BIM Comes to Masonry

The time-honored trade gets closer to meaningful Building Information Management
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Sponsored by Oldcastle® Architectural
Tom Cuneio, ME

Learning Objectives:

  1. Articulate the benefits of BIM to project cost, schedule, and quality as well as the responsiveness of building to the general well-being of building occupants.
  2. Discuss the challenges that masonry faces in terms of meaningful modeling that can streamline the building process and add to a building’s structural integrity.
  3. Explain the advantages that architects stand to gain as BIM for masonry is implemented in terms of being able to design sounder, more aesthetically pleasing buildings geared to promoting user satisfaction, safety, and comfort.
  4. Describe what architects can do now in using modeling to the fullest when specifying masonry products so as to minimize errors and contribute to the cost-effectiveness of the building process and the sustainability and safety of the building itself.

Credits:

AIA
1 AIA LU/Elective
IACET
0.1 IACET CEU*
AIBD
1 AIBD P-CE
AAA
AAA 1 Structured Learning Hour
AANB
This course can be self-reported to the AANB, as per their CE Guidelines
AAPEI
AAPEI 1 Structured Learning Hour
MAA
MAA 1 Structured Learning Hour
NLAA
This course can be self-reported to the NLAA.
NSAA
This course can be self-reported to the NSAA
NWTAA
NWTAA 1 Structured Learning Hour
OAA
OAA 1 Learning Hour
SAA
SAA 1 Hour of Core Learning
 
This course can be self-reported to the AIBC, as per their CE Guidelines.
As an IACET Accredited Provider, BNP Media offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard.
This course is approved as a Structured Course
This course can be self-reported to the AANB, as per their CE Guidelines
Approved for structured learning
Approved for Core Learning
This course can be self-reported to the NLAA
Course may qualify for Learning Hours with NWTAA
Course eligible for OAA Learning Hours
This course is approved as a core course
This course can be self-reported for Learning Units to the Architectural Institute of British Columbia
This test is no longer available for credit

Of all the acronyms in the design and construction industry today, BIM (Building Information Management) has to be one of the most recognized. Many in the industry are enthralled by all the brightly colored visions of projects still on the drawing board, the opportunity to immediately grasp the overall impact of a proposed modification in one system, and the intense record-keeping capability that translates to far easier repairs and renovations afforded by such advanced modeling capabilities. And with good reason. BIM stands to revolutionize the design and construction process, strengthening the traditional three-sided paradigm of success—project quality, cost, and schedule. Masonry, however, has largely been left behind in the race to BIMify the industry. This article will discuss the masonry situation in terms of existing and emerging BIM and other modeling capabilities, as well as challenges and benefits of a modeling system for masonry. Also provided will be real life examples of masonry projects that have enjoyed the benefits of modeling.

A Traditional Trade—Advanced Techniques

The masonry trade is an extreme blend of old and new technology. Consider the situation in undeveloped countries such as Malawi, a small country in South East Africa. Roofs in this village are primarily constructed by lashing sticks together into a crude frame and then covering the frame with bundles of grass to provide minimal shelter from sun and rain. The homes are primarily constructed with mud brick. These bricks are dug from the native soil on site and then baked in a wood-fired oven, also on site, to remove some of the moisture. The end product is a brick that is only slightly stronger than a dirt clod. They are laid in running bond using mud as mortar. They dig a small hole on the site and periodically wet the hole to dig “mortar” for laying the brick. No cement or other additive is used.

The new Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kansas, highlights the power of masonry BIM tools to budget, order, and build successfully.

Photo courtesy of Oldcastle® Architectural

The new Museum at Prairiefire in Overland Park, Kansas, highlights the power of masonry BIM tools to budget, order, and build successfully.

 

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Originally published in Architectural Record
Originally published in May 2014

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