Michelin Factory Revitalisation

By Lorena Alessio - 5 May 2010

The term Building Information Modeling (BIM) was first coined in the Eighties by American research centres. An IT system providing better management and control during planning and execution phases, BIM gradually spread to many sectors of the design and construction industry. To use it, architects need to become acquainted with latest generation operative software. BIM creates a virtual model of a given building using all input information and presenting it in various forms. 3D project analysis and spatial and functional projections are just two examples of the sort of modelling provided. The system also assesses materials under given conditions, and can study specific building sections. It carries out structural analyses, calculates technical plant requirements, energy consumption and building systems, and calculates and plans the various construction phases. The model can be altered by inputting new data; results can be verified at any moment. A major planning tool, BIM uses a parametric model. Shapes and forms are assessed on the basis of a series of variables established each time. Selected building parts or the relationship between parts can be analysed on the bases of different parameters. BIM has brought about sea changes in all the industries that have adopted it - from aerospace to IT. In architecture, practices like SOM, KPF, F.O. Gehry and ShoP all use BIM from the initial planning phases of a building through to execution. In Italy, architectural practices are only now beginning to adopt it. Renzo Piano’s Building Workshop (RPBW) is using the Revit Architecture system on the revitalisation project for the former Michelin factory brown site in Trent, Italy as a design and monitoring tool. Developed as a dedicated BIM function, Autodesk Revit Architecture provides initial planning as well as executive production planning analyses, optimising work shaare-out among engineers, sub-contractors and owners. Any modification fed into the system will...