This past April, more than 500 AEC professionals—many from Giants 300 firms—gathered in Boston for BIMForum. Now in its ninth year, the group, which is co-sponsored by AGC and AIA, brings together tech-minded professionals twice yearly to discuss how BIM/VDC tools and advanced workflows are being used to enhance collaboration of the Building Team.
Of the 20-plus presentations at the Boston event, one stood out as being particularly indicative of emerging trends in the BIM/VDC field—namely cloud-based data sharing, rapid iterative design and analysis, and cross-discipline, cross-company collaboration.
In their presentation (http://tinyurl.com/BIMForumTT), Thornton Tomasetti’s Ben Howes and Matthew Naugle demonstrated how their firm is building specialized, cloud-hosted BIM models on select projects that enable rapid structural analysis and feedback for the architectural teams.
As Howes and Naugle describe it, the model has the ability to share certain high-level inputs and outputs—including geometry rationalization, cost, and environmental and operational performance—with the design team. As designers make changes, the model reads the updated BIM data, runs the desired analysis, and then returns analysis feedback automatically—all without the need for exchanging full 3D models. The result is a near-real-time, iterative design process that greatly improves the conceptual and schematic design phases.
Giants 300 coverage of BIM brought to you by AGC of America www.agc.org.
“Iteration is great, but it can take too long,” said Naugle. “Using the cloud to connect the architectural and engineering teams, we’re able to extract information out of the model that’s relevant to each other and share it in real time.”
CUSTOM API DEVELOPMENT
Also at BIMForum, Stantec’s BIM R&D Leader Robert Manna demonstrated how the firm is enhancing its BIM solutions through the development of custom API-based applications. Its latest creation, PathFinder, automates the computation of walking distances and straight-line distances between rooms in a BIM model. Developed in partnership with BIM consultant Boost Your BIM, the program enables Stantec’s design teams to analyze a proposed design within a few hours, versus days, said Manna.
“Manually identifying these paths and measuring walking distances between hundreds of rooms would be a tedious, time-consuming, and error-prone task,” said Manna. The program is especially helpful on hospital projects, but could be used for designing airport terminals, classroom buildings, and labs, as well as for campus planning and life-safety applications, he said.
SOM’s Jason Chen, Senior Digital Design Specialist, and Sebastian Claussnitzer, Architectural Designer, previewed the firm’s integrated data model approach for early-phase collaboration between architectural, structural engineering, and sustainable engineering teams. Using custom scripting, the firm can link and share numerous project data sources—from spreadsheets and early project models to spec sheets, drawings, and performance analysis—between multiple team members.
“There’s data everywhere, but it doesn’t work well with everything,” said Chen. The key is to have the most up-to-date data on every facet of the project to feed an iterative design process. For example, SOM’s enclosure and core design teams can each work in their tool of choice and cooperatively develop a single information model for a project. By accessing the same model, the different disciplines can impart their knowledge to the model, simultaneously informing and enriching the design, according to Chen and Claussnitzer.
For more on the BIMForum Boston event, including videos and abstracts of the presentations, visit: http://bimforum.org/2014/04/28/boston-bimforum-presentations-2.
