Global BIM Awards Winners

Tekla, a company bringing building information modeling (BIM) software and online tools to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) markets, announced winners of the Tekla Global BIM Awards. The winners of the competition were chosen by a jury of international BIM experts and public vote. Competition entries included winners of regional Tekla BIM competitions held by Tekla area offices and resellers during 2013. Forty-four exemplary projects competed in Tekla Global BIM Awards and more than 2,800 votes were cast for the projects presented on the competition website. The winners of the five categories of Tekla Global BIM Awards represent a wide range of construction projects and materials across the globe.

The award categories and winners are:

Total BIM: Puuvilla Shopping Center, Pori, Finland
Cast in Place Concrete: BB&T Ballpark, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Precast Concrete: Kalasataman Fregatti and Fiskari, Helsinki, Finland
Structural Engineering Project: Tesco Supermarket, Sheringham, UK
Steel: The GAP Ice-Skating Stadium, Gap, France
Public Vote: Baku Olympic Stadium, Azerbaidjan

About the Winners

The Puuvilla Shopping Centre, delivered by a project group of 13 companies, is named Tekla’s Total BIM project. The team tackled the challenges of a large project and tight schedule while successfully combining new and old structures with superior Building Information Modeling (BIM) techniques. In addition to structural models, they utilized architectural, MEP, electricity and sprinkler system models and laser scanned the existing structures to create an inventory model.

The BB&T Ballpark is the winner for the best Cast in Place Concrete project. Wayne Brothers was responsible for concrete construction and coordination. They used models for planning pours, tracking progress and coordinating with other trades. The rebar provider Harris Steel used the concrete model in detailing, which lead to fewer errors and more efficient workflow.

The winner among Structural Engineering projects was the Tesco Sheringham supermarket by Pinnacle, which included a bespoke design featuring a unique timber roof structure. The design team combined the architect and mechanical engineer’s 3D models along with their own steel, timber and reinforced concrete model created in Tekla and efficiently exchanged the models between all project team members.

The best project in the Precast Concrete category was Kalasataman Fregatti and Fiskari, two residential buildings with a geometrically complex façade under construction. The engineering office, Mäkeläinen, began modeling during the conceptual design phase, omitting 2D drawings, and now uses the architect’s model as reference and for clash checking. The model has also been a notable source of fabrication information.

In the Steel category, the winner is the renovation project of the Patinoire de Gap - Rink of GAP, a skating stadium in Gap, France, by Patrick Millet. The team had to keep the existing timber structures from the early 70s while reinforcing the structure to support new loads and fill the current seismological norms.

The winner of the public vote was the Baku Olympic Stadium in Azerbaidjan, modeled by Tekfen Engineering and Sdeng Steel & Structural Detail Engineers. The stadium was modeled in two locations, in Greece and Turkey, while BIM tools were used for communication with the designers in South Korea and New York.

For the first time, Tekla Global BIM Awards also had student contestants. The best student project was Hotel Katajanokka, coursework by Jesse Pulli from the Aalto University in Finland, and Alan David Lazarte Mejia from Universidad Nacional de San Agustin in Peru got a special mention for his independent sports court project.

More information about the competition, winners and other entries is available at http://www.tekla.com/global-bim-awards-2013.