The facts
Client: Skanska
Location: Belmarsh, East London
Services: Architecture
Sector: Justice / Central
Government
Contract: PFI
Project Value: £100m
Start/Completion: 2009 - 2011
The project
Designed by Capita Symonds, the new
£100m HMP Thameside is a 600 place category B facility located
adjacent to the existing Belmarsh Prison.
The project was recently awarded BREEAM
‘Excellent’ (design stage) for all buildings apart from the Living
Unit which is the first in the country to be awarded a rating of
‘Outstanding’.
For the project Capita Symonds’ architecture
team used Building Information Modelling (BIM) - a method of
producing building information based upon sets of cross referenced
data as opposed to traditional drawing ‘drawing board’ methods.
This data is then viewed and analysed to produce the information
required to build and also maintain a building.
Capita Symonds’ architecture team started
using BIM in 2002 via the AutoCAD Architecture and Revit
Architecture platforms. For the HMP Thameside project the team led
the BIM production, working alongside external M&E engineers
and structural engineers who produced their BIMs in AutoCAD MEP and
Revit Structure respectively.
The project consists of ten separate buildings
- the drawings were created by using BIM model components from a
central project library which meant that changes to the library
propagated to the whole project, saving redrawing time.
BIM has helped the effective and efficient
delivery of the project by managing large and complex sets of data.
For example:
- All scheduling is managed in
BIM. The project tracks approximately 2000 door, gates and windows
by treating them as intelligent objects which hold their own
information that can be easily cross referenced and displayed in
timesaving, easy to understand ways;
- 44,457 items of furniture,
fixtures and equipment are tracked and scheduled in the project,
allowing designers to concentrate on designing as opposed to
checking and coordinating large schedules greatly reducing
errors;
- The production of 3D models
that are used for virtual walkthroughs with the client, contractor
and clash detected against other consultants to pick up issues
prior to work on site;
- It allows for much more
accurate life cycle costing and asset tracking.