Top BIM Architecture Firms
| Rank | Company | 2013 BIM Revenue |
| 1 | Gensler | $733,073,587 |
| 2 | HOK | 388,550,000 |
| 3 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 317,799,079 |
| 4 | HDR | 287,850,000 |
| 5 | Perkins+will | 267,270,000 |
| 6 | Stantec | 211,893,190 |
| 7 | CannonDesign | 167,000,000 |
| 8 | SmithGroupJJR | 120,100,000 |
| 9 | ZGF Architects | 102,457,917 |
| 10 | Corgan | 85,587,635 |
| 11 | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | 83,905,764 |
| 12 | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | 78,606,000 |
| 13 | Flad Architects | 77,200,000 |
| 14 | EYP Architecture & Engineering | 75,000,000 |
| 15 | Page | 65,000,000 |
| 16 | Perkins Eastman | 62,000,000 |
| 17 | DLR Group | 60,528,000 |
| 18 | Clark Nexsen | 59,816,750 |
| 19 | SHW Group | 56,587,000 |
| 20 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 54,100,000 |
| 21 | Fentress Architects | 46,671,008 |
| 22 | Ennead Architects | 44,949,000 |
| 23 | WHR Architects | 41,166,427 |
| 24 | Harley Ellis Devereaux | 39,700,000 |
| 25 | Shepley Bulfinch | 38,936,700 |
| 26 | Ballinger | 38,780,911 |
| 27 | BSA LifeStructures | 36,345,640 |
| 28 | Kirksey | 33,697,650 |
| 29 | Moseley Architects | 32,000,000 |
| 30 | EwingCole | 31,300,000 |
| 31 | MulvannyG2 Architecture | 31,135,000 |
| 32 | Moody Nolan | 30,240,000 |
| 33 | Ziegler Cooper | 29,310,545 |
| 34 | LS3P | 28,010,579 |
| 35 | CO Architects | 27,700,000 |
| 36 | Payette | 27,516,095 |
| 37 | Cuningham Group Architecture | 27,399,469 |
| 38 | Morris Architects | 26,188,000 |
| 39 | CTA Architects Engineers | 25,202,418 |
| 40 | Array Architects | 24,500,000 |
| 41 | WDG Architecture | 24,409,600 |
| 42 | Cooper Carry | 24,224,325 |
| 43 | Eppstein Uhen Architects | 24,028,348 |
| 44 | Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture | 23,902,688 |
| 45 | OZ Architecture | 23,400,000 |
| 46 | LPA | 22,036,937 |
| 47 | Hord Coplan Macht | 21,614,769 |
| 48 | FKP Architects | 21,300,000 |
| 49 | Francis Cauffman | 21,036,087 |
| 50 | FreemanWhite | 20,967,716 |
| 51 | FGM Architects | 20,651,412 |
| 52 | Heery International | 20,553,000 |
| 53 | Cambridge Seven Associates | 20,118,000 |
| 54 | Wilson Architects | 20,000,000 |
| 55 | Westlake Reed Leskosky | 18,975,000 |
| 56 | Integrus Architecture | 18,156,275 |
| 57 | Albert Kahn Associates | 18,000,000 |
| 58 | FXFOWLE Architects | 17,904,148 |
| 59 | Parkhill, Smith & Cooper | 17,881,350 |
| 60 | Hoefer Wysocki Architecture | 17,200,000 |
| 61 | NTD Architecture | 17,004,000 |
| 62 | Fanning/Howey Associates | 16,700,000 |
| 63 | Hnedak Bobo Group | 16,540,000 |
| 64 | LMN Architects | 16,248,300 |
| 65 | NORR | 15,427,588 |
| 66 | Lord Aeck Sargent | 15,153,439 |
| 67 | HNTB Corp. | 14,745,958 |
| 68 | Symmes Maini & McKee Associates | 14,020,000 |
| 69 | NAC|Architecture | 13,691,745 |
| 70 | Legat Architects | 13,570,000 |
| 71 | Quattrocchi Kwok Architects | 13,500,000 |
| 72 | Harvard Jolly Architecture | 13,280,400 |
| 73 | Ratio Architects | 13,000,000 |
| 74 | Wight & Company | 12,955,000 |
| 75 | Ware Malcomb | 12,000,000 |
| 76 | BLDD Architects | 11,800,000 |
| 77 | Beyer Blinder Belle | 11,791,980 |
| 78 | BRPH | 11,500,201 |
| 79 | GBBN Architects | 11,321,400 |
| 80 | Slaterpaull Architects | 11,055,479 |
| 81 | BLTa | 10,200,000 |
| 82 | RBB Architects | 9,945,200 |
| 83 | RS&H | 9,800,000 |
| 84 | H+L Architecture | 9,700,000 |
| 85 | Davis Brody Bond | 9,367,914 |
| 86 | Vocon | 9,203,152 |
| 87 | VOA Associates | 9,072,145 |
| 88 | Hastings+Chivetta Architects | 9,046,573 |
