1. Preface
BIM technology, or Building Information Modeling, is an advanced field gaining momentum in China. Since the inception of the Kerry Center project, we have committed to high standards and ambitious goals, exploring BIM applications and achieving promising results. This summary outlines our progress.
2. Project Overview
The China Construction Fifth Engineering Bureau’s Hangzhou Kerry Center project is located in the West Lake Scenic Area of Hangzhou. The site is divided into northern and southern zones, covering approximately 341,859 square meters of construction area. Above ground, the development includes:
- A 10-story office building
- A 13-story high-end hotel with a four-story podium
- A five-story large shopping mall
- A five-story high-end shopping mall
- A 13-story apartment-style hotel
The underground section features a three-story integrated basement with a floor area of around 53,437 square meters and an 800mm thickness. The foundation pit uses a continuous wall corner support method, designed with three internal supports. In the southern plot, a 1.2-meter diameter drilled pile marks the boundary between phases one and two. Slot wall reinforcement includes three-axis mixing piles on both sides of the ground wall. Additionally, grid-type triaxial mixing piles reinforce the east foundation pit near Yan’an Road Subway and Zhejiang Stomatological Hospital, the south foundation pit near West Lake Minglou, and the west foundation pit in the northern area with many old buildings. The pit slopes are reinforced using high-pressure rotary jet grouting piles.
The project began on March 5, 2013, and is currently focused on earthwork excavation and internal support construction. Excavation and support work for the second layer of phase one in the southern area is nearing completion, while similar work in the northern area is ongoing.
3. Application Objectives
There are three main reasons for implementing BIM in the Kerry Center project:
1. Enhanced Construction Guidance
The construction industry often faces challenges due to a workforce that is generally young and less experienced, which can lead to avoidable errors. Technical expertise is scarce and risks becoming marginalized. BIM enables clear visualization of design intent and components, helping young employees better understand each element and facilitating smoother on-site construction.
2. Improved Design Optimization
From the author’s perspective, BIM introduces a standardized tool for technical work that can qualitatively and quantitatively assess quality. It supports the entire technical workflow—from initial drawing reviews to node optimization and design changes during construction, and subsequently to technical summaries. Through standardized applications, BIM helps achieve refined results and enhances the efficiency of the construction unit’s technical department.
For example, during BIM training in Changsha in April, 80 participants completed modeling for the Changsha transportation hub in five days. This process uncovered errors, clashes, omissions, and inconsistencies in the drawings, leading to consensus among all involved. Inviting design institutes and other stakeholders to participate in drawing reviews during modeling would further benefit construction quality.
3. Streamlined Business Review
BIM not only simplifies technical tasks but also extends oversight into business review, addressing omissions and inaccuracies commonly found in traditional business calculations. This adds a layer of assurance to project operation and maintenance management.
4. Hardware and Software Configuration
Software
The Kerry Center project primarily uses Autodesk’s REVIT 2013 series software integrated with Google’s SKETCH UP 8 PRO. REVIT handles precise construction drawings, while SKETCH UP is used for rapid visualization where high drawing accuracy is not required. When REVIT’s family library lacks components, SKETCH UP’s global model library is used as a substitute, though it requires proficiency in English due to language limitations.
Hardware
The project utilizes a DELL VISION M6700 COVET mobile workstation configured with:
- CPU: Intel i7-3840QM
- Memory: 8GB Hynix 1600 MHz (single module, expandable to 32GB)
- Display: 1920×1080 IPS screen with Corning Gorilla Glass
- Graphics Card: AMD 2GB M6000 professional GPU
- Storage: 128GB Samsung 830 SSD
After purchase, the workstation was upgraded to 16GB memory (two 8GB modules), a Samsung 840PRO 256GB SSD, and a 1TB Hitachi 7200 RPM mechanical hard drive. The SSD stores system and software data for speed, while the mechanical drive secures project data.
