Sahil Thapa

Suman Khadayat

BIM Orientation and Implementation

Metropolia University of Applied Sciences

Bachelor of Engineering
Sustainable Building Engineering
Bachelor’s Thesis
28 November 2020
 Abstract

Author Sahil Thapa, Suman Khadayat

Title BIM Orientation and Implementation

Number of Pages 55 pages + 16 appendices

Date 28 November 2020

Degree Bachelor of Engineering

Degree Programme Sustainable Building Engineering

Instructors
Sunil Suwal, Senior Lecturer

The aim of this bachelor’s thesis was to understand the use of BIM tools in the construction
process, create a model of an already built residential building using different Building Infor-
mation Modelling (BIM) software, compare the cost output from two different methods and
provide a manual for designing concrete structures using ArchiCAD and Tekla Structures.

To achieve the target, a practical case implementation of BIM in residential building was
carried out. It focused on using two key BIM tools, ArchiCAD and Tekla Structures, which
were used to create architectural and structural model respectively. The main objective of
creating models was to compare the material take-off and compare the cost of materials with
actual expenses and carry out structural documentation, 3D visualization and collaboration.
The results showed that, there could be significant amount of cost reduction while using
these tools.

Comprehensively, this thesis could be beneficial to the architectural and structural enthusi-
asts. It could be apportioned as a guide to the beginner students of ArchiCAD and Tekla
Structures, especially in Nepal.

Keywords BIM, ArchiCAD, Tekla, structural design, architectural design,

building, cost, materials
Contents

List of Abbreviation

1 Introduction 1

2 Building Information Modelling 2

2.1 BIM in Construction Project 3

2.2 Benefits of BIM 5
2.3 BIM on Project Life Cycle Phase 6
2.4 BIM Program Tools 8
2.4.1 ArchiCAD 9
2.4.2 Tekla Structures 10

3 Building History of Nepal 11

4 Initial Steps in Building a New House in Nepal 13

5 Case Study: Casa Magayon 15

6 Practical Project: Existing Single-Family House in Nepal 17

7 Modelling the Single-Family House in ArchiCAD 18

7.1 Grids and Stories 19

7.2 Placement of Building Structure 21
7.3 Settings of the Building Materials 22
7.4 Creating Architectural Model in ArchiCAD 22

8 Structural Modelling of the Single-Family House in Tekla Structures 31

9 BIM data exchange/ collaboration 38

10 Interior Design 39

11 Quantity Take-off 40

11.1 Quantity Take-off and Cost Estimation from ArchiCAD 41

11.2 Quantity Take-off and Cost Estimation from Tekla 47

12 Comparisons and Results 50

13 Conclusion 53
References 55
List of Abbreviations

AEC Architecture, Engineering and Construction.

API Application Programming Interface

BIM Building Information Modelling

CAD Computer Aided Design

GDL Geometric Description Language

IFC Industry Foundation Class

MEP Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing

 1

1 Introduction

The architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is evolving throughout the
time. In the past few years, the AEC industry because of various seen and unseen rea-
sons faces challenges related to cost, quality and project delivery time. AEC projects are
normally spread across a wide array of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and
stakeholders. The difficulties in coordination and information exchange from one stake-
holder to another commonly results in mistakes or misinterpretation resulting in cost
overruns, delay and low-quality work. However, building information modelling (BIM) has
been introduced, which has the ability to solve these problems. The BIM has changed
AEC work methodology into digital-based from paper-based communication. The main
problem of paper-based communication is cost, and time required to achieve critical as-
sessment information of the projected design which includes cost estimation, energy
analysis, and structural details. The use of digital communication, i.e. BIM is expanding
in the construction business in order to increase the project efficiency, save cost, mini-
mize time, perform various analyses and generate automated documentations like en-
ergy analysis and structural details. [1.]

BIM today is seen as a promising factor that is considered very important for built envi-
ronment projects. However, BIM is also considered as introduction of a new application
or a software. BIM and its implementation require an equal focus on people, process and
technology. BIM promotes communication and collaboration between engineers, facility
managers, architects and others to improve the delivery of projects. [BIM supports real
time communication with the use of different application programming interfaces (APIs).
It provides possibilities for the designers to utilize this function and simplify their design
environment or interface. These types of design authoring and communication possibili-
ties not only support design and construction but also help in design tracking and change
management. Final output during the construction phase is an as-built BIM. The infor-
mation content from an as-built BIM is largely used as a base for the operational phase
of a project, or a building, to support the operation and maintenance of the building. The
information supports the clients or owners in decision making and help them to make
informed decisions in the early stages of designing. [2.]
 2

The main goal of the thesis is to understand about the current changes and possibilities
brought about by BIM. At the same time, it aims to introduce the content of BIM software
tools and their emergence. It focuses on providing information on the basic uses of Ar-
chiCAD and Tekla Structures while designing a residential building. The building that is
designed is an existing residential building in Nepal that is redesigned in the thesis with
the aid of the BIM programmes ArchiCAD and Tekla Structures. Hence, the thesis also
offers a perspective of the current building construction scenario in Nepal. The existing
building was originally designed and constructed in a traditional way, the thesis when
redesigning the building using BIM tools and also compares the design to the one made
with the traditional method. In this process of redesigning a building with BIM tools, the
amount of materials used to construct the different sections of the building is evaluated
and compared with the amount of materials actually used in the existing building. Addi-
tionally, the cost of the building is calculated, and the obtained result is compared to the
actual cost. A step by step process of designing and quantity take-off is explained.
Hence, thesis can be used to develop techniques to use Tekla Structures and ArchiCAD.
Apart from the small-scale building, the thesis also introduces a BIM based project Casa
Magayon as a case study. In Casa Magayon, ArchiCAD and GRAPHISOFT BIMx tools
were used. The Casa Magayon demonstrates the benefit of using an excellent visual
representation tool like BIMx.

This thesis is a collaborative work. Construction projects are normally done with the in-
volvement of different design disciplines. The authors wanted to see the possibilities that
BIM provides in the design and coordination between an architect and a structural engi-
neer. Therefore, the architectural perspectives are carried out by Suman Khadayat and
structural aspects’ by Sahil Thapa. At the end, a collective conclusion is derived.

2 Building Information Modelling

Building information modelling is a process through which a construction project is deliv-

ered. It is a method that connects architects, engineers and construction professionals
in order to build, construct and operate efficient buildings and infrastructures. Moreover,
it handles the whole process and enables digital technology in a more advanced way
which benefits timesaving, cost-saving and provides better results in the construction.
[3.]
 3

BIM is not just a 3D modelling or software, it is a process or a stage to exchange reliable

information, visualization and data throughout the project’s life cycle. Moreover, it collects
all the information about the project and enables the platform for the planning as well as
increase the project performance during and after the construction. BIM has been in the
construction industry for around 40 years with different names like virtual building, prod-
uct model and intelligent object. The failure of accurate information keeping, data pro-
cessing, timesaving and cost-saving lead to BIM in a construction Industry. BIM is an
innovative technology in the AEC industry that transforms the way of how engineering
projects are designed, constructed and operated. It also provides all the project stake-
holders with easy information by providing better visualization and coordinated infor-
mation. [2.]

BIM is a process of creating and maintaining buildings through digital technology. Since
it is a digital platform, it helps to assemble the database in the planning phase and data
can be adjusted and added through the following design, construction, renovation, and
demolition phases. The building and systems created by designers and engineers
through different programs can be overlaid to create a virtual building via the internet.
The Information on building such as scheduling of doors and windows, quantity take-
offs, construction labour, and materials schedules can be extracted easily and automat-
ically that helps in minimizing errors and manual works, saving time and reducing cost.
[4.]

2.1 BIM in Construction Project

BIM has been changing the AEC industry over the years, not only with design and pro-
cess but also with the ability to reduce the error throughout the life cycle of the building.
Moreover, it has set an example that, collaboration between different BIM tools can
change the clarity of the overall project.

BIM is more than 3D modelling and has different subsets that are described in terms of
dimensions such as 3D which refers to design arrangement, 4D includes a time dimen-
sion in scheduling, 5D modelling means that the cost estimation is included, 6D takes
sustainability and 7D not only sustainability but also facility management into account.
 4

Whereas 3D enables graphical and non-graphical information in a common data envi-

ronment and scheduling dimension (4D) helps to construct time schedules which allow
the evaluation of buildability and workflow planning of the project. 5D feature provides
the possibilities of various cost analysis and optimization including the cost of purchasing
and installation of the materials while 6D and 7D focus on real time information integra-
tion with BIM information to support different aspects during the facility management
phase like sustainability, comparison between predicted and actual energy consumption,
usage of the facility, spaces and the components. [5.]