| 89 | DesignGroup | 8,798,070 |
| 90 | MBH Architects | 8,500,000 |
| 91 | Taylor Design | 8,330,000 |
| 92 | LaBella Associates | 8,303,381 |
| 93 | LBL Architects | 8,000,000 |
| 94 | SchenkelShultz Architecture | 7,959,562 |
| 95 | Becker Morgan Group | 7,872,309 |
| 96 | Anderson Mikos Architects | 7,750,000 |
| 97 | Margulies Perruzzi Architects | 7,664,876 |
| 98 | Ashley McGraw Architects | 7,512,996 |
| 99 | FitzGerald Associates Architects | 6,022,176 |
| 100 | Urban Design Group | 5,750,000 |
| 101 | Baskervill | 5,699,634 |
| 102 | Bergmann Associates | 5,610,000 |
| 103 | SEI Design Group | 5,461,000 |
| 104 | FRCH Design Worldwide | 5,216,000 |
| 105 | Goettsch Partners | 5,030,000 |
| 106 | PBK | 4,760,000 |
| 107 | WD Partners | 4,671,000 |
| 108 | BBS Architects | 4,480,778 |
| 109 | Good Fulton & Farrell | 4,192,972 |
| 110 | TK Architects | 4,192,048 |
| 111 | KZF Design | 3,510,582 |
| 112 | Schrader Group Architecture | 3,385,464 |
| 113 | Carrier Johnson + Culture | 3,204,174 |
| 114 | Rosser International | 3,068,066 |
| 115 | DLA Architects | 2,824,930 |
Top BIM Engineering Firms
| Rank | Company | 2013 BIM Revenue |
| 1 | Jacobs | $3,500,056,500 |
| 2 | URS Corp. | 260,646,956 |
| 3 | Arup | 200,593,789 |
| 4 | Thornton Tomasetti | 110,229,051 |
| 5 | SSOE Group | 108,776,674 |
| 6 | Leidos | 68,080,000 |
| 7 | Vanderweil Engineers | 64,267,000 |
| 8 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 60,000,000 |
| 9 | Burns & McDonnell | 60,000,000 |
| 10 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 53,874,750 |
| 11 | CRB | 50,000,000 |
| 12 | BR+A Consulting Engineers | 46,000,000 |
| 13 | Henderson Engineers | 40,445,464 |
| 14 | Affiliated Engineers | 39,413,000 |
| 15 | Walter P Moore and Associates | 38,940,592 |
| 16 | Magnusson Klemencic Associates | 38,546,234 |
| 17 | TTG | 37,516,550 |
| 18 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 34,807,545 |
| 19 | M-E Engineers | 33,802,000 |
| 20 | Dewberry | 31,610,437 |
| 21 | CCRD Partners | 24,000,000 |
| 22 | Heapy Engineering | 22,827,630 |
| 23 | H&A Architects & Engineers | 22,500,000 |
| 24 | Hixson Architecture, Engineering, Interiors | 18,000,000 |
| 25 | Smith Seckman Reid | 18,000,000 |
| 26 | Syska Hennessy Group | 17,282,931 |
| 27 | STV | 15,635,000 |
| 28 | Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor | 14,500,000 |
| 29 | DeSimone Consulting Engineers | 13,828,500 |
| 30 | Integrated Design Group | 13,033,800 |
| 31 | I. C. Thomasson Associates | 12,500,000 |
| 32 | Interface Engineering | 12,087,161 |
| 33 | Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon | 11,000,000 |
| 34 | RDK Engineers | 10,600,000 |
| 35 | Graef | 10,000,000 |
| 36 | Zak Companies | 9,776,949 |
| 37 | Environmental Systems Design | 9,489,362 |
| 38 | Glumac | 9,247,037 |
| 39 | Dunham Associates | 8,000,000 |
| 40 | Ross & Baruzzini | 8,000,000 |
| 41 | M/E Engineering | 6,825,000 |
| 42 | Newcomb & Boyd | 6,750,070 |
| 43 | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger | 6,000,000 |
| 44 | Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering | 5,000,000 |
| 45 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers | 4,178,299 |
| 46 | KLH Engineers | 4,007,920 |
| 47 | Walker Parking Consultants | 4,000,000 |
| 48 | Sparling | 3,755,276 |
| 49 | Highland Associates | 3,500,000 |
| 50 | Joseph R. Loring & Associates | 3,500,000 |
| 51 | H.F. Lenz | 3,375,000 |
| 52 | CJL Engineering | 3,250,000 |
| 53 | Apogee Consulting Group | 2,848,268 |
| 54 | Primera Engineers | 2,300,000 |
| 55 | KCI Technologies | 1,795,000 |
| 56 | RMF Engineering | 1,750,000 |
