Ever wondered how some architectural practices manage to turn around their school design projects so quickly with a seemingly restrictive budget?

What if I told you that a number of these practices are out-sourcing the classroom space planning and layout to school planning specialists, allowing the practice the time to focus on the real design?

Every project comes with complexities and variations, there is no such thing as a “standard” school design project, and that’s why it’s so important to make sure your school space planning team understand the industry standards and expectations.

As a recommended service provider to architects, our latest case study saw the team working closely with Bouygues UK (BYUK) and HLM Architects. We provided architecural support services during the design and construction of the Queens Road School, Waltham Forest.

Tasked with simplifying the school plans and layouts, CADS Space Planning produced a single set of revised and coordinated FF&E drawings, together with the elevation drawings (C Sheets) of 117 rooms. Once elevated all fixed items were attributed with setting-out dimensions for use on-site by the contractors.

Our team are also Codebook pros, and we’ve helped BYUK to consolidate the education specific FF&E 2d block library used across their current projects.

You can download the full case study here: CADS Space Planning School Case Study_2011.

Ross

I’ve just come across this article on the Guardian website, and it makes interesting reading. Whilst the article is not particularly design focused, it provides food for thought regarding school design and planning, and how this appeals to the core consumers of the school environment – the pupils themselves.

It’s a frequently asked question – does creating a school design and learning environment that appeals to our pupils senses enhance their ability to learn and develop?

OK so a fanta fountain is obviously unrealistic, but we can analyse the literal to figure out a school design that really appeals to the students.

For the BSEC exhibition back in February, CADS 3D put together some school design 3D visuals and a video depicting the  school design they would have liked… bean bags and all! Have a look:

Let me know your thoughts….

Mel

Building Information Modelling is quickly becoming a buzz word in the planning, design and construction industry. We called on BIM expert, Colin Williams, for his take on the use of BIM for education projects. Here’s what he said:

Following the scrapping of the £55bn BSF programme last year, the pressure is really on for schools to find new ways of utilising existing facilities. In further cuts, the size of new schools could be reduced by as much as 15% under plans being drawn up by government advisers this month.

We therefore need to get more out of existing stock, ensure new facilities provide the optimal physical environment for learning, and also ensure projects are energy efficient and environmentally friendly for life.

A key concern with projects in the changing education market is the need to evaluate the performance of facilities across a broad spectrum of areas. Schools need to deliver against stringent standards and specifications, whilst the design and review process must be practical, repeatable and scalable.

How can BIM help in education design & planning?

1. Building Information Modelling enables analysis and planning to be carried our more efficiently. Using BIM to develop a 3D model for new or existing facilities will allow various types of analysis to be performed quickly within the required standards.
2. The output from a BIM-based analysis can also increase the transparency and accountability of the decision-making process. It allows us to make better, more informed decisions that maximise the economic and financial return on our education projects.
3. BIM also enables users to explore the new 3R’s – refresh, refurbish and renew – in a virtual environment, facilitating delivery of a more informed requirement for future specification projects.

So why start using BIM now?

With the issuing of building performance mandates, the availability of financing for energy saving contracts and funds from government initiatives, now is the perfect time to convert estate records to BIM.

Using BIM to create evidence-based decisions regarding key refurbishment projects will enable you to act quickly, while addressing risk management concerns. Leveraging important building information, BIM allows us to deliver projects faster, more economically, and with maximum operational and environmental efficiencies.

It’s an exciting new stage in construction, planning and design!

Colin

Colin Williams is a guest blogger for CADS. His company Cadnet Ltd. Is engaged on a project to record and build over 100 higher education facilities as part of a pilot scheme to update the estates records of a leading UK university. You can find out more about Cadnet from their website: www.cadnet.ltd.uk.

To learn more about BIM, visit www.cadesignservices.co.uk/bim or email rcooper@cadesignservices.co.uk

We ran this showcase during the Building Schools Exhibition & Conference (BSEC) 2011 last week.

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Let me know what you think!

Jo

BSEC 2011 has finally been and gone! There were not the number of people expected (in comparison to last year) but we did see a variety of people visit our stand.

One topic that was the basis of many enquires regarded library creation, in particular for a BIM environment. These enquires came from a variety of specialist areas from furniture manufacturers to architects.

In my opinion, graphic libraries and library creation are a vital tool in space planning, but they are often overlooked due to the initial costs. A good graphic, which depicts the item correctly and has as much detail as possible, (whether it is a plan, elevation or 3D rendered block) can make the difference between a room looking like it should, or looking like a room filled with building blocks.

Of course, some of us do get carried away! The skill in creating graphic blocks is in knowing when to stop – drawing all the keys on a laptop might look really good zoomed in, but at 1:50 scale – it’s just a blob!

Over the years, we have steadily put together a generic 2D CodeBook Healthcare library, where the simple rectangle is banished and every item is represented as it would look. Now that it’s built, we can draw on this library as and when necessary. 

We are now looking at building up our generic school library but have hit upon a dilemma – do we go 2D or 3D? Do we create the blocks in Revit ready for BIM or in AutoCad so it can be used in non BIM projects?

As we also use CodeBook, we need to make sure that whatever library we create can be used within this environment too.  The data that can be stored behind a family item in Revit is amazing and turns a simple graphic into an intelligent graphic. What are your thoughts on graphic libraries, and the BIM environment? I’d be interested to hear other people’s take on this one.

I’m sure these questions are being asked by other people out there – evident by the enquires we had at the BSEC event. Whichever route we decide to go down, the importance of good libraries should never be underestimated.

Jo

Space Planning Section Leader – CADS Space Planning