Figure 1. BIM throughout the project lifecycle

BIM is a collaborative way of working that offers open, reliable data for anyone working
on the project. Its goal is to centralize all project information in a digital knowledge plat-
form generated by all its users. However, BIM technology is capable of reducing con-
struction complexities by addressing it simultaneously from 7 different fronts: design -
 5

specifications - coordination (3D), process (4D), cost estimation (5D), sustainability (6D)
and life cycle (7D) as shown in figure 1.

2.2 Benefits of BIM

BIM not only strengthens the technology itself but also improves the design and build
process. However, BIM provides better and more efficient decision-making and elimi-
nates design and documentation complexities. Furthermore, BIM combines plans, sec-
tions, details, graphics and data in ways that are not possible in 2D. [6.] Additionally,
some of the benefits of BIM throughout the project lifecycle are mentioned in table 1
below.

Table 1. Benefits of BIM. [7.]

Benefits Description

Improved Sched- BIM saves time by minimizing project cycle times and preventing delays
uling in the construction schedule.

Improved Site BIM offers construction safety by identifying dangers before they end up
Safety becoming the physical risk by visualizing and arranging coordination
ahead of time.

Better Builds Good coordination increases the performance of the model to a higher
level. By exchanging common BIM resources, more experienced team
members work together with builders in all phases of the project to have
greater control over technical design decisions.

Strong facility BIM provides an accurate digital record of the project and helps during
management facility management and renovation for the entire lifecycle of the building.

Cost-saving utilizing BIM for efficient design and manufacturing helps to reduce costs.

Better collabora- permits the team to share project models and coordinate planning, and
tion and commu- also guarantee all design stakeholders have knowledge of the project.
nication

BIM has become an indispensable tool for the construction industry with a number of
advantages. BIM projects are more likely to succeed and maximize effectiveness for
every stage of the project lifecycle and beyond.
 6

2.3 BIM on Project Life Cycle Phase

There are different uses of BIM for each project. A project can widely be categorized into
three phases Design (includes the planning phase), construction and Operation as
shown in figure 1. Figure 2 shows different primary and secondary BIM uses that are
possible in different project phases. Figure 2 phases have plan as a separate phase to
show more onto details on BIM use whereas Figure 1 generalizes both plan and design
phase into a single design phase.

Figure 2. Project lifecycle phases

Figure 2 shows the influence of BIM in four phases of the project life cycle. It includes
planning, design in a pre-construction phase, construction and operation in a post-con-
struction phase. Currently, there are over 50 different uses of BIM have been identified
for the projects at different phases. [9.] Some of the BIM uses capitalised in practical
project are design authoring, design review, 3D coordination, cost estimation, documen-
tation, 3D visualization.
 7

In design authoring process 3D software is used to create a design of the project. Ap-
proved tools create models while audit and analysis tools study or add wealth of infor-
mation in the model. Design authoring tools are the first step towards BIM and the aim
is to link the 3D model to a powerful database of properties, quantities, means and meth-
ods, costs and schedules. In this study ArchiCAD and Tekla Structures were used as a
design authoring tool to create a 3D model of the project. The potential value of Design
authoring is used to make design transparent for all stakeholders and to create powerful
design visualization. Moreover, design authoring also creates better quality control of
design, cost and schedule and also builds better collaboration between stakeholder and
BIM users. [8.]

Design Review is a process where stakeholders view a 3D model and provide their input
to verify various aspects of the design. These aspects include assessing software com-
pliance, analysing space design and layout in a virtual world, and setting parameters
such as layout, sightlines, lighting, security, textures and colours. This use of BIM can
only be performed by computer software or with special virtual mock-up facilities. Such
as ArchiCAD was utilized in this study to create highly detailed model and solve design
and constructability issues. [8.]

The 3D coordination software is used to detect 3D geometric conflicts by comparing 3D

building system models. The aim of 3D coordination is to eradicate field clashes and
project complexity. The 3D coordination has the capacity to coordinate building projects
through a model and reduce field conflicts. 3D coordination also allows users to visualize
the construction which helps to increase productivity and reduce time and cost. [8.]

BIM can be used during a project's lifecycle to produce reliable quantity take-offs and
cost estimation. This process helps the management team, during all stages of the pro-
ject, to see the cost consequences of their improvements, which can help to reduce un-
necessary budget overruns due to project modifications. BIM allows to quantify modelled
materials precisely and also generates more cost estimates in minimum time. Moreover,
it also saves estimator’s time by reducing quantity take-off time. The resources required
to perform the cost estimation are model estimating software, design authoring software,
accurately built design model and cost data. [8.]
 8

Documentation is the most popular form of using BIM technology. The information-en-
hanced 3D model is used to generate 2D drawings directly and eliminates the rework in
CAD software. 2D documentation usually includes plans, sections, 2D elevations as well
as drawings of construction details, workshop drawings, schedules and architectural vis-
ualizations. Changes made to the 3D model will be automatically applied to every ex-
tracted 2D drawing and ensure continuity across the entire project. [8.]

3D Visualization feature in BIM produces accurate and detailed building models in a real-
time. Before its actual construction, clients can experience and take a virtual view of the
structure meanwhile, architects and developers can get a better understanding of every
floor, areas, textures, and elevations. 3D visualizations also identify errors in design from
the initial phase of design, which are fixed immediately, or a suitable alternative is pro-
vided. The smallest of details like adding landscaping or choosing the colour and texture
of the floor, modifying lighting in a specified room or making furniture can be visualize
with the help of BIM. Moreover, it also provides actual visual measurement of the objects
and their distance with other objects, which helps clients to modify arrangement of ob-
jects based on their size and available space. [8.]

2.4 BIM Program Tools

BIM contains various design product information’s. These information supports various
activities and trades of the construction project in different phases. It helps in proper
coordination and collaboration among the AEC industry. BIM based working requires
upgrade of existing tools as well as skills of people involved in a project. BIM application
or software upgrade affects the workflow among the team members and the consultants
of the project. Choosing the right software might be difficult and time-consuming in case
the users are not familiar with BIM software. Thus, proper software investigation is
needed before implementing it to any projects. [9.]

There are plenty of software available in the market but choosing the best ones which
are less time consuming, cheaper and easy to use, especially in a low budget project is
important. While selecting the software there are some important that should be taken
into consideration. The software should be capable of converting the model into the ifc
format. The capability of the software with the operating system should be checked. BIM
 9

tools should be able to get required updates from its developers with respect to the time.
Furthermore, the price, flexibility, low learning curve, and availability are also regarded.
[9.]

Table 2. Software tools and their basic uses

Uses Software tool

Planning/Preliminary cost esti- Onuma planning system (OPS), Dprofiler, Tokmo, Code-
mates Book

Architectural/Structural Design REVIT, ArchiCAD, TEKLA, Bentley BIM, Vectorworks

phase

Building Service system ArchiCAD MEP, REVIT MEP, Bentley BIM, MagiCAD, Pipe
designer 3D

Clash Detection Solibri model checker, Bentley Navigator, trimble connect,

bimspot

4D Scheduling Vico office, Naviswork simulate, Bentely navigator

5D cost estimation Vico office, Innovaya, costx

Above mentioned software are some commonly used BIM tools in the Projects. There
are other tools as well in the market that are not listed. A brief introduction of BIM
tools used in this thesis for the architectural and structural modelling are described below
with their background and features.

2.4.1 ArchiCAD

History

ArchiCAD is the first and most popular software of the Graphisoft company. The origin
of the Graphisoft company was in the early 1980s and it was founded by Gábor Bojár.
After Hungary’s communist history, a group of three-dimensional mathematical model-
ling experts decided to open a company, but they had no access to up to date and pow-
erful computers. This limitation led the company to develop 3D modelling software that
could be compatible in inexpensive computers. In 1983, Graphisoft participated in CeBIT
trade show at Hannover, Germany and demonstrated their software in a Macintosh. Gra-
phisoft was appreciated by Steve Jobs and later it was supported by Apple. This support
 10

from apple was a major amplification and a successful factor for the Graphisoft company.
[10.]

ArchiCAD was first introduced in 1987 as a virtual building concept and it was the first
software to depend on the full capacity of new Apple product Macintosh II. Graphisoft
sold almost 2000 software packages worldwide by 1989. In 1993, Graphisoft released
ArchiCAD for MS Windows. Later, in 2003 ArchiCAD was regarded as BIM tool and en-
abled architects to draw walls, windows, slab, doors and roofs. Earlier, it was only used
to create 2D and 3D geometry. [10.]

