CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
6 May 2010
Implementation Investments
KLH Engineers Earns Autodesk BIM Experience Award for Comprehensive BIM Approach
Autodesk, Inc. announced that Kohrs Lonnemann Heil Engineers (KLH Engineers) has received an Autodesk BIM Experience Award for its early adoption and application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for more than 35 new construction and renovation projects representing a total construction value of nearly $400 million.
The award recognizes the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineering firm for its exemplary use of Autodesk Revit MEP, Autodesk 3ds Max Design, Autodesk Navisworks, and Autodesk Buzzsaw software for BIM, along with the Autodesk Green Building Studio web service. The firm is also being honored for its support of integrated project delivery (IPD) and efforts to promote BIM through educational programs for its clients, architectural partners, construction associates and industry organizations, serving as a pioneer in their industry within the BIM and IPD movement.
“Since 2006, our team has used BIM and Revit MEP to better serve our clients and improve our overall design processes and efficiency,” said Jeff Millard, principal at KLH Engineers. “We recognized the potential client benefits of using Revit MEP for BIM early on and felt strongly enough about it to adopt a new way of doing business. By doing so, we have placed our firm ahead of our competition.”
Large-Scale Library Renovation Showed Value of BIM Process
One of the firm’s first BIM projects was the $12.5-million renovation of the Klau Library at Ohio’s Hebrew Union College. The library, home to the second largest Hebraic text collection outside of Jerusalem, includes a vast collection of rare books, some more than a thousand years old. The project entailed the renovation of an existing five-story library and the construction of a new addition that includes stacks and a viewing area for the rare books, as well as conference and office spaces.
All the new mechanical systems needed to fit within the existing structure of the old library and tie into the new geothermal well field. The project team — including the architect, structural engineer, KLH Engineers, and the construction manager — used an integrated project delivery approach facilitated by Autodesk BIM software to coordinate their designs, expedite the construction schedule and return the collection to its permanent location as quickly as possible.
To protect its rare books, the library building requires precise humidity and temperature control. KLH Engineers used the intelligent information in the Autodesk Revit MEP model to conduct energy analysis and develop an optimal design that satisfies the book-preservation needs as well as the client’s requirement for energy efficiency — a geothermal mechanical system that will help reduce energy and operating costs by an estimated 40 percent.
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