Design for Manufacture – A Buildings Approach

Presented by Joseph Thiang - ARUP

As the designers of buildings, we like to think that our 3D models are accurate representations of what will be built, however this isn’t always the case. For some elements of our structural design such as the reinforcement steel in concrete, this is typically not modeled in 3d due to its complexity.

On 443 Queen Street in Brisbane (a 48 storey residential tower), we were engaged by ProBuild to provide services developing a detailed 3D reinforcement model for a 1500-2000mm deep transfer plate.
The drivers and reasons to change the typical documentation (2D drawings) included:
• Facilitating better construction planning (4D);
• Anticipate site co-ordination issues earlier;
• Achieve better overlap of design with construction;
• Develop accurate content driven models to help avoid waste on site;
• Allow better engagement with Contractor and Subcontractors (with the use of VR and 3D model workshops)
We used the software workflow of Rhino  Grasshopper  Tekla to setup the models quickly and rapidly digitally prototype of design and constructability options and lead a step change towards documentation for manufacture directly from the 3d design. The model was used in collaboration with a Steel Scheduler to review and co-ordinate their final reinforcement schedules.
The Tekla in-built components/macros and our own Tekla custom components were used to develop and model the 3D reinforcement. The immersive representation of our structural design in 3D models and VR (Virtual Reality) helped to create digestible visualisations for the Contractor and Subcontractor for enhanced coordination and reviews.
This facilitated collaboration and engagement with the Contractor and ultimately developed better alignment with design estimation and construction reality.

This work was presented at the BuildingSmart Australasia managerial series in Brisbane and Melbourne and at the Future Infrastructure Summit in Melbourne in late 2019