
 full 3D model of ordinary and pre-stressed
reinforcement to avoid collisions

“During the design process, the BIM concept

was applied to gain savings in costs and time in
the building phase. In practice this resulted in
reusing design information, speeding up the
process and saving in costs.”

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User Projects – Industrialized Planning

Harrer Chocolate Factory, Sopron

(2007 - 2009)

 Christoph Huber, Vienna (A)

 Báthory Tibor Gábor, Sopron (HU)
 Allplan Engineering, Allplan Precast

 3-story chocolate factory with office and sales

facilities
 challenging were the raft foundation with piles
and very slender, partially cantilevering slabs
 short construction could be achieved by using
hollow core walls and slabs, as well as pre-
stressed slab elements

“Allplan made it possible to solve intricate

details of the structure.”
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User Projects – Industrialized Planning

Branch Rabobank, Sint-Oedenrode

(2010 - 2011)
 Roos en Ros, Nieuw-Beijerland (NL)
 Hoco-Beton, Weert (NL)
 Allplan Engineering

 office building made of precast concrete walls,

hollow core slabs supported by a steel structure
and cast-in-place foundations
 engineering work included detailed production
and assembly drawings
 steel structure has been imported as IFC file
 the complete structure could be assembled
without complications in only 5 weeks

“Because Allplan allows to visually inspect all

details, design errors can be detected and
resolved at an early stage.” 40
User Projects – Special Projects

Info Tower Berlin Airport (2006 - 2007)

 Kusus + Kusus Architekten, Berlin (D)
 Sailer Stepan und Partner, Munich (D)
 Allplan Engineering

 32 m tall viewing tower with triangular, story-

wise rotated curtain wall
 reinforced concrete core, steel slabs and a pre-
stressed fabric membrane mounted on the steel
structure
 especially challenging was to limit the wind-
induced deformations of the curtain-wall and
the susceptibility to vibrations

42
User Projects – Special Projects

Canopy Roof, Munich (2009)

 Reichert Pranschke Maluche, Munich (D)
 Sailer Stepan und Partner, Munich (D)
 Allplan Engineering

 73 by 32 m canopy roof of a bus and streetcar

stop
 highly optimized, double curved grid shell made
of 10 mm thick sheet steel
 execution of roof and columns as welded steel
structure
 reinforced concrete foundation for load-transfer
into the underlying subway structure

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 Thank you for your attention!
Dipl.-Ing. Christof Lorenz I CSO Engineering @Nemetschek Allplan
Email: clorenz@nemetschek.com
Phone: +49 (0)172 7688149

Photo: marcwinkel.de