Features of ArchiCAD

ArchiCAD is a BIM tool that allows users to design virtual buildings with virtual compo-
nents like walls, windows, slabs, doors, furniture and roofs. Moreover, it allows users to
work in 2D or 3D models on the screen. The three-dimensional model can be exported
in two-dimensional drawing at any time beside that plans, elevations and sections can
also be constantly renewed in case users rebuild the view. ArchiCAD also has Geometric
Description Language (GDL) which allows to create new components and also Applica-
tion Programming Interface (API) to support 4D and 5D software like Vico office suite or
Tocoman iLink for cost estimation and scheduling. ArchiCAD also allows users to ex-
change data among other software by importing and exporting DWG, DXF, ifc and BCF
files. ArchiCAD also includes immediate 2D navigations and improves the workflow and
the productivity. [11.]

2.4.2 Tekla Structures

History

In 1966 Teknillinen laskenta oy (‘technical computing’) was founded. The man behind
the idea was Reino Heinonen, who was appointed as managing director in 1966. The
first company premises were built-in Simonkatu, Helsinki. The main concept of forming
a company was to set up a unified computer programming office for various engineering
offices. In 1968, Tekla started focusing on structural engineering, road building and earth
moving and started updating software. As computers started growing Tekla started de-
veloping along with them. The computerized calculation made engineering work easier,
 11

faster and more efficient than before. In 1975, the economic crisis and recession slowed
down the Tekla business. Despite the economic crisis, Tekla did not stop developing
software. Software like plotter software and graphic printing were developed during the
time of recession. In the beginning of 1990, the x-product family was founded. Xsteel
which was completed in 1993 was a major success in the export product business and
sold over 300 customers in 38 different countries. In 1996, Tekla started its first subsidi-
ary in Sweden and started investing in the international market. By 2008, Different sub-
sidiaries were founded around the globe and 80% of net sales came from international
operations. By 2009, around 16000 licences were sold over the world. Today Tekla is an
international firm with over 550 employees around the globe and considered as a suc-
cessful company in the construction business. [12.]

Features of Tekla

Tekla is a BIM modelling program which supports concrete and steel detailing and fabri-
cations in a 3D environment. TEKLA supports both API and ifc data format. It can be
linked with different structural analysis programs like STAAD, SAP2000, Robot Millen-
nium and Microsoft excel. API software can link with architectural programs like AutoCAD
and ArchiCAD. Tekla also supports open formats like dxf, ascii, fem, cimsteel, fabtrol
xml, ifc, ifczip, ifcxml, 3dd, dgn, igs, and iges. Tekla has BIMsight which allows programs
to view ifc files in 3D. BIMsight is a viewer program and it has many features. The main
feature of BIMsight program is the clash detection and checks conflicts. Tekla also has
construction management such as scheduling, quantity take-off and 4D visualization.
Tekla also allows multiple users working on one central file and visualizes the project
without any complex interpretation. [13.]

3 Building History of Nepal

Geographically, Nepal is located between India and China. Therefore, the construction
and architecture of buildings are influenced by all three cultures, symbolizing their herit-
age. There is no legitimate evidence of early construction styles of residential buildings.
However, from the inscriptions of old temples and palaces, the tentative idea of construc-
tion can be derived. [14.]
 12

Nepal is a geographically diverse country; there are high altitude Himalayan regions, hilly
strip mountains, and low land terai regions. The constructions of shelter have been highly
depended on the conditions and the cultures practiced in those regions. The temples
and palaces mostly built-in the Kathmandu valley can provide an elusive concept of ar-
chitectural and construction history in that region. The arrangement of houses, temples,
stupas and urban spaces was shaped by the various Hindu and Buddhist practices. It
gave the city a distinctive physical and oriental nativity.

Early Nepali Home, Pre-medieval period (300 AD- 879 AD)

•Stones and decorative motifs were used influenced from architecture in India.

Newari home, Medieval era (1200 AD- 1769 AD)

•Use of bricks and wood as the main structural material started. Tiles and carved
woodwork were dominant influenced from Tibeto-Burmese.
Shah home (1769 AD- 1846 AD)
•The Mughal architecture from India introduced in Nepal.

Rana home (1846 AD- 1951 AD)

•Neo classical or European style design adapted.

Modern Nepali home (1951 AD onwards)

•Use of concrete and bricks started as a result of globalization and westernization.

Figure 3. Residential architectural style through Nepalese history [16.]

The chart presents the brief history of residential architecture in Nepal. The Indian and
Chinese influence is evident throughout the years. Since wood was abundant in Nepal
in comparison to present scenario, timber was mostly used in structural parts such as
columns, beams, roof frames, doors and windows. Later in late medieval era the use of
brick and clay mortar were combined to construct superstructures and plinths. After the
introduction of reinforced concrete in the 1950s the traditional brick-walled residential
houses were changed into bungalow structures. [15.]
 13

4 Initial Steps in Building a New House in Nepal

There are a lot of procedures required to commence the construction of a building in

Nepal. A landowner is obliged to follow all the legal responsibilities before starting to
build a house. The first criteria are to design the desired layout of a house by an architect.
There are various architect and engineering firms that can design and conceptualize the
layout. However, it is mandatory to hire a professional who is registered in Nepal Engi-
neering Council. The design should follow the criteria of the National Building Code. [16.]

When designing a building, the site, the area available and the client’s convenience is
taken into consideration. According to the new urban planning and building construction
laws of 2015; it is forbidden to construct a new housing taller than three stories near
another house which is less than one and a half meter apart. The law instructs buildings
up to 10 meters high should leave setback of 1.5 meters from the border of the land plot.
In addition, there should be a minimum of 3 metres distance between the house and the
centre of the road connecting the house. [16.]

After sketching a design by implementing all the mandatory laws, the process of acquir-
ing building permits is carried out. The process might differ according to the regions.
However, in municipal areas the registration is done through the Electronic Building Per-
mit System (E-BPS). Nonetheless, the designers are also obliged to submit hard copies
of the design to the concerned municipality. This process takes 25-30 days which can
be divided as follows. [17.]
 14

Figure 4. Acquiring building permit process [17.]

As the chart in figure 4 suggests, the building permit acquiring process is a long and
exhausting task. The process lengthens due to the consumption of time in transferring
files in different office departments. A smooth link between different departments is lack-
ing.

The currency used in Nepal is Nepalese rupee which can be abbreviated as Rs or NRs.
The official measurement system used in Nepal is metric system, however, customary
units and imperial units are also used. [18.] one euro is equivalent to 130 NRs. [19.]
Table 3 shows required documents and charges to acquire permit in order to construct
new house in Nepal.
 15

Table 3. Required documents and charges for house construction permit

Documents Required

• Owners identity card or registration certificate of company

• Certificate of registered architect or engineer
• Cadastral extract
• Land ownership or lease proof
• Building plan
• Tax payment paper
• Structural plan

The original documents along with the copies should be submitted to the Metropolitan city
office.

Charges

Residential building NRs 269 per m2

Ownership transfer (multiple) NRs 75 per m2

Ownership transfer (once) NRs 54 per m2

Usage charge NRs 54 per m2

Building completion certificate NRs 22 per m2

The Department of Urban Development also charges a NRs 2,000.00 designer fee. The De-
partment authorizes the project designer. The license is called the Certificate of Designer, and
it should be renewed every year. The fee is NRs 1,0000.00 per annum. For each building
design the Municipality charges an additional NR 2,000.00.

It is obliged to design a house only from registered architect or engineer and submit all
the required documents to acquire a permit. The service charges for the residential build-
ing is low.

5 Case Study: Casa Magayon

The International property award (2016-2017) winner project Casa Magayon was started
in 2014 and completed in 2015 by the SARCO Architects Costa Rica. This residential
building has a total area of 1290 m2 located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The total budget
of this project was 3 million euros and it was a completely BIM-based project. The
 16

SARCO used Graphisoft’s ArchiCAD and BIMx software tools in this project. The use of
Building Information Modelling allowed the combination of both 3D and 2D, resulting in
the best visual displays of the award-winning project in figure 5. [20.]

Figure 5. Casa Magayon model modelled with ArchiCAD [20.]

