Edificius User eXperience: the Sevilla Tower BIM case study

Edificius User eXperience: the direct experience of Leandro Javier Martín Ramírez modeling the Sevilla Tower with BIM

New insight dedicated to the Edificius user experiences.

This time, the Spanish student Leandro Javier Martín Ramírez, will tell us how he dicided to use Edificius to complete his Graduate thesis project for his Mechanical Engineering course at the University of Seville.

This project entails the development of the 3D BIM modeling of the Torre Sevilla (Torre Pelli) skyscraper, located in Seville, Spain.

The work was carried out for academic purposes under the direction of Professors Francisco Villena Manzanares and Carlos Vázquez Tatay.

Edificius User eXperience | Skyscraper external view: render created with Edificius

Project Description

Torre Sevilla is an emblematic skyscraper of Seville with a total height of 180.5 m, having 40 floors (20 floors for offices and congresses, 15 floors for hotel use and 4 upper floors where restaurant, belvedere and technical facilities are located). In addition, there are also four underground floors for the parking area.

The BIM modeling incorporates all the main structure and the tower envelopes.. Each floor plan was categorized according to its use, reaching about 8 typical floor plans. Each standard floor contains the necessary coverings and partitions to bring the model as close to reality as possible. 3D objects were added to help the project have more realism. The modeling of this project amounts to a total of 283,630 m², which is equal to the area of 35 soccer fields.

User eXperience | Restaurant floor plan created with Edificius

BIM modelling objective

After modeling the Sevilla Tower, the most representative area views were obtained, in which the dimensions and elevations can be seen. Finally, several renders were made in the different areas of the tower, going through each of the floors and the whole exterior tower.

This type of modeling is used prior to construction works, mainly as a marketing tool, so to obtain measurement plans, budgets, amount of material to be used, etc. It can also be used after construction is completed (like in this case), as it provides a lot of information about installations, renovations, failures, etc.

Edificius User eXperience | Panoramic terrace rendered image

Interview with Leandro Javier Martín Ramírez

Below the translation of the interview with Leandro Javier Martín Ramírez.

How did you find out about Edificius?

I discovered Edificius thanks my thesis tutor. During my undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Seville, we wouldn’t normally have access to this type of software for academic training purposes. In this case Francisco Villena gave me the opportunity to make a 3D model of a building and suggested me to use this software. I then searched online for further information and immediately found it very interesting.

What do you normally use it for?

I am currently working in a construction company and although Edificius is not fully integrated into the way we work, I have tried to use it to show a project to clients (whether we are going to build an industrial shed or make a house refurbishment). Therefore, we produced the model for advertising purposes as well.

What are the software features that you appreciate the most?

Edificius is a very interactive software with an easy-to-use intuitive interface. I’d like to also highlight its interoperability with other software such as AutoCad, Sketchup, etc. I’ve particularly appreciated the BimVoyager platform and used to easily share the BIM  online with anybody, without needing to have a different software or powerful PC to process it. Even those non having Edificius can browse through the 3D model and view the realistc spaces reproduces as if they were do it in first person.

Other positive aspects are:

• easy access to online resources (both as Video tutorials and YouTube videos)
• the results that you can obtain with this software.

It is a very useful tool that can be used in both academic and professional fields.

How long did it take you to learn how to use it? Was our online materials helpful?

It took me about three months to learn how to use all the tools in the program. I also learned quickly thanks to the video tutorials used in the course taught by Carlos Lucena. I found very useful  the videos found on the ACCA Software website as well, which guide you step by step in all the modelling phases and clearly explain how to use the various commands, features or clarify many doubts.

Have you encountered any difficulties? And if so, how did you deal with them?

We encountered a few issues when modeling. The elliptical shape of the skyscraper did not facilitate this process. In the joints of the curved curtain walls, there were some interferences that were easily solved by including a pillar as a frame.

You will always encounter some difficulties in a modeling project. The elliptical shape of the skyscraper did not make modeling any easier. I needed to make a building with a curtain wall as the exterior cladding. So I used the Arc Curtain Wall tool. I encountered some interference in connecting the curtain walls, which I solved by performing some workaround by adding a column as a frame between the two curtain walls.

We also encountered some problems during the rendering process since our model, being a skyscraper, occupied a lot of space.

Are you satisfied with the result obtained?

I am very satisfied as I got many compliments for my work, both by my tutor and from the professors who were present at the thesis discussion. All the people to whom I showed the images and videos of this work, said that it was very close to reality and that results were great.

Edificius User eXperience | Restaurant rendered image

Would you recommend Edificius and more generally this approach to work to any of your colleagues? If so, why?

Well, yes, I would recommend this program because it is very intuitive. When you start learning how to use it, it’s an easy-to-use program, and the benefits are many.

It’s a program that’s not difficult to learn, a program that’s completely accessible to anyone and allows you to even reproduce complex projects.

I would recommend it 100%.

Edificius User eXperience | Skyscraper exterior view