Tercero Student Housing Phase III (Tercero 3), Sundt‘s $71 million dormitory construction project at the University of California, Davis, is an ideal project for the skilled use of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Why? Because with 108 single-occupancy units and 537 doubles, the university construction project contains many repeating elements that need to be defined with precision before construction actually begins.
“Using BIM is a huge help with detecting constructability issues in order to achieve a high level of quality, especially when you’re dealing with lots of repeating elements,” said Sundt Project Manager Shawn Marty. “For example, with a student housing project you might be placing 600 identical doorknobs. Using BIM allows that scope of work to be isolated and defined with certainty well before we start construction.”
Tercero 3 will span 330,000 square feet across seven, four-story buildings. Multiple lounges, study areas, computer centers and gathering spaces also will be part of the complex, which will surround a landscaped courtyard. Bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly pathways will be woven throughout a diverse landscape of mature trees and native plants.
“Through coordination, the team was able to prefabricate and install pipe that was 30 inches in length without any issues,” added Howard Atkinson, Sundt Senior Virtual Construction Engineer. “Without the BIM process, this would have been impossible. Currently there are no conflicts with this process in the field.”
The sustainable project – which is aiming for LEED Platinum certification – will be complete and open to students in the fall of 2014.