SARCO Architects used BIMx as a central communication and visualization element

throughout the whole work process. BIMx allows 3D and 2D documentation of complex
ArchiCAD models into simpler and understandable form. SARCO Architects used BIMx
to present the precise model to clients and used colour in final documentation. Moreover,
BIMx was also used in this project to picture the detailed design and to interact with
suppliers. [20.]

The key aim of the case study is to learn the concept of BIM tools in real-life projects and
to understand the use of BIM tools collaboration in the different phases of the BIM pro-
ject. In the Casa Magayon project SARCO Architects implements the BIM process
through the whole project in order to show the exact layout to clients. The above building
project indicates that the proper use of the BIM method has led to better outcomes. In
their project, SARCO Architects used ArchiCAD For Design Authoring and structural
Analysis and further collaborated with BIMx for Design review. ArchiCAD allows them to
enhance the design and layout of the project, while BIMx makes the project look more
comprehensive and easier to communicate with clients and suppliers. [20.]
 17

6 Practical Project: Existing Single-Family House in Nepal

To study the benefits of BIM, the thesis studies an existing single-family house in Nepal
by redesigning it. The redesign is carried out as a practical project following the BIM
procedure. For the process, an existing building designed and constructed with the tra-
ditional method is chosen. The selected building is a two and half storey single family
house located in Budhanilkantha 5, Kathmandu, Nepal. The owner of the building is Mrs.
Devaki Adhikari. The valuation and registration are done by the Department of Land
Revenue under the Ministry of Land Reform and Management. See appendix (1) for
more details. Table 4 shows the parameters of the existing residential building which is
redesigned using BIM tools as practical project for the thesis.

Table 4. Information of residential building

Building Information: Residential building

Land area 158.98 m2

Ground floor area 85.36 m2

(Plinth)

First floor area 87.09 m2

Frame structure Reinforced concrete

Cost 9,283,531.25 NRs

The building was built in 2004, and the life expectancy of the building is evaluated to be
60 years. The design of the building was done in the traditional hand and paper method.
This design was later drawn in 2D designing software. A floor plan map is available in
appendix (1).
 18

7 Modelling the Single-Family House in ArchiCAD

The architectural modelling of the single-family house redesigned in the thesis was done
in ArchiCAD version 23. The project was simple since the building is already existing and
the project plan was already available. The architectural drafting was started with a reg-
ular student version of ArchiCAD 23. Initially, a template was chosen where there is also
an option to browse another different template. For now, there is no such template for a
building built in Nepalese environment. Therefore, the standard ArchiCAD template was
chosen for simplicity. However, if the project were to be repeated, a new template could
be prepared manually, saving the time for further arranging the project.

Figure 6. Dialog box for New Project

After selecting the template for the new project, a project preference was set. Project
preference is a versatile toolbox that allows designers to choose a preferable working
environment. For instance, different countries use different system of measurement to
regulate and define different purposes of science and business. Hence, different project
parameters such as working units, rules and standards, project location can be redefined
by clicking the ‘Options’ from the toolbar and ‘Project Preference’ leading to different sets
of dialog boxes as shown in figure 7.
 19

Figure 7. Project preference settings

The ArchiCAD interface is the most adaptable and efficient since it allows a learning
environment to the users. The interfaces like drawing area, info box, menu bar, and nav-
igator tool bars are perfectly aligned and flexible. These interfaces can be changed and
arranged upon the necessity of the user. Thus, due to this flexibility a bigger drawing
area can be achieved as well.

7.1 Grids and Stories

The ArchiCAD allows simplified installation of grids. The user can pre-choose the instal-
lation of a grid and put a column at the same time. So, when redesigning the sample
single-family house, the grids were placed among the centre of columns, assisting the
plan to be more visible and logical. The horizontal and vertical gridlines were placed at
a distance of different intervals as shown in figure 8.
 20

Figure 8. Grid position in ArchiCAD

Similarly, assigning stories was also an important part in the redesign of the single-family
house. The stories were assigned by opening the dialogue box from the ‘Stories Naviga-
tor’ toolbox on the left and ‘Settings’ allowed for the creation of the three stories of the
building.

Figure 9. Story Settings in ArchiCAD

 21

The three stories were defined above the ground floor, and a foundation was defined
below the ground floor. The height of each floor was set 2.845 meters.

7.2 Placement of Building Structure

ArchiCAD allows the designer to import drawings from various other software applica-
tions like AutoCAD, Revit, Sketchup and other designing tools from where a reference
can be imported. However, in this redesign case, the dwg files from AutoCAD could not
be retrieved. Therefore, the drawing was made from the blueprint of the building. After
the placement of grids and correct stories, the columns were visible, and a floor plan was
created by using different design tools like walls, columns, slabs, doors, windows and
other components.

Figure 10. Plan drawing in ArchiCAD

The initial ground floor plan layout indicated the installation of grids and the proper auto-
mated elevations. The elevations can be also changed depending on the orientation of
the building, but the practical case project in this study was simply facing north. The
Elevations, Sections and 3D places helped further throughout the designing of the build-
ing where different elevation can be seen and sections can be traced for accuracy.
 22

7.3 Settings of the Building Materials

The ArchiCAD Library offers different sets of building materials of different characters
and properties. In addition, it also allows the user to modify the properties of a building
and the materials. It lets users create a new material where elements of choice and de-
sign can be installed, and an existing design can be modified as well. The dialogue box
of building material can be opened from ‘Options> Element attributes> Building materi-
als’ from the menu bar. In the redesign project of the single-family house, the external
and internal walls were of brick of different sizes. Hence, in the composite structure
toolbar the name of building materials and their properties were defined. The wall profile
is double plastered with one layer of brick in interior walls and two layers of brick in
exterior walls.

Figure 11. New composite wall structure dialog box for bathroom wall

As shown in figure 11, complex profiles of walls were defined in the wall of the bathroom.
The composite structure of ArchiCAD allowed for the creation of a wall and tiled slabs in
the toilet and bathroom. Hence, this process of creating walls demonstrates that the
availability of wall profiles in ArchiCAD makes it easier to work.

7.4 Creating Architectural Model in ArchiCAD

There are different properties of the tools that create or design a building. Some are
structural and some are architectural, whereas some are of plumbing and some are of
HVAC. For the model created in this thesis for the existing single-family building, an
 23

architectural profile unit was used where only limited foundation, walls, slabs, columns,
roofs, doors and windows were created. The process of designing these units is ex-
plained below.

As shown in figure 9, the foundation story was created at first where the ground floor is
rising 0.914 meters from the ground. The pad footings were created as referenced to the
2D drawing available from the blueprint. So, in ArchiCAD drawing a pad footing is com-
plex since it is not available directly from the library or profile. Hence, the structure was
later created in Tekla Structures.

The wall is created from choosing the wall icon from the toolbox or also can be in-
serted from Design tools button from toolbar. After clicking the icon, a wall dialogue box
appears. In this study, two different walls were created one with a double layer brick wall
and another a single layered brick wall. From the dialogue box, different parameters such
as the width and height of the wall, override surfaces and the classifications were chosen
for two different wall types. The first option of wall, ‘basic wall’ was chosen consisting of
only one layer of material. The next option of composite was chosen for a bathroom walls
as mentioned in the composite building tool in figure 12.
 24

Figure 12. Wall default settings

There are a total six types of reference lines for building a wall in ArchiCAD. They are
inside face, outside face, core inside and core outside. There is also the possibility to
select different settings directly from the toolbox appearing at the top of the drawing
page.

