Gulf Construction Online - Dewan deploys Cloud based solution at Amaala

Digitalisation

Amaala’s Triple Bay Yacht Club has an intricate curved geometry.

Dewan deploys Cloud based solution at Amaala

01 May 2024

Significant time savings, increased productivity, and a higher level of output are being achieved through the use of construction management software in building a striking yacht club at Triple Bay, a key component of the Amaala megaproject.

The integrated wellness haven is being developed by Red Sea Global (RSG) on the north-western coast of Saudi Arabia.

Multidisciplinary architectural design firm Dewan Architects + Engineers is the lead consultant at Amaala’s Triple Bay Yacht Club, designed by HKS Architects, which is poised to become an iconic landmark within the bay area when it is completed next year.

To navigate the complexities of the project’s design and ensure efficient collaboration with the many stakeholders on the project, Dewan Architects + Engineers utilised a suite of Autodesk solutions, according to the consultant.

Dewan Architects faced challenges managing the yacht club’s intricate curved geometry and facilitating seamless collaboration among various stakeholders. Traditional methods proved inadequate for a project targeting LEED Platinum certification.

“To meet challenges, one must be innovative and contemporary. This has been exemplified during our work on the Amaala Yacht Club, which features a unique, curved, organic geometric shape,” says Mohammed Ibrahim, Senior Design Manager at Dewan. “We utilised modern systems in architectural design and construction, specifically building information modelling (BIM), to accomplish all design stages efficiently. By linking all building information into a unified environment (BIM Collaborate Pro), the team has been able to achieve rapid collaboration and coordination among project stakeholders.”

During the schematic design stage, the Dewan design team focused on modelling the project’s facade and converting all curved complex geometry into a Revit environment, later proceeding to manage multidisciplinary coordination. In the detailed design stage, Revit was utilised to model the interior design, encompassing lighting and FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment). Lastly, during the tender stage, comprehensive documentation was created using BIM Collaborate Pro to facilitate the tendering process for the project.

“By transferring the building geometry elements into the Revit environment and assigning them appropriate parameters, the design team effectively addressed the challenge posed by the unique shape,” says Christopher Stock, Head of BIM Operations. “The views features of Autodesk tools were employed to engineer and coordinate the construction of various building shape assemblies.”

The company placed particular emphasis on the use of Revit to manage the complex building shape of Triple Bay Yacht Club.

“During the design process, optioneering and generating rapid design options/responses are much quicker in a BIM environment. Additionally, we experienced time savings during design review meetings and workshops. In the construction supervision phase, the comprehensive history of models stored in the cloud enables BIM to facilitate issue reviews,” says Stock.

Through leveraging BIM Collaborate Pro, Revit, and Navisworks during the design of the Yacht Club, the Dewan design team reported substantial time savings. They recorded an average overall time saving of 43 per cent during collaboration, 17 per cent during design, and 28 per cent during change management. Additionally, they achieved a 40 per cent time saving in design collaboration.

Dewan Architects + Engineers, which has been working with Autodesk’s solutions for several years, primarily with CAD, utilises the software for all of its ongoing projects.

“By leveraging Autodesk’s solutions, we are able to comply with the ISO 19650 standard for managing information throughout the entire lifecycle of a building asset using BIM. Utilising a cloud-based solution that enables effective collaboration among our teams, we have witnessed significant time savings, increased productivity, and a higher level of output for our clients,” explains Stock.

The first phase of Amaala, the Triple Bay masterplan is set to open its doors to guests in 2025. It introduces eight resorts with over 1,200 hotel keys, paving the way for an expansive development offering more than 3,800 hotel rooms and 1,200 luxury residential units.