CU Mar-Apr 2020

CASEstudy
lighting, electrical, windows, doors and
finishes with less room for mistakes and
misunderstandings, and their tender and
construction documents are clearer,
resolving as many of the technical details
as possible in 3D.
DESIGN CHALLENGES
The main design challenge presented by
the Scenario House project was to
physically and visually connect the front
part of the house with the basement below,
while producing an open plan
encompassing living, dining and kitchen.
An accurate BIM model of the existing
building was created showing local context
and correct orientation. It was then solved
fully within the 3D environment by creating
a split-level double reception connected to
the kitchen and garden beyond via an
angled and glazed rooflight and a 'floating'
library feature that leads up to the
bedroom floors.
The original internal spaces were cramped
and the living areas had low ceiling heights;
the only direct connection to the garden,
the conservatory, was used mainly as a
storage space. All public activities were
disconnected from each other and from the
outdoors and isolated into separate rooms.
Not much light entered the spaces that
were used the most, all located on the
lower ground floor.
RESOLVING THE BRIEF USING
ARCHICAD
Working within a virtual environment helped
Scenario increase the level of complexity in
the design geometry, and they came up
with and designed a split-level, open,
double reception, connected to the kitchen
and garden level by an angled, glazed roof
extension and a 'floating' library feature
leading up to the bedroom floors.
Optional solutions were tested to utilise
every square inch of the house and fulfil the
brief. These included, for example, the use
of 'leftover' spaces under the stairs, under
the eaves, in hallways and limited height
areas. These spaces are often overlooked
in traditional 2D design and are much
easier to spot and resolve in the realistic 3D
environment ARCHICAD provides.
Lowering the reception area also presented
an opportunity for a fun and practical kids'
area under the stairs, complete with a
pullout table and bench inviting the kids to
spend time playing and doing their
homework and artwork in a connected part
of the home.
BIM COLLABORATION
Early concept models were exchanged with
the project's structural engineers. Scenario
Architecture normally use IFC format for file
exchange, and sometimes FBX, OBJ or
DWG, depending on what others use. In
this project, the structural engineers used
SketchUp, but they created a great level of
detail, showing everything down to the nuts
and bolts. Exchanging files using IFC they
found workshops assisted collaboration,
supported by emails with quick
screenshots and annotations.
As a result of the relatively simple systems
implemented it was not necessary to
appoint M&E engineers, and Scenario's
technical team produced all the information
needed in-house using ARCHICAD's MEP
Modeller, which proved very useful in
plotting a mechanical and electrical design
and resolving clashes with the architectural
and structural designs. It also helped them
refine the design and communicate the
intentions to the contractor and his
plumbers and electricians.
REAL-TIME VISUALISATIONS &
VIRTUAL REALITY
Scenario tries to make full use of the latest
technologies to help them show their
designs to clients, planners and
contractors. Two such technologies that
they believe have the potential to
completely revolutionise their design
process are real-time realistic visualisations
using Twinmotion and Virtual Reality.
Twinmotion allows them to produce decent
quality rendered model in which they can
navigate in real-time. As a design tool it
also helps them quickly consider the look,
feel and light conditions of different layouts
in the initial design stage and compare
various material finishes during the detail
design stage.
Virtual Reality takes visualisations to
another level. Normally used to create
expensive and highly polished
presentations, Scenario previously thought
it had limited value, but now, even at
relatively low resolutions, a real-time VR
experience that does not require an
expensive setup process can be an
amazing way to explore early design
concepts throughout the project design
stages. In fact it prompted Scenario to offer
their clients a complementary copy of
Graphisoft BIMx with stereoscopic view
mode using Google Cardboard.
www.scenarioarchitecture.com
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