Slabs for the redesign of the existing single-family building were created by opening the
dialogue box by clicking ‘Slab ‘icon from the toolbox. The dialogue box has different pa-
rameters where one can moderate and define the thickness of the slab, and material
choosing. ArchiCAD has a versatile tool that runs by turning on the ‘Suspend groups’
from the toolbar. At the same time, the dialogue box of slab allows to define the story.
Similarly, to walls, there are different options to define the slab like a basic slab option
and a composite slab option. When installing a slab like wall, there is a toolbox appearing
above the drawing page which is a basic editing tool for addition of slab. It is a small
version of the dialogue box itself allowing to change the orientation, story, references
other preferences as shown in figure 13.
 25

Figure 13. Slab default settings

The roof is projected in the third floor of the building. The design tool of the roof has a
similar dialogue box as other building component. From the dialogue box, one can
change the parameters, define the angle of pitch, choose whether single plane or double
plane and other geometries as shown in figure 14. The dialogue box also allows the
stories placement and choose its height. Similarly, basic material, unique material or
composite material for the roof can be selected. Likewise, the dialogue box also allows
to assign an angle for the roof edge. The roof created was a multi-plane with the 15-
degree plinth angle and a thickness of 0.076 meters.
 26

Figure 14. Roof selection settings and 3D roof model

There are various forms of stairs placement in ArchiCAD, some are formed from default
stairs settings and some are downloaded as an object. However, staircase is also avail-
able in ArchiCAD library. Generally, there is a staircase design toolbox that opens up a
separate dialogue box. Staircase has different list of suggested height and width for
Treads and Risers following the rules and standards. From the dialogue box, one can
edit the different parameters of length, breadth and height of stair, define landing options,
edit the riser height and angle and also identify the baseline of placement. The flight type
or the landing type stairs could be selected from the staircase selection setting dialogue
box based on structure. Figure 15 represents the function of dialogue box of staircase in
ArchiCAD. Meanwhile, in this created model of single-family house there are 2 auto-
mated landing U- shaped staircases connecting ground floor to third floor. One circular
staircase in the third floor to connect to the water tank and solar panels.
 27

Figure 15. Stair default settings and staircase section model

In ArchiCAD, doors are added in a plan from selecting a door icon from the design
toolbox. There are various types of doors available in libraries where one can modify and
edit the parameters and adjust whether facing inside or outside while placing them in
drawing. The reference point for the door can be added with respect to the bottom of the
floor and edited from the dialogue box. The storefront door setting allows the user to
define the opening, distinguish the nominal sizes, add natural ventilation, door leaf type
or put the right type of handle. The precise settings help users to distinguish the material
property economically and aesthetically. Meanwhile, there are different door types in the
building depending on the room type and entrance. The door in entrance as shown in
figure 16 is a storefront double door opening with double leaf and other doors in every
room is a single leaf opening.
 28

Figure 16. Door default settings

Windows are placed in walls by choosing the window tool from the design toolbar. The
dialogue box of window toolbar helps to modify the perimeter of length, breadth and
anchors with respect to the sill, story and wall chore facade. As similar to the door setting,
the storefront setting of windows also allows user to modify shape of panel, reveals,
addition of natural ventilation, model attributes, and wall opening. However, there are
various windows placed in the building of this case project. Some are double slash win-
dows, and some are regular one plane windows which are positioned depending upon
the type of room and living space as shown in figure 17.
 29

Figure 17. Window default settings and positioning of windows

ArchiCAD has a set of objects available by default in the library. It includes a set of
kitchen accessories, utilities for toilet, tap, sink, and trash bins. The platform of ArchiCAD
lets users to retrieve the list of data’s and details of selected objects and use them for
further quantity and quality assurance. Besides, it has an online platform where the users
can download the necessary objects and skip the whole 3D modelling of the object itself
allowing users to save time and carry out task efficient. In the model created for the
thesis, different objects with different properties are placed. For instance, the showers
and WC are placed directly from the library in toilets. The living room is completely fur-
nished which allows the user to analyse the living space and investigate the property of
material. ArchiCAD can also edit the property of material from the object selection dia-
logue box as shown in figure 18.
 30

Figure 18. Object default settings box

ArchiCAD includes different sets of drawings that can be created mostly based on floor
plan, elevation, sections and 3D perspectives. The navigator tool contains” view” section
which is normally used to create different views with various combinations and settings.
The model designed in ArchiCAD acts as a single source of information and thus allows
users to create different types of vies from the model elements – for example floor plans
in different presentation modes and scales. Information exchange between these views
have a versatility to save or export them in different formats like dwg, pdf, bimx, ifc as
required in the project. To create a drawing, in the single-family house model a new
layout was created by selecting ‘Documents’ then ‘Layout’ and then ‘New layout book’,
which was later assigned with different names based on the drawing type. The printing
paper size is defined whether A2, A3 or A4. After that each element was placed inside
the layout book and the drawings were created. When the layout book is ready, the
drawings are available in the ‘Publisher set’ to be published. For instance, users can
publish it as a pdf file or a BIMx- Hyper model. Moreover, there are various settings to
define the paper size, setting properties for publishing and a path to save the files.
 31

8 Structural Modelling of the Single-Family House in Tekla Structures

The structural modelling of the building was done in Tekla Structures 2019. The ifc model
exported from ArchiCAD was used as a reference file to create a model in Tekla. The
software was used primarily to design reinforced concrete beams, columns and founda-
tions.

The working environment was set up before starting to work on it. Since there is no
database for the working environment of Nepal, this project was done under Finnish en-
vironment. The licence configuration of the software is an educational version as shown
in figure 19.

Figure 19. Tekla Structures setup

The commands and views are easily accessible in Tekla Structures interface. Figure 20
shows all the essential working areas and labels.
 32

Figure 20. Tekla interface with reference ifc model of building

While creating a new model in Tekla Structures, it automatically creates a rectangular

grid and a view. The radical grid was not necessary to create; therefore, the existing
rectangular grid was modified using the grid properties in the side pane. The grid prop-
erties were opened by double clicking the grid. The X grid lines vertical to work plane, Y
grid lines horizontal to work plane and Z elevations in the structure coordinates were
adjusted as shown in figure 21. The numbers represented the vertical label whereas
alphabets represented the horizontal label.
 33

Figure 21. Tekla grid setting

The ifc model of the building exported from the ArchiCAD was imported in Tekla Struc-
tures by clicking the reference model button in the side pane. The Tekla Structures sup-
port ifc and ifcXML format, therefore ifc format was saved from ArchiCAD. The original
location of the single-family house model in ArchiCAD was in origin X (0,0), Y (0,0), Z
(0,0), hence the ifc model was imported in the same origin as shown in figure 22. The
reference model can also be located in a different coordinate system.
 34

Figure 22. Reference model importing dialogue box

The foundation in the single-family house was created by clicking the footing in the con-
crete tab of the quick command box. In this model pad footing was created and modified
according to the measurements. The dimension of the pad was made 500 mm * 500 mm
and the concrete material M25 was used.
 35

Figure 23. Footing property dialogue box

The columns for the model created in this thesis were done on the concrete command
tab by selecting the concrete column icon. The different attributes such as material, pro-
file, class and other parameters were defined in the property dialogue box as shown in
figure 24.
 36

Figure 24. Column properties dialogue box

The beams for the model created in this thesis were done on the concrete command tab
by selecting the concrete column icon. The beam was drawn by picking two points and
different attributes such as material, profile, class and other parameters were defined in
the property dialogue box as shown in figure 25. The dimension of the beam was defined
229*229 mm.
 37

Figure 25. Properties of beam dialogue box

To create the reinforcement for the model in this thesis, the ‘beam reinforcement 63’ was
selected for the beam and the parameters for concrete covering, stirrups and tension
bars were adjusted in the beam reinforcement dialogue box. Similarly, ‘column reinforce-
ment 83’ was used for the columns adjusting all the parameters required. Bottom bar
and rebar combination was made for the reinforcement of pad footings.
 38

Figure 26. Reinforcement property dialogue box

The reinforcement rebar used is of grade A500HW. This is the commonly used material.
It has a bending radius of 300 mm as shown in figure 26.

9 BIM data exchange/ collaboration

Above process of creating the single-family house model shows the use of different BIM
tools for a single project. In the process ArchiCAD was used to create a design and
further collaborated with Tekla Structures for the structural design with the help of ifc
format. An ifc file format allows the exchange of model and non-graphical data between
us. This standard file format results in better designs and an increased efficiency and
productivity of the project. While designing a model in ArchiCAD it is kept in mind that, it
is going to be shared with structural designer. Hence, all column and beam were defined
initially in the created model. ArchiCAD has a built-in translator named ‘Data Exchange
with Tekla Structures’ which is optimized to export models to Tekla Structures. This op-
tion was used to save the file.

In Tekla Structures, the model was inserted as a protected reference model via ‘Insert
reference model’ tool. The entire model or only the elements on the model can be im-
ported. In this study, google drive was used to share the file and project related commu-
nication. BIM tools aided to solve the design issues by offering to communicate the de-
sign in different ways, such as virtual model interactive format. Hence, the collaboration
between architect engineer and structural engineer can be done seamlessly in their own
independent space and time.
 39

10 Interior Design

The 3D viewing tool is beneficial in changing the pre-conceived ideas of design while
working on preliminary construction phase. Since the traditional methods used by the
owners to construct the existing single-family house redesigned in this thesis did not offer
a visualization option, the owner of the house did not realise they would disagree with
their initial plan after the construction. Therefore, when redesigning the model on Ar-
chiCAD, the owners were given an opportunity to view the 3D model and make the de-
sign changes which they wished they could do for the existing building.

