Flagship Midlands development models itself on BIM application

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is becoming an influential process within the construction industry. This practice, which is now fundamental in the design, creation and development of public sector buildings, is increasingly being applied to schemes across the UK.

A new £30M science and business hub has recently opened after three years of planning and development, and now supports hundreds of specialist jobs in Nottingham. Building Information Modelling was an essential part of the design and delivery of this building, which was built next to the city’s existing BioCity complex as part of the UK’s largest bioscience incubation centre.

Matt Greenhalgh, lead architect on the project, said: “CPMG Architects was appointed to design the contemporary five-storey facility, which features state-of-the-art laboratories, open plan offices, and meeting rooms on the upper levels as well as a lecture theatre and office and conference spaces on the ground floor. It is an impressive 6,830sq m with three of its five floors occupied by the project’s main tenant, Sygnature Discovery – an independent provider of integrated drug discovery resource and expertise.”

Instrumental to the successful delivery of the complex and high-profile Discovery Building was the adoption of BIM Level 2. CPMG acted as the focal point between the contractor and design teams to ensure industry best practices in BIM were adopted across the project for the successful co-ordination and delivery of design and construction information. CPMG is an architectural practice with offices in Nottingham, London and Hangzhou in China, with extensive experience in both the public and private sectors.

Informing design development

A 3D modelling environment was used to quickly accommodate operator and tenant design changes post-tender without impacting on the design or construction programmes.

For example, shortly before construction began, the quantity of fume cupboards required increased from 80 to 120. This meant a full redesign of the mechanical and electrical services in lab areas and doubling the size of the fume extract risers. Traditionally this would be extremely difficult to accommodate at such a stage in the project – however, as BIM requires an accurate 3D representation of all building elements, the design team confidently redesigned the ventilation and extraction systems to accommodate the increased requirements without compromising the internal quality of lab spaces.

Working collaboratively with the structural engineers, CPMG rationalised the central service and circulation core enabling the service risers to be doubled in size whilst improving the net to gross ratio of the laboratory and office accommodation.

Incorporating unique design elements

CPMG designed the building to make it simple yet elegant. It consists of a stone ground floor podium which accommodates the irregular shape of the site, and an attractive four-storey bronze aluminium structure above. Offices and conference facilities are on the ground floor level and upper storeys are dedicated to laboratory and associated office space.

Matt continued: “A stand-out feature of the design is the solar screen designed by artist and sculptor Wolfgang Buttress – constructed from more than 1,000 stainless steel cables, which wrap around the southern and western façades of the building, providing it with solar shading and a distinct identity.”

Streamlining the construction process

Navisworks, the preferred clash detection software for the project, was used which resulted in a streamlined, efficient and well-managed construction process. Successful co-ordination of architectural, structural and service elements resulted in numerous time savings, most notably the construction of the concrete frame three weeks ahead of programme.

Matt commented: “The use of BIM by mechanical and electrical contractors and supply chain partners enabled the manufacture of many components to be carried out off-site, whilst work was simultaneously taking place on-site. This provided many benefits, including improved quality control of all modules constructed, reduced waste and a more efficient installation process. Off-site manufacturing resulted in a two-week saving on the mechanical and electrical first fix.”

Integrating the solar screen was particularly challenging and required significant changes to the structural frame, building envelope and cladding setting out. BIM simplified these tasks and provided a level of design accuracy that was essential to the successful installation of this key feature.

Delivering a sustainable building

Sustainability was an important consideration when constructing the Discovery Building, which was designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent. BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master-planning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

The facility’s power and heating are provided by the local district heating system. The solar screen also controls thermal gains and solar glare.

Matt said: “Particular attention was paid to the building envelope where a fabric-first approach was taken. This not only increased thermal performance, but also significantly reduced air permeability to lower the building’s heating and cooling loads.”

Providing benefits and improvements to the wider community

This new building has put Nottingham on the map for leading bioscience and biochemistry career opportunities. More than 300 jobs have been created, boosting the city and wider Midlands economy.

The wider community and passing pedestrians are also benefiting from much-needed external amenity space which has established greater links to the east side of the city centre – an area which is expected to improve from further regeneration.

An award-winning project

The Discovery Building has been hailed as a flagship project as part of the Midlands Engine initiative, and three quarters of the building is already occupied.

The use of BIM has been a monumental success, which was recently recognised by industry experts at this year’s prestigious RICS BIM4SME Awards, where CPMG scooped the prize for subcontractor engagement. It also won the Judges’ Special Award at the 2017 East Midlands Property Dinner.

Furthermore, CPMG has been recognised by BSI (British Standards Institution) for its capability in the use of BIM to PAS 1192-2:2013. The firm, which employs a BIM manager and a large team of expert users, joins just a small group of other British architects to hold this prestigious accolade.

Nick Gregory, director for CPMG Architects, added: “Our team has been using BIM technology for a number of years. This is just one example of several varied Level 2 projects we have delivered whilst working with clients, design teams, contractors and supply chains.

“We’re committed to growing our BIM expertise and capability in-house to comply with managing information for the delivery phase of construction projects. Recognition of our capability is a testament to the hard work of the team to continually improve the way we support teams to deliver building projects.”

Partners involved with the Discovery Building project

The Discovery Building was delivered by a number of local partners under the Scape Major Works Framework. The site was bought, cleared and decontaminated by Nottingham City Council and the project funded by the city council and the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership. Other partners involved were contractor Willmott Dixon, M+E contractor Briggs & Forrester, consulting engineers Morgan Tucker, electrical engineers Couch Perry Wilkes, construction consultancy Gleeds, and multi-disciplinary practitioner Pick Everard.

Images : external © Neil Hoyle Photography

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