Students learning computer-assisted design and building information modeling may not be aware that there are industry awards presented to outstanding examples of BIM projects. The Canada BIM Council is one of the organizations that offer this sort of recognition and announced the winners of its CanBIM awards in late October.
With winning designs ranging from a university engineering centre to a parkade for an exciting new city district, the CanBIM awards have recognized projects of many kinds. According to the awards page, they “do not focus on design or architectural stylization,” but rather celebrate great, effective use of BIM technology.
Curious about which projects made the cut? Here are three of CanBIM’s 2016 winners.
Students at Building Information Modeling College Can Admire the Edmonton ICE District Parkade
Students enrolled in BIM programs may know that one of the things professionals love about BIM programs is that they facilitate communication and planning between different teams working on a single project. Few projects exemplify this better than the Edmonton ICE District Parkade, which won the CanBIM Design & Engineering award.
The ICE district is a mixed-use event and sports district in downtown Edmonton, built for a cost of about $2.5 billion. The parkade has the capacity for 2,150 vehicles and was modeled by 30+ consultants and a team of over 120 users. More than 50 live models were used during development.
Your BIM courses may teach you that BIM software programs like Revit facilitate this kind of coordinated work between several teams. Still, the impressive scope of the project, and a large number of collaborators involved on it pushed the ICE parkade over the top for the CanBIM awards.
The VivaNext BRT H2 East & West Project Offers Inspiration for Students in BIM Courses
The York Region of the Greater Toronto Area is in the middle of a population boom, and construction projects are popping up in an effort to meet the needs of this influx of people. One such project, the VivaNext H2 East & West transit corridors, won the CanBIM General Contractor’s Award.
The corridor project involved first modeling the existing corridors, including utility infrastructure, and then introducing new design elements. Care had to be taken to ensure none of the new elements caused issues with essential parts of the existing design, or with other proposed additions and changes.
This project serves as a great example of the driving philosophy behind CAD and BIM. As you will learn at building information modeling college, the appearance, functionality, safety, and economic benefit of projects are all considerations CAD professionals need to keep in mind. The team’s ability to strike the right balance led to CanBIM recognizing and rewarding their efforts.
For Great BIM and Intriguing Design, Take a Look at the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence
Designed to look like a cloud and covered in ornate glass paneling, the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence is a striking building, and took home the “Owners” and “Best in BIM” CanBIM awards.
The structure is enormous, and 10 BIM models were used during the design and modeling phase of the project. The multiple levels and intricate design of the project necessitated the careful use of modeling programs to ensure that all elements meshed together to create a solid, functional building.
Take a look at the Bergeron Centre for Engineering Excellence here:
Though most buildings do not require the kind of careful modeling that the Bergeron Centre’s design called for, the project illustrates the power of the programs used in the BIM industry. If you hope to work on artistic and challenging architectural designs like that of the Bergeron Centre, completing Digital School’s program is a great step toward that goal.
Are you thinking about studying building information modeling programs?
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