The interiors of the house were not designed in the early 2D plot of the single-family
house. However, while redesigning the same single-family house for this thesis, the ob-
jects placement was done in detail with the help of an ArchiCAD function. This helps the
parties of a project to anticipate the required products and the space to place them more
conveniently. Additionally, ArchiCAD can sort out and hold the steadiness of 3D models
which helped to update the progressions rapidly according to the changes demanded by
the owner. Figure 27 is rendered from ArchiCAD and shows the placement of interior
furniture defined by the owner. This is the top floor of the redesigned single-family house
with a limited space in comparison to other floors. Designing in ArchiCAD helped to pre-
assume the required space for the kitchen and create the remaining space as a living
area with just a small brick wall partition. Furthermore, all the furniture was placed after
calculating the living space area and the material amounts required. This helped to limit
the time, quantities and cost in the design phase itself.

Figure 27. Interior design rendering

 40

Similarly, as shown in figure 28, a hand basin outside the bathroom was designed in the
ground floor of the building. Due to 3D visualization features in ArchiCAD, the empty
space was recognized. Utilizing the space, a basin of perfect dimensions was chosen
and fitted in the space in the model. The owner had not been able to recognise the need
of a basin when the house was first designed using traditional method. Hence, the use
of ArchiCAD to re-create the design for this thesis helped to visualise the idea and make
the decision to progress in the early stage of design.

Figure 28. Rendered image of basin placement

Therefore, these small changes at design phase help to reduce the efforts and costs
required in later phase. While rendering these images in ArchiCAD, the designer is able
to set the desired climate, lighting and environment.

11 Quantity Take-off

Quantity take-off is used to measure the building elements, which is later, used to esti-
mate their cost and workload. In the process of QTO, the project is broken down into
smaller units, which are easy to measure and estimate. It is taken as one of the most
important tasks in the process of construction.
 41

In a BIM based approach, the QTO can be directly automated. Mostly, a BIM tool utilizes
the geometric properties of elements and provides quantities like area, volume in docu-
mented form. BIM based QTO offers easier and more detailed project cost estimation,
minimizing time and expenses. ArchiCAD is one of the most used design tools and it
includes routines to extract quantities from the model automatically. The designing of
model created in this thesis is done in ArchiCAD, hence the QTO is extracted using the
same tool. In ArchiCAD, the elements to be measured are selected and the measure-
ment parameters are defined. ArchiCAD serves a wide range of pre-defined parameters.
It also allows users to define new measurement parameters using the GDL programming
feature. The interactive user interface of ArchiCAD offers more options for arranging and
presenting the data. It allows users to edit some of the fields directly on the starting sheet
by creating new configurations, and these changes are later processed automatically in
the building model. Furthermore, ArchiCAD can save output tables in different formats,
including excel, pdf and dwf. Therefore, the further processing of data is minimized. [21.]
The thesis also looks at how QTO is done with Tekla Structures. In Tekla Structures,
material quantification can be quickly generated by using the organizer tool.

11.1 Quantity Take-off and Cost Estimation from ArchiCAD

After performing the quantity take-off using ArchiCAD, the procedure to benchmark the
prices of bricks, windows and doors of the created model is attempted. The goal of
benchmarking the price is to adjust and understand the price estimation of the model
created in this thesis. The price from the analysis list of Nepal government was inputted
in the result obtained from quantity take-off in order to get the cost estimation of data.
The estimation procedure is less time consuming than collecting the data. Since most of
the data’s while constructing the single-family house using traditional method was not
recorded, the comparison of costs is only done between use of bricks, doors and win-
dows, and amount of concrete and steel used in footings, beams and columns in tradi-
tional process and BIM process.

The Interactive schedule tool in ArchiCAD is automated method to evaluate and quantify
the contents of geometric data and information of building elements which is presented
in a systematic form of tables and chart.
 42

The default scheme contains predefined schedules available that is linked to every ele-
ment type and are in ‘Schedules’ under the ‘Project Map’ tab of ‘Navigator’ toolbox. The
schedules are based on elements, components and surfaces.

Figure 29. Schedule navigation tab

Elements lists contain basically any kind of elements and includes all the related
properties like area and volume, character properties like thermal resistance, and
strength. Likewise, component lists are enhanced and objected to make list of
information about sub element of composite, profile or basic elements. The enhanced
list could include the volumes of certain skin of composite wall or certain characterstics
of floor slabs. Surface lists provide information about exposed areas and finishes among
the surfaces. The schedules helps to evaluate and visualiize the final finishes of the
building. Here are some of the examples that have been gathered in this theis model
based on doors, windows, objects.

In the ArchiCAD model, double clicking the ‘IES 03 All Openings Schedule’, the
information chart opens up with different categories of opening functions. There is a
‘Scheme Settings’ button on the top right of the information chart. The scheme chart has
various list of existing schedules. The ‘All Openings Schedule’ is selected and there are
various criterias for selection of the classification like doors or windows. Below the criteria
 43

field there is ‘Field’ box where one can add the needed property for instance addition of
element ID, quanity, zone, Nominal W*H size and other different properties according to
the requirements of designer as shown in figure 30.

Figure 30. Scheme setting window for created model

In the model created in ArchiCAD, the information charts are verified and are evaluated
easily, and one can modify the height, text style and other font styles. This also allowed
to have access to the settings and make changes directly in the schedule.

Figure 31. Schedule formatting window for created model

 44

In order to estimate cost of the single-family house designed in ArchiCAD, the severel
steps are follwed using interactive schedules. First step is to set cost values for elements
in the created model. For instance, the cost calculation of door was done by using the
feature of interactive scheduling. For this at first the object is selected and the purchase
price is added to the ‘Classififcation and Properties’ of door as shown in figure 32.

Figure 32. Door setting classification window

After the addition of price in the object properties, a new schedule element is added for
only three front floors of the design for the cost estimation of door.

Figure 33. Schedule scheme window

 45

After the addition of correct parameters in the scheme settings, the schedule for front
three doors were traced from interactive scheduling. Also, by enabling the summation
feature, the individual cost of each door as well as the total cost of the door can be found
in schedule. However, the scheme settings can allow to add or remove any fields of
parameters of properties from the schedule narrowing the content of the field.

ArchiCAD also allows to save interactive schedule to Microsoft Excel, DWF, PDF or
Tabbed text for further documentation. The CTRL shift and save button redirects the
straight save whereas in ‘save as’ option the designer can save the schedule in any of
the above-mentioned format.

Table 5. Cost estimation of bricks. [24.]

Number of bricks to purchase 31,648

Brick size 115mm × 57mm × 240mm

Cost per brick 16.39 NRs

Total 518,711

Table above indicates the number of estimated bricks and cost per brick needed to build
the walls of recreated single-family house in ArchiCAD. The size of the brick is commonly
used standard Nepali brick dimension. Total number of bricks estimated to build the sin-
gle-family house were multiplied by the current price of the brick to obtain the result. The
quantity take-off result is available in appendix (3).

The following two tables show the price estimation for the doors and windows of the
single-family house project. Data collected from the quantity take-off is inputted along
with the price taken from the rate analysis of Nepal government to obtain the result. The
following estimation is based on the current price of timber, glass, transportation and
carpentry taken from rate analysis of Nepal government.
 46

Table 6. Cost estimation of doors.

s. n Dimension (m ²) Quantity Price/per (NRs) Total price (NRs)

1. 0.9*2.1 12 7,600 91,200

2. 0.914*2.1 3 60,000 180,000

3. 0.737*2.1 1 6,900 6,900

To- 16 278,100
tal

The table above indicates the size of the doors at their price. The total number of doors
used in the building is 16. Dimensions and numbers have been taken from the quantity
take-off and their prices are different depending on their dimension as seen in table
above. However, there are 3 doors of dimension 0.914*2.1 m ² which are particularly
expensive than other doors. These are the front doors which are specially carved and
designed only using timber wood. The other doors are made of plywood which is com-
paratively cheaper.

Table 7. Cost estimation of windows.

s. n Type Dimension (m ²) Quan- Price/per Total price

tity (NRs) (NRs)

1. Double window 1.829*1.295 9 15,800 142,200

2. Storefront win- 1.2*1.219 3 9,850 29,550

dow

3. Single window 0.610*0.914 3 4,480 13,440

4. Double window 1.194*1.219 1 8,750 8,750

5. Double window 1.829*1.499 2 16,000 32,000

7. Double window 1.219*1.5 1 10,800 10,800

8. Double window 1.524*0.914 1 11,500 11,500

Total 20 248,240

The table above shows the cost estimate for the windows of the recreated single-family
house for this thesis. The total number of windows in the building is 20, while there are
 47

12 double windows, 3 single windows and 3 Storefront windows. The price of the win-
dows depends on the size of the windows. The total cost calculated for windows is
248,240 rupees, as shown in the table above.

