The Austin Airport Walkway addition is a series of small canopies that frame around an existing steel structure, additionally the new steel is intended to support a hanging sculpture. The existing steel has been in place for a while and the existing conditions had to be coordinated prior to any detailing or fabrication of the new steel framing.
The most challenging aspect of the Austin Airport Walkway project was the amount of coordination required with the existing steel structure. In this technological age, we have developed several tools that allow steel detailers to maintain accuracy, one of which is BIM and another is the 3D scanner. We were able to obtain a 3D scan of the existing steel structure which was then converted to a 3D-DWG; Tekla Structure’s BIM capabilities allowed us to use the 3D-DWG as a true-sized reference for the new steel placement, attachment, and sizing. Additionally, tube steel support locations had to be coordinated and clash checked with the sculpture design, which then had to be approved by the sculpture’s designer.