Printing is done with a Canon IX6580 color inkjet printer modified with external ink cartridges, producing high-quality images.
The headquarters requires a dedicated desktop for application data management, but current configurations are insufficient for BIM needs. Plans are underway to upgrade or build a high-performance desktop with:
- CPU: Intel i7-3770K
- Memory: 8GB at 1600 MHz
- Graphics Card: GTX680 with 2GB memory
- Storage: Minimum 1TB 5400 RPM mechanical hard drive
- Water cooling for heat management
The estimated cost is approximately 7,000 yuan. This desktop will also serve as a server to establish a local FTP network for large data sharing, improving upon manual USB transfers. The proposal is currently under review by the company.
5. Current Application Areas
The primary focus at Kerry Center this year is earthwork excavation and internal support construction. Since this is a lump-sum contract, BIM involvement is still limited. Currently, BIM is mainly applied to temporary on-site construction layout with the following benefits:
1. Visual Management
Traditional temporary construction layouts rely on flat CAD drawings, which lack vividness and clarity, leading to varying interpretations. BIM enables a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) approach, allowing thorough discussions and visualization of temporary building layouts before construction starts.
2. Refined Management
BIM modeling of temporary buildings allows outputting CAD construction drawings directly from the model. REVIT’s section function helps clarify complex nodes, making it easier to communicate with construction workers and stakeholders. Design details can be refined down to specific locations of sockets and lighting fixtures, all reflected in construction drawings. Importantly, unlike traditional CAD, REVIT models contain accurate quantity information, enabling export of material lists directly to Excel.
6. Future Application Direction
The project expects to complete phase one excavation in the southern area by early September and begin main structure construction. Currently, only preliminary template drawings below B2 level have been provided for reference. Once official structural drawings are received, BIM will be used for structural modeling and extended into civil construction, ideally before base slab construction begins.
An opportunity has arisen to update the internal standard atlas, which was compiled around 2008 and is now outdated. By the end of this year, the team aims to develop the “2013 Edition of China Construction Fifth Engineering Bureau Hangzhou Kerry Center Site Layout Standardization Atlas,” using the Kerry Center site’s temporary layout as a blueprint. This atlas will feature full 3D displays on A3 format, supplemented with CAD drawings and on-site photo verification. It will serve as a management achievement summary, facilitate company-wide sharing, and provide a reference for future bidding.
7. Challenges Encountered
1. Objective Challenges
BIM application in construction involves two stages: initial use in geotechnical engineering and eventual adoption in general contracting management. Kerry Center is at the initial stage. A major hurdle is creating simple, fast, and accurate steel reinforcement models—a task currently unresolved. Manual drawing of steel bars remains labor-intensive despite best efforts.
Using REVIT involves stacking building blocks from the family library, which is currently incomplete. Some components require custom families. The project temporarily compensates by importing SKETCH UP models or simulating volumes in REVIT, but this is not a long-term solution. Continuous exploration is needed to master family creation, enrich the library, and achieve full BIM integration.
2. Subjective Challenges
The BIM initiative is led by a small project technology team facing heavy workloads. They must balance daily technical tasks, company bidding efforts, and BIM exploration. Despite long hours and occasional all-nighters, the team is dedicated and passionate in their efforts to advance the project and company.
8. Conclusion
The Kerry Center project is in the early stages of BIM implementation, with limited current application. The author acknowledges this summary may be preliminary and looks forward to deeper achievements and broader knowledge sharing in the future. A commitment remains to focus on making unique contributions moving forward.
(Author: Chen Guo, REVIT Engineer)
BIM Implementation Schedule for Hangzhou Kerry Center Project of China Construction Fifth Engineering Bureau
Design of Construction Site Entrance
Design of Lecture Stand
Flag Platform Design
Drying Rack Design
Interior Design of Conference Room
Interior Design of Technical Quality Department
Canteen Interior Design
Dormitory Design
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