| 57 | Wick Fisher White | 1,123,000 |
| 58 | Wallace Engineering | 1,100,000 |
| 59 | GHT Limited | 1,100,000 |
| 60 | Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp. | 1,000,000 |
| 61 | ThermalTech Engineering | 1,000,000 |
Top BIM Construction Firms
| Rank | Company | 2013 BIM Revenue |
| 1 | Turner Construction | $6,054,743,555 |
| 2 | Skanska USA | 3,273,528,571 |
| 3 | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | 3,247,155,346 |
| 4 | Gilbane | 2,963,000,000 |
| 5 | McCarthy Holdings | 2,492,000,000 |
| 6 | PCL Construction | 2,491,483,943 |
| 7 | Hensel Phelps | 2,204,800,000 |
| 8 | Clark Group | 1,829,229,513 |
| 9 | Lend Lease | 1,753,678,000 |
| 10 | Hoffman Construction | 1,715,000,000 |
| 11 | JE Dunn Construction | 1,646,271,199 |
| 12 | Holder Construction | 1,545,000,000 |
| 13 | DPR Construction | 1,524,119,623 |
| 14 | Mortenson Construction | 1,475,739,000 |
| 15 | Walsh Group, The | 1,426,945,665 |
| 16 | Balfour Beatty US | 1,229,173,292 |
| 17 | Brasfield & Gorrie | 1,212,166,066 |
| 18 | Walbridge | 1,006,640,000 |
| 19 | Structure Tone | 945,622,800 |
| 20 | Clayco | 912,000,000 |
| 21 | Hunt Construction Group | 800,000,000 |
| 22 | Austin Commercial | 717,638,446 |
| 23 | Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction | 670,000,000 |
| 24 | James G. Davis Construction | 637,988,856 |
| 25 | Suffolk Construction | 608,076,165 |
| 26 | Power Construction | 600,000,000 |
| 27 | C.W. Driver | 553,391,000 |
| 28 | Messer Construction | 546,119,899 |
| 29 | Beck Group, The | 507,356,062 |
| 30 | Yates Companies, The | 501,700,000 |
| 31 | HITT Contracting | 495,000,000 |
| 32 | Sundt Construction | 466,859,585 |
| 33 | Gray Construction | 463,300,000 |
| 34 | LPCiminelli | 376,556,669 |
| 35 | Pepper Construction | 355,981,000 |
| 36 | Hoar Construction | 346,337,000 |
| 37 | Linbeck Group | 340,500,000 |
| 38 | Weitz Company, The | 318,980,698 |
| 39 | Consigli Construction | 312,401,459 |
| 40 | Manhattan Construction | 301,916,000 |
| 41 | Flintco | 300,200,000 |
| 42 | Adolfson & Peterson Construction | 297,116,533 |
| 43 | Rodgers Builders | 270,274,731 |
| 44 | Shawmut Design and Construction | 225,000,000 |
| 45 | Hill & Wilkinson | 202,421,000 |
| 46 | O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil | 201,011,969 |
| 47 | W. M. Jordan Company | 200,777,657 |
| 48 | Clune Construction | 197,547,422 |
| 49 | Haselden Construction | 190,679,924 |
| 50 | James McHugh Construction | 178,861,429 |
| 51 | Kraus-Anderson Construction | 178,000,000 |
| 52 | Robins & Morton | 170,486,931 |
| 53 | Absher Construction | 154,118,699 |
| 54 | Alberici Constructors | 152,455,102 |
| 55 | Fortis Construction | 145,000,000 |
| 56 | LeChase Construction Services | 138,000,000 |
| 57 | STV | 135,207,000 |
| 58 | Choate Construction | 116,059,660 |
| 59 | Paric Corp. | 85,000,000 |
| 60 | Wight & Company | 82,964,000 |
| 61 | Coakley & Williams Construction | 73,478,546 |
| 62 | Carlson Design Construct | 71,400,000 |
| 63 | Hill International | 65,000,000 |
| 64 | KBE Building Corp. | 57,842,462 |
| 65 | Leopardo Companies | 49,138,262 |
| 66 | New South Construction | 46,333,000 |
| 67 | Heery International | 36,298,930 |
| 68 | S. M. Wilson & Co. | 35,138,418 |
| 69 | Astorino | 33,349,068 |
| 70 | Harkins Builders | 22,200,000 |
| 71 | BlueScope Construction | 17,849,218 |
| 72 | Bomel Construction | 14,418,772 |
| 73 | Stalco Construction | 5,600,000 |
| 74 | Batson-Cook | 4,587,582 |
Read BD+C's full 2014 Giants 300 Report
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