With a multi-disciplinary appointment, Austin-Smith:Lord led a design team decision to use BIM collaboration processes on a new 800 pupil building on the Aberdare Campus in south Wales.

We were responsible for architectural and landscape output, and this was produced in Revit with the highways and below ground drainage information provided by the Engineer in 3D dwg format. The site was particularly susceptible to possible flooding, so extensive flood risk analysis was undertaken using the 3D models to create a highly accurate composite of the completed building and associated landscape features.

With the models linked together within the 3D environment the team were able to liaise with all parties providing the required level of feedback to determine the suitability of the design, taking into account the flood risk.

The successful contractor provided a CDE, and regular clash detection reviews were undertaken using a federated model. The Client was also provided with some basic training to understand how BIM was used on the project and the models were used to visualise the internal spaces, allowing them to better appreciate the spatial relationships.