11.2 Quantity Take-off and Cost Estimation from Tekla

In Tekla Structures, the quantity of concrete and steel rebar was calculated to estimate
the total cost of constructing beams, columns and footings of the recreated single-family
house model. The concrete material used in the structure is M25, which has the crushing
strength of 25nm/mm² at 28 days. The minimum requirement of crushing strength of
concrete set in Nepal National Building Code, NBC 205:1994 is 15nm/mm² at 28 days
for a 150 mm cube [22.]

The total volume of concrete output result of recreated model from Tekla Structures is
30.6 m³. The result is available in table of appendix (5). The concrete yield result from
Tekla Structures is the wet volume of concrete.

In order to calculate amounts of cement, sand and aggregate, the following calculation
is performed:

The ratio of cement, sand and aggregate in M25 type concrete is 1:1:2

Dry volume of concrete = 52% more of wet volume [23]

For 1 m³ of concrete,

𝐷𝑟𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑒 = 1 + (52/100) ∗ 1 = 1.52 𝑚³

Therefore, for 30.6 m³ of wet concrete,

𝐷𝑟𝑦 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = 30.6 ∗ 1.52 = 46.5 𝑚³

Now, Sum of ratio of M25 concrete is

 48

1+1+2 = 4

Hence,

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 = (1/4) ∗ 46.5 = 11.6 𝑚³

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑 = (1/4) ∗ 46.5 = 11.6 𝑚³

𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑔𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑒 = (2/4) ∗ 46.5 = 23.3 𝑚³

Again,

The amount of cement in kg is

11.6 ∗ 1440 = 16740 𝑘𝑔

Where, density of cement is 1440 kg/m³

A bag contains 50 kgs of cement, the number of bags needed for the recreated single-
family house model is

11.6 ∗ 1440 = 16740 𝑘𝑔

The prices of building materials in Nepal, with the cost of transportation and labour in-
cluded are given in table 8 below.

Table 8. Rates of different materials in Nepal [24]

Materials Unit Cost (Rs)

Cement bag (50kg) 920

Sand m³ 3,998

Aggregate m³ 3,998
 49

Next, the total estimated cost of concrete used in constructing beams, columns and foot-
ings are calculated based on table 8. The results are shown in table 9.

Table 9. Total cost of materials used

Material Amount Cost (Rs)

Cement 335 bags 308,200

Sand 11.6 m³ 46,378

Aggregate 23.3 m³ 93,153

Total Cost: 447,731

Therefore, the total cost of concrete estimated using Tekla Structures is 447,731 NRs.
Similarly, the total amount of the steel used in the created model is exported from Tekla
Structures which is mentioned in appendix (5).

According to the output exported from Tekla organizer the total weight of steel used is
2097 kg. The cost of TMT bars in Nepal is 77 Rs per kg, and including the transportation
cost it costs 79 Rs per kg. [24.]

Therefore, the total cost of steel used in beams, columns and footings of recreated model
for this thesis is

2097 ∗ 79𝑅𝑠 = 𝟏𝟔𝟓, 𝟔𝟔𝟑 𝑵𝑹𝒔

Hence, the total cost of steel used in structural parts of recreated single-family house is
165,663 Nrs.
 50

12 Comparisons and Results

The aim of the practical project of redesigning an existing single-family house in this
thesis was to estimate the quantity and costs of the house with the BIM tools and com-
pare the costs, element by element, to the actual costs of the house when it was built
using the traditional method. All the costs from the current redesign have been calculated
and these costs are compared to the actual expenditure when constructing the building.

Table 10. Actual cost expenditure on components

Components Amount Unit cost Total cost Inflation cost (2020)

(NRs) (NRs) (NRs)

Cement 355 bags 330 117,150 354,608

Sand 13.4 m³ 1,340 17,956 54,352

Aggregate 26 m³ 1,400 36,400 110,181

Steel 2109 kgs 30 63,270 191,516

Bricks 37840 5.5 208,120 629,970

Doors and Win- - - 176,387 533,916

dows

Total 619,283 1,874,543

Table 10 above shows the cost expenditure in different components of the constructed
house. The mentioned quantities of cement, sand, aggregate and steel are only for the
construction of beams, columns and footings. In order to compare the cost estimated
using BIM and the actual cost spend on purchasing the materials, all the costs are con-
verted to the current cost using the inflation calculating website. [25.] The prices include
labour and transportation cost as well. The conversion showed that the inflation-adjusted
total costs of the actual construction would be 1,874,543 NRs. The inflation-adjusted total
costs of material use are compared with the results from the QTOs done with ArchiCAD
and Tekla Structures.
 51

Table 11. Cost estimated from BIM tools

Components Amount Unit Cost Total Cost (Rs)

(Rs)

Cement 335 bags 920 308,200

Sand 11.6 m³ 3,998 46,377

Aggregate 23.3 m³ 3,998 93,153

Steel 2097 kgs 79 165,663

Bricks 31,648 16.39 518,711

Doors and Windows 527,303

Total 1,659,407

Table 11 shows the amount and cost calculated using the BIM based tools. In table 12
the inflation-adjusted total costs of material use are compared with the results from the
QTOs done with ArchiCAD and Tekla Structures.

Table 12. Comparison between two different methods

Components Actual BIM Inflation-ad- BIM based cost

Amount Based justed cost (NRs)
Amount

Cement 355 bags 335 bags 354,608 308,200

Sand 13.4 m³ 11.6 m³ 54,352 46,377

Aggregate 26 m³ 23.3 m³ 110,181 93,153

Steel 2,109 2,097 kgs 191,516 165,663

kgs

Bricks 37,840 31,648 629,970 518,711

Doors and Windows - - 533,916 527,303

Total - - 1,874,543 1,659,407

The table above shows a significant difference in cost when the single-family house is
redesigned using BIM technology. The amount of material use has been deduced while
using the BIM model. However, there has been only a slight change in cost of doors and
windows. Due to the same frame sizes and material use in door and window, the cost
 52

could not be reduced. The considerable saving in the cost is witnessed in bricks. The
resulting number of bricks to be purchased calculated from ArchiCAD were substantially
less than the actual bricks used. Similarly, Tekla Structures helped to reduce the amount
of concrete and steels.

Cost Comparision
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
Cement Sand Aggregate Steel Bricks Doors and
Windows

Actual Cost (Inflation-adjusted Price) BIM Cost

Figure 34. Bar graph showing cost comparison

In figure 34, the bar chart shows side to side comparisons of two different methods. The
difference in values in a small-scale single-family house is remarkable which suggest
there is a possibility of achieving vast contrast in values when traditional method is re-
placed by the BIM technology in large constructions. In terms of percentage BIM tools
managed to reduce 11.5% cost in materials. There is a significant difference in amount
of cement and bricks used in two different methods. The bar below shows the compari-
son between these two materials in terms of amount used.
 53

Brick Comparision Cement Bags Comparision

6192
BRICKS 31648 CEMENT 20
37840 335
BAGS
355
0 10000 20000 30000 40000
0 200 400

Savings BIM Number Actual Number Savings BIM number Actual Number

Figure 35. Charts comparing number of bricks and volume of cement

The charts in figure 35 shows the comparison between most affected components while
constructing a house. The number of bricks and volume of cement to be purchased is
not rightly estimated most of the time while using traditional method of construction. In
this single-family house built using traditional method both the materials were overused.
There can be seen 16 % of drop in the number of bricks to be purchased or used after
using BIM tools. Similarly, the consumption of cement is dropped by 5.6 %. Hence, with
the use of BIM tools, the estimation and purchase of these materials can be done pre-
cisely.

13 Conclusion

The thesis has outlined the relevance of BIM tools in the construction process. The pos-
sibility to complete a project in a designated short period of time is remarkably increased
using BIM tools. As in the case study of Casa Magayon discussed in chapter 5, the
stunning 3D visuals in the pre-construction phase help to conceptualize the end project,
minimize the errors, fulfil the owner’s prerequisites and win the trust of financers in big
projects. The Casa Magayon project shows that the possibility to complete the project in
a designated short period of time is remarkably increased using BIM tools. Additionally,
Tekla Structure is also one of the most popular modelling tools used all over. The soft-
ware provides a variety of options to smoothly design structural models. The key feature
of BIM modelling is seamless linking between different design tools. The architectural
 54

model for the existing single-family house discussed in chapter 6 was created in Ar-
chiCAD and linked with Tekla Structures by an ifc file in this thesis.

