Session 1.5
BIM for Façade Access: Can You Reach Every Square Foot of Your Building’s Exterior?
Synopsis:
Code requirements for Façade Access equipment are becoming more restrictive and building facades continue to get more complex. Designers must consider the implications of Façade Access early in the design process. Come learn the tools of the trade and how they can be implemented in your next big project.
Learning Objectives:
1. Learn how the façade access industry currently utilizes Revit models to determine equipment needs.
2. Discover how families, including adaptive components, can be created to understand initial criteria, such as reactions and reach distance.
3. Understand how families can be modified with reach zones to run “reverse clash detection” studies for your building.
4. Learn how schedules and the Revit model can be utilized to provide the clearest understanding of the façade access design.
Body:
Whether you are designing a mid-rise rectangular apartment building, or the next tallest skyscraper in New York City with features that would make Gaudi proud, designers must consider how the owners and maintenance staff ultimately access every square foot of the façade for routine cleaning and other maintenance needs.
The advent of Revit and other 3D modeling technologies has greatly assisted in the pursuit of early, comprehensive coordination of the façade access program. This class will first explain some of the basic approaches to façade access, and how to determine the best type of system for each unique building. Whether it’s ground based equipment such as aerial work platforms (boom lifts) or large building maintenance units (BMU’s) that ride atop rails a thousand feet in the sky, with the help of BIM software the façade access consultant can find the best approach to accessing the exterior (or interior). The typical process and model exchange between consultant and design team will also be highlighted, including the use of special equipment schedules and how BIM 360 streamlines the process.
We will then demonstrate how attendees can build a conceptual boom lift or BMU family in order to gain early design data and coordinate amongst disciplines. The structural engineer can get preliminary force reactions from the BMU based on the required size of the machine. The architect can determine how high the parapet must be to hide the BMU when not in use. The mechanical engineer can verify that the proper clearances for their HVAC equipment are maintained.
The presentation will share some of the more advanced Revit families that Lerch Bates has developed. This includes the various BMU designs and their unique functions, life-safety devices to provide fall protection around a roof perimeter, and some tips and tricks that we have utilized to make the families more user-friendly. Even though these techniques will be focused on the “special equipment” category, they will still be applicable to many families that attendees utilize or create on a daily basis.
To top it off, we will demonstrate a few brief case studies of recent high-rise projects and how many of the previously-discussed.