Fredriksberg D is a modern office building, circa 14,000 m2 in gross area, and part of a business complex consisting of four separate buildings (A–D) in the trendy Vallila workshop district of Helsinki. Finnish broadcasting company MTV, who will be the anchor tenant in the premises, set certain requirements for their facilities regarding, for example, studio technology. The construction of the D building kicked off in September 2020, and it is completed in May 2022. Project owner is NCC Property Development and main contractor NCC Suomi Oy. Optiplan, which during the project became part of Sweco, provided structural, HVAC, electrical and automation engineering for the project.
The compact and dense city plan of the district affected both design and construction. NCC found solutions supporting circular economy since the construction phase. In addition to standard BIM-based design coordination, some parts of the building were modeled in more detail than usual. A simple structural initial-data model created during the conceptual design phase was used for structural member procurement. It was accurate enough for quantity surveying and provided the quantities much faster compared to a traditional spreadsheet method, and it enabled making an order for the structural members. Thanks to having the correct number of parts and the correct dimensions in the inital-data model, the initial-data model also helped with scheduling. Later on, the initial-data model was compared with the final structural model. The use of the initial-data model in procurement was such a success that the same method has since been used in other projects, too.
Sustainable development and corporate responsibility-related objectives set for the project were achieved through carbon footprint calculation and built-environment certificates. Architectural and structural IFC models were used in the LCA calculation, and Fredriksberg D achieved the BREEAM Excellent-level certification during design. The energy produced by the solar panels on the roofs of the Fredriksberg complex is equivalent to an annual saving of 25,000 kg of CO2 emissions.
Building information models were used daily in design coordination, procurement and on site
BIM reviews revealed the challenging spots when coordinating between the design disciplines. A combined model was used to monitor architectural, structural, HVAC, MEP and fire-stop design. Thanks to three weekly design coordination meetings, all design parties had a clear and uniform idea of the project. For example, the columns were modeled in the structural model in high detail because their reinforcements and hidden brackets needed to fit into a very small space. Brackets were used at different elevations on a single floor. It would have been extremely difficult to ensure functional dimensions without BIM.
Modeling was easier thanks to NCC having the model of the entire area and models of the neighboring projects as well as all the interfaces available. It was agreed that the HVAC designer model beyond the plot, which helped the construction site understand how the various pipes connected to the overall pipework. A sprinkler pipe coming from the other buildings in the complex was also modeled because all four buildings share one sprinkler system. This required reservations in all of the buildings.
The designers that did not model themselves made use of the other disciplines’ building information models, including acoustic design. 3D models made it easier to review hole reservations and equipment maintenance needs. Facade and window surface areas did not need to be measured separately for the energy model because the measures could be obtained directly from the IFC model. Construction site staff made use of the suspended ceilings’ locations and measurements in the architectural models. Contractors had separate computers on which to review the combined models.
Tekla Structures was used during the entire structural steel design process since the bidding phase. The building information models were linked with the fabrication system to monitor workshop progress and status. This made change management easier for the project management. The building services models were submitted to the respective contractor. This project is one of the first for which NCC commissioned fire-stop design by modeling.
Various pilot experiments with the latest construction technology
Anchor tenant MTV was introduced to their studio facilities by using Trimble’s XR10 virtual helmet. Uninstalled structures and studio technology were visualized on the concrete surfaces still under construction to provide a better picture of the outcome. The Trimble Sitevision device was tested during the excavation phase to visualize the foundations’ structural models in their actual locations and to confirm that molding was done as planned. In the beginning of the project, construction work was prepared by creating a 3D site plan with SketchUp to plan crane locations, for example.
Drill-hole surveying was used to create a rock-surface model of the location. Laser scanning was used during the excavations to survey the substructures, the retaining walls and rock surfaces, and the scanned results were compared with the model. Towards the end of the project, the new Trimble SX12 device was tested to import building information models to mark the locations of the precast units as modeled. The as-built surfaces were compared to the model by using the tacheometer’s laser scanner.
The construction lifecycle was completely documented from a bird’s eye view with a drone and the Trimble Status application. The area was photographed for the first time before the construction began, and new pictures were taken once a month to document site progress. In the beginning of the frame phase, the D building was outlined against the surrounding infrastructure based on the drone material and the photogrammetry data of the adjacent buildings.
Project parties:
Contractee: NCC Property Development Oy
Main Contractor and BIM Coordination: NCC Suomi Oy
Principal design and Architectural design: Arkkitehtitoimisto SARC Oy
Structural design: HVAC design
Electrical design and Building automation design: Sweco Finland Oy
Acoustic design: Akukon Oy
Technical fire consult: Paloässät
Sprinkler design: Paloturvasuunnittelu Block Oy
Fire barrier design: PTK-Turva Oy
Geo-technical design & Foundation engineering: Ins.tsto Pohjatekniikka Oy
