The Sydney Opera House has announced the appointment of global professional and technical services firm AECOM – in collaboration with BIM Academy and EcoDomus – to deliver an interface between traditional Building Management Control Systems, Building Information databases and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
The implementation of the new technology will be critical to management and development of the Sydney Opera House – providing an innovative, web-based 3D graphical interface that maps both the physical and functional characteristics of Australia’s most famous building.
The BIM interface will link a geospatially accurate model of the Opera House building and surrounding site to existing engineering documentation and maintenance and building-management and control systems. The aim is to create a tool that will provide a single source of information for regular building operational requirements as well as ongoing developmental works and projects.
The new BIM interface will be a key tool in the Opera House’s Decade of Renewal, a program of works and initiatives to ensure the world-renowned performing arts centre is fit for 21st century artists and visitors.
“As we embark on the first stage of Opera House Renewal, it is critical that we have the technical infrastructure in place to effectively manage the pipeline of upcoming development projects, as well as to support the ongoing management and conservation of this architectural masterpiece, said Sydney Opera House Director of Building Greg McTaggart.
“After initially assessing the market it quickly became clear there was no single BIM solution that could be applied to both development and construction projects as well as ongoing facilities management of the Opera House,” Mr McTaggart said. “We identified a gap in the industry and decided to tender for a bespoke, user-friendly solution.
“It was critical that the proposed BIM interface serve as a hub to which various other building systems could be linked, bearing in mind that the number of systems will grow over time. It needed to serve as a platform for future development and therefore to be flexible and scalable.”
The proposed solution uses cloud-based technology that will provide the Opera House’s building team with the ability to easily update and interrogate information and data via one central tool. Because it is cloud based, staff will be able to access the BIM interface remotely via handheld mobile devices while working on site. External consultants can also use the system across ongoing building projects.
A number of current Opera House databases including a Technical Documents Database, maintenance software, a comprehensive rooms database and the TRIM document management system will all be linked to the BIM interface. Data created two years ago for the Opera House’s 40th Anniversary by The Scottish Ten, using cutting-edge laser-mapping technology that defines the geometry of the building, will be integrated with the system to enable the creation of the rendered surfaces.
The project, which is expected to be rolled out over the next 18 months, will be split into two stages. The first includes successfully retrieving and linking information from existing and new databases via the 3D model. The second will introduce a broader range of functional modules that can be added to the BIM interface over time.