In order to validate the importance of BIM technology, the single-family house was rede-
signed with ArchiCAD and Tekla Structures. The residential building is located in Kath-
mandu, Nepal. Hence, the traditional methods practiced when building a house in Nepal
were specified. The country being geographically diverse, the construction process and
cost varies according to the location. However, the process of acquiring the building per-
mit is still extremely inconvenient and long. The thesis primarily focused on interacting
with the user interface of two key BIM tools; Tekla Structures and ArchiCAD. It showed
the features of these tools and provided the guidelines on how to use them. The final
goal was to estimate the amount of materials used to construct the different parts of the
redesigned single-family house using BIM tools and comparing them to the amount of
materials used in the actual, traditional construction. Eventually, the costs evaluated by
BIM technology yielded a smaller cost expenditure than the traditional method of con-
struction. Therefore, the material use can be reduced by precisely making early estima-
tions, controlling the wastage, and making necessary design changes. The use of Ar-
chiCAD and Tekla structures in this project yielded a16% and 5.6% drop in the amount
of bricks and cement required in the construction, respectively. The cost saving turned
out to be 11.5%. Even though the comparison was done for some specific parts of the
house, it is enough to conclude that the material use saving can be done, resulting in
savings in constructing costs. Furthermore, 3D design visualization helped the owner of
the house to visualise the possible changes needed in the house which was not possible
in the first traditional construction. Thus, the satisfaction of a customer is ensured by the
BIM tool features.

In conclusion, ArchiCAD and Tekla Structures can be said to be major tools to ratify the
demand of BIM in the construction industry. BIM could be a considerable solution for the
construction industry in a country like Nepal, where the construction process is chaotic,
disorganized and not documented. However, it is also necessary to make the legal pro-
cess smooth and adapt the BIM technology in guidelines.
 55

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15 Sengupta, Urmi & Upadhyaya, Vibha. 2016. Lost in transition? Emerging forms of
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 Appendix 1
1 (1)

Appendix 1. Old Floor Plan

Figure 1. Floor plan plotted in 2D

 Appendix 2
1 (4)

Appendix 2. ArchiCAD Publications

Figure 1. Ground floor plan

 Appendix 2
2 (4)

Figure 2. South and West elevations

 Appendix 2
3 (4)

Figure 2. East and North elevations

 Appendix 2
4 (4)

Figure 3. 3D rendered front view

 Appendix 3
1 (2)

Appendix 3. Quantity Take-offs from ArchiCAD

Element ID Height [m] Brick type and measures No. of bricks to purchase Cost Per Bricks Total Cost
SW - 001, Brick, Exterior

2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm

509 16.39 8342.51
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
652 16.39 10686.28
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
711 16.39 11653.29
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
758 16.39 12423.62
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
820 16.39 13439.8
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
842 16.39 13800.38
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
862 16.39 14128.18
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
955 16.39 15652.45
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
955 16.39 15652.45
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
1101 16.39 18045.39
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
1138 16.39 18651.82
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
1172 16.39 19209.08
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
1172 16.39 19209.08
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
1274 16.39 20880.86
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
1568 16.39 25699.52
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
2215 16.39 36303.85
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
2370 16.39 38844.3
4.572 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
681 16.39 11161.59
SW - 002, Brick, Interior
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
126 16.39 2065.14
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
96 16.39 1573.44
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
100 16.39 1639
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
100 16.39 1639
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
113 16.39 1852.07
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
357 16.39 5851.23
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
362 16.39 5933.18
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
376 16.39 6162.64
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
388 16.39 6359.32
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
448 16.39 7342.72
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
473 16.39 7752.47
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
490 16.39 8031.1
2.845 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
835 16.39 13685.65
4.572 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
559 16.39 9162.01
SW - 003, Brick, Exterior
0.61 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
59 16.39 967.01
0.61 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
72 16.39 1180.08
0.61 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
137 16.39 2245.43
0.61 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
143 16.39 2343.77
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
10 16.39 163.9
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
27 16.39 442.53
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
31 16.39 508.09
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
33 16.39 540.87
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
38 16.39 622.82
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
39 16.39 639.21
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
43 16.39 704.77
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
48 16.39 786.72
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
49 16.39 803.11
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
61 16.39 999.79
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
65 16.39 1065.35
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
130 16.39 2130.7
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
200 16.39 3278
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
204 16.39 3343.56
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
363 16.39 5949.57
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
437 16.39 7162.43
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
771 16.39 12636.69
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
799 16.39 13095.61
0.914 Nepal Standard - 115 mm × 57 mm × 240 mm
1000 16.39 16390
31648 518710.72

Figure 1. Quantity take-off of walls

 Appendix 3
2 (2)

IES-02 Door Schedule

Purchase View from Opening
Element ID Quantity W x H Size
Price Side

DOO - 001 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 002 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 003 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 004 1 0.737×2.100 6900

DOO - 007 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 008 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 009 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 010 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 012 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 013 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 014 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 016 1 0.900×2.100 7600

DOO - 017 1 0.900×2.100 7600

ENTDOO - 0013 0.914×2.100 180000

278100

Figure 2. Quantity take-off of doors

IES-02 Window Schedule

Element View from Side Opposite to Opening Purchase

Quantity W x H Size
ID Side Price
WD - 001 9 1.829×1.295 142200
WD - 002 1 0.610×0.914 4480
WD - 003 1 1.194×1.219 8750
WD - 004 2 1.829×1.499 32000
WD - 005 1 1.200×1.219 9850
WD - 005 2 1.200×1.219 19700
WD - 006 1 1.219×1.500 10800
WD - 007 2 0.610×0.914 8960
WD - 008 1 1.524×0.914 11500
248240

Figure 3. Quantity take-off of windows

 Appendix 4
1 (3)

Appendix 4. Publications from Tekla Structures

Figure 1. 3D view of structural model

Figure 2. Pad footing and rebar

 Appendix 4
2 (3)

Figure 3. Rebars in footing

Figure 4. Rebar setting window

 Appendix 4
3 (3)

Figure 5. Bars and columns dimensions

Figure 6. Reinforcement property window

 Appendix 5
1 (2)

Appendix 5. Quantity Take-offs from Tekla Structures

Count Name Material Profile Volume / m3 Weight / kg

2 BEAM M25 229*229 0.1 288
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.1 288
11 COLUMN M25 229*229 0.1 358
8 COLUMN M25 229*229 0.1 358
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
2 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 515
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 515
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 515
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
4 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
2 Pilari M25 229*229 0.3 715
9 Pilari M25 229*229 0.3 835
11 FOOTING M25 500*500 0.1 120
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.1 288
2 BEAM M25 229*229 0.1 288
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
2 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 457
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 515
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 515
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 515
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
3 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
4 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
1 BEAM M25 229*229 0.2 540
11 COLUMN M25 229*229 0.1 358
8 COLUMN M25 229*229 0.1 358
11 COLUMN M25 229*229 0.3 715
11 M25 0.1 120

Total
30.6 73,478

Figure 1. Concrete volume take-off

 Appendix 5
2 (2)

Count Name Content type Length / m Weight / kg

88 REBAR REBAR 1 1
11 STIRRUP REBAR 0.81 1
11 BOTTOM_BAR REBAR 0.64 1
11 BOTTOM_BAR REBAR 0.68 1
22 REBAR REBAR 1.26 2
22 STIRRUP REBAR 0.84 3
4 TOP_BAR REBAR 2.23 3
25 TOP_BAR REBAR 3.58 4
13 TOP_BAR REBAR 4.03 5
13 TOP_BAR REBAR 4.24 5
4 BOTTOM_BAR REBAR 2.23 6
17 STIRRUP REBAR 0.72 7
2 STIRRUP REBAR 0.76 8
11 STIRRUP REBAR 0.84 9
25 BOTTOM_BAR REBAR 3.58 9
4 STIRRUP REBAR 0.68 9
13 BOTTOM_BAR REBAR 4.03 10
13 BOTTOM_BAR REBAR 4.24 10
25 STIRRUP REBAR 0.68 11
26 STIRRUP REBAR 0.68 12
44 REBAR REBAR 5.63 3
76 STRAND STRAND 2.845 2

Total
1,093.83 2,097

Figure 2. Steel weight take-off