Michael Rensing, BIM Manager at Kirksey Architecture entered and won the BIMx competition in the PRO category.
His chosen building, the Hall of Justice – Union Terminal – is based on an actual building in Cincinnati Ohio.
A National Historic Landmark, Union Terminal was built in the 30s just as train use was on the decline and airplanes were becoming a more popular mode of transportation. The building has had many uses over its lifespan – and since 1990 has served as the Cincinnati Museum Center.
The Union Terminal model was downloaded 189 times throughout the course of the competition and received the most Facebook “likes” in order to win Rensing the iPad. Rensing’s model is detail rich, complete with the tiled mosaic mural that is currently in the Union Terminal. Viewing the model with 3D glasses gives an even more detailed view.. Union Terminal was also voted one of the country’s most popular buildings by the American Institute of Architects. It has unique features – such as the fact that in the actual space, if one person stands at one end of the arch at the entryway and another person at the opposite end talks into it, the sound travels along the arch and goes to the other side without any need for further amplification.
“I have always found the Union Terminal to be an interesting building,” said Rensing. “Over the three weeks I spent working on my entry, I enjoyed employing ArchiCAD 15‘s shell tool and found the BIMx platform provided a simple way to open, navigate and share the model.” Rensing used the shell tool to create the arch on the front façade of the building.
According to Rensing, the shell tool facilitated editing of the rounded elements that he used to trim the walls. “With the shell tool everything was editable, everything was live. There were no objects to save and place and made for a cleaner file as well,” he added. Rensing modeled the landscape as it was originally designed – and used creative ways to block off some portions of the building that time constraints prevented him from finishing. A veteran user ofArchiCAD, Rensing says he adjusted well to the BIMx navigation and controls.
“BIMx was so easy to use,” he explained. “It was very easy to demonstrate the model to people that don’t necessarily have ArchiCAD. The models are in a very portable format and require minimal explanation. Without BIMx, I would have had to take the time to instruct the person I’d want to show the model how to navigate in ArchiCAD – or resort to giving them static screen shots. ArchiCAD pretty much gets out of the users’ way and allows architects to get our work done. There was a time when you’d find yourself fighting with the software. Those days are gone and it has become a lot easier to use. As the software has matured it has become more seamless and the users are able to work day to day and not have to worry about work arounds to get their designs designed and documented. The shell tool and added renovation features in ArchiCAD 15 are going to eliminate a lot of layers, having to choose how to layer the file and the shell tool will make it easier for the designers to design.”
