SHoP Architects

A place to innovate

SHoP Architects use Autodesk BIM solutions to design a hub for innovation in Africa.

The task is to design buildings that are exciting and functional.

Challenge.

Landlocked country in South Africa.  It has gone from being one of the poorest countries to one of the most popular. To help support the growth goals of the counter, they felt that they needed a design to attract attention and symbolise the country.

They decided to hold an international contest to choose the project architect competitively.

Botswana innovation Hub said "We were not just looking for a striking design. The selection criteria also included sustainability and the use of the latest architectural tools."

Solution

SHoP was the contest whose design stood out from most because -

·        Design that compliments the surrounding area.

·        In their models organically forms stimulate hill and landscape.

These sources are really important in their culture.

SHoP even included options like:

·        Living roof

·        Shaded courtyards

These were the aims that the client wanted in their building.

SHoP created rendering of their design ideas to visualise the ideas they used  AutoCAD, 3ds Max .

Kevin Fennell project manager for SHop said that it's quite normal these days to add 3D rendering.

He said that 3ds Max made it easy to include details of the surrounding areas. With rendering it helps the client to visualise the design and see the design touches the ground and how natural it connected with the landscape.

Autodesk Revit was that software that helped them explore ideas and helped to advance the visual of the product.

SHop had a meeting with the client to show them a few Revit models with different options. By showing the model in 3D, the client could see more clearly where the design ideas were coming from and could give feedback immediately.

Sharing the Benefits of BIM

The client was specific in that he wanted them to use the most recent design tools. The company was familiar with BIM (Building Information Model) a process involving creation and management of digital description of physical and functional features of places.

BIM is taking the 3D design to the next level. BIM is helping everyone to understand the design and provide more easily.

Fast Changes—More Insight

The team SHoP went to Africa to meet with structural engineers who were using Autodesk Revit structure software.  With the model created, the structural engineer could see what would have to be improved in the design. So they had to change the material and obviously they had a different cost.

Designing for Sustainability

The last task they use Autodesk Ecotest. This is used to experiment on how the shading and building mass effected load.