The Qingdao CR Center Wanda Plaza project is a large-scale, mixed-use development that combines upscale commercial spaces, dining and entertainment venues, office areas, a clubhouse, and a high-end apartment-style hotel. Situated at No. 10 Shandong Road in Shinan District, Qingdao City, it is adjacent to the Qingdao Municipal Government and surrounded by numerous financial institutions, trade enterprises, and luxury five-star hotels. Just 800 meters south of the project lies the prime waterfront promenade, May Fourth Square, the Olympic Sailing Base, and other prominent 5A tourist attractions, all within a mature business and commercial environment.
The total construction area covers 532,000 square meters, including 290,000 square meters above ground and 230,000 square meters underground. The development features a three-story basement, a seven-story main commercial building, a 40-story office tower, and a 36-story apartment building. The office tower reaches a height of 199.8 meters, the apartment building stands at 145.8 meters, and the main commercial building measures 55.0 meters tall.
Qingdao CR Center Wanda Plaza rendering
BIM, or Building Information Modeling, enables the creation of reliable, coordinated, and internally consistent digital representations of buildings. This technology supports design decision-making, the production of high-quality construction documents, planning, and performance prediction. BIM keeps all relevant information up-to-date and easily accessible in an integrated digital environment. This allows engineers, architects, builders, and owners to gain a comprehensive understanding of their projects and make informed decisions more efficiently, ultimately enhancing project quality and productivity. Revit software, developed by Autodesk, is a leading platform for BIM, with Revit Structure offering powerful tools for structural design and analysis.
This article provides a brief overview of BIM technology applications in the civil engineering components of the Qingdao Wanda Plaza commercial complex project.
1. Structural Drawing Review
1.1 Garage Ramp Clearance Review
In large commercial complexes, garages often feature multiple ramps and overlapping structures, which can lead to clearance issues during construction. Traditional 2D drawing reviews are prone to errors and oversights due to their limited depth and cumbersome review processes. By contrast, using Revit Structure to create 3D models allows for visualized drawing reviews, enabling faster and more accurate identification of potential clearance problems. These issues can then be communicated to the design institute for timely adjustments, preventing costly on-site modifications.
The Qingdao CR Wanda Plaza project includes four ramps. During 3D modeling, it was discovered that the net height between the fourth ramp and a beam on the B2 floor was only 2350 mm. After notifying the design team, the beam was redesigned as a flip-up beam, increasing the clearance to 2500 mm (see Legend 1.1), which meets usage requirements.
Legend 1.1
1.2 Automatic Escalator Clearance Review
Large commercial complexes typically have numerous and intersecting escalators, which can result in insufficient installation clearance and the need for dismantling and adjustments. Traditional 2D methods struggle to verify clearances at every point. To overcome this, our BIM team created digital families for each escalator based on manufacturer specifications and integrated them into the building model. Through automatic elevation annotation and comprehensive sectional measurements, we verified the clearance of all intersecting escalators.
The Qingdao Wanda Plaza has 15 escalators intersecting throughout the complex. The minimum clearance found at these intersections was 3100 mm, exceeding the minimum required clearance of 2800 mm (see Legend 1.2).
Legend 1.2
Utilizing Revit Structure for structural modeling streamlines the review of structural drawings. The modeling process helps identify issues more readily than 2D reviews, such as clearance deficiencies, improper dimension annotations, missing notes, secondary beams positioned higher than main beams, and absent reinforcement details. These advantages highlight the effectiveness of BIM tools in drawing review.
2. Guiding the Construction Process
2.1 Deepening Complex Nodes
Large high-end commercial complexes often feature numerous multi-beam intersections that involve steel-reinforced beams and columns with heavy reinforcement, making construction challenging. Poorly planned steel reinforcement can cause concrete surfaces to be excessively high, hindering interior finishing and leading to costly and potentially unsafe chiseling work.
The commercial podium at Qingdao Wanda Plaza contains many intersecting beams. To address this, our BIM team used Revit Structure to deepen the complex nodes in 3D. We imported steel structure models from Xsteel into Revit, optimized the steel reinforcement layout for each node, and then provided technical briefings to the reinforcement team. Using intuitive 3D visuals, we guided the construction process effectively (see Legend 2.1).
Legend 2.1
2.2 Construction Plan Simulation and Analysis
The placement of tower cranes and construction elevators is a critical factor in large commercial complex projects. A well-planned layout enhances on-site efficiency, while poor planning can cause delays, increased costs, and conflicts among different trades competing for equipment.
To optimize this, our BIM team integrated standard-sized tower cranes and construction elevator models into the structural model. We imported 2D layout plans for positioning and completed the structural drawings. Using Navisworks software, we created 3D visualizations (see Legend 2.2), allowing project stakeholders to intuitively assess the feasibility and efficiency of the layout, avoid spatial conflicts, and optimize the construction plan.
Legend 2.2
Outlook
BIM technology can be applied throughout a building’s entire lifecycle, going beyond 3D visual simulation to serve as a dynamic 4D relational database. By managing, maintaining, analyzing, and statistically evaluating model data, BIM offers effective guidance for construction, comprehensive project control, increased efficiency, cost savings, and maximized value. The adoption of BIM revitalizes the construction industry and promises significant future advancements.
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