Category: Case-Study

Forethought takes NZ architects to the forefront – Gary Pidd Architect Ltd (now Studio 26)

ClientMinistry of Education, NZ
ConsultantGary Pidd Architect
Websitehttps://www.studio26architects.co.nz/about-studio-26-architects/
LocationNew Zealand
ContractorGary Pidd

Project Summary

New Zealand firm Gary Pidd Architect Ltd has jumped on the cutting edge of technology with its innovative use of 12d Model for an ongoing project to build a database of over 200 schools.

The project involves surveying each site and recording all buildings and features such as paving, ramps, trees, play equipment, covered ways, car parking facilities, sealed areas, and grass areas. This information is then converted into DWG files for supply to the customer.

The firm had previously won a smaller contract to survey schools, but had completed this by hand. When competing for this larger contract, Gary Pidd Architect investigated modern equipment to see what it could do for them.

The Challenge

True first-time users, the firm had not previously used any surveying software, and had only used manual theodolites.

The Solution

Mr Pidd initially found the New Zealand distributor for 12d Model on the Internet using a search engine. Sokkia in Wellington gave the firm a demonstration of Sokkia instruments and 12d Model software. Mr Pidd was impressed right from the outset. “With Sokkia, we went to a school site, took some measurements, then went back to our office and downloaded it straight onto our computer from the data recorder,” he said.

“We wanted a system which functioned so that when we coded the data in the field, it was automatically given colours, linestyles, symbols such as trees and flagpoles at points when downloaded and reduced. With no extra work, it was then all there as a basic outline of the school!”

Other choices of equipment for the contract included an aerial photograph system and GPS, which Gary Pidd Architect discovered couldn’t give them the accuracy they needed for this job. Using a Practise Version of 12d Model combined with the intended use of Sokkia instruments, the firm put together their proposal, and their chosen methodology won them the contract.

The company has completed plans for 20 schools to date, and estimate the project will take about 9 more months to complete. They have calculated the amount of time saved using 12d Model rather than previous methods as being around 20%!

“The program is so tailorable,” Mr Pidd said. “You don’t have to know all the codes that are in there; just use the one system that you have set up! It’s brilliant! Some of the sites have up to 400 measurements, yet you come back into the office with them, and 15 minutes later, there you are with a plan!”

Another aspect of this modern technology the firm found particularly helpful was the ability to download data files on-site, and email them back to their main office. “Some of the schools are miles away, so this is a great feature for us,” said Mr Pidd.

The Result

The firm plans to use 12d Model on all future work. In the words of Mr Pidd, “We will never use just the old theodolite equipment again!

Download this Case Study as a PDF HERE.

History Files: Restricted Environment Motorway/Interchange Design

TDG logo
ClientTraffic Design Group
ConsultantTraffic Design Group
Websitehttps://tdg.co.nz/
LocationNew Zealand
ContractorGeorge Eivers

Restricted Environment Motorway/Interchange Design

Project Summary

Traffic Design Group was given the job of assessing whether a 1.6km long motorway and associated interchange could be designed to avoid specific horizontal and vertical restrictions.

An existing road required upgrading to motorway standard, including an interchange, following the placement of other infrastructure. The motorway needed to be able to circumvent future developments and pass under an aviation flight path, while still meeting design standards. 12d Model software was selected for this task.

The Challenge

In order to establish a feasible alignment, the design needed to take into account the curve radii as well as design speed to determine super elevation. Applying super elevation modified the vertical alignment and required transition curves, which modified the horizontal alignment.
This resulted in an iterative design process, which would have been very time consuming to work with.
The team also had the problem of how to present the solution to a layperson simply and quickly.

The Solution

Using super alignments and the Apply Many function, they added each road and structure to the model in 12d.
When adding the motorway, they input the super elevation and transition curve information; often this would mean the ‘horizontal geometry is not solved’, but by simply moving the curve apex a satisfactory alignment could be quickly and easily be established. This relatively fundamental aspect of 12d Model proved invaluable in quickly generating geometrically correct options.

The Result

The team was able to present the client with output from their analysis using the drive-through functionality in 12d Model, which
“…was invaluable. Without an aerial to drape, the sky dome seemed out of place thus we shaded the tin and extruded roadmarking onto the new alignment to simulate the preferred option.”
—George Eivers, Traffic Design Group

Download this Case Study as a PDF HERE

History Files: Export/Import Tools

Eliot Sinclair & Partners in New Zealand (https://eliotsinclair.com/) began their innovation journey with 12d Model quite some time ago, with a young Sam Cech then leading the charge with their macro development.

Not every software package makes it easy to export 12d Model data to it. A number of Eliot Sinclair & Partners (“ESP”) clients were using software packages that were open source (or not widely used), and thus custom export macros provided the best results. Below are some examples.

  1. An ESP client working on the Wimakeriri River fish habitat studies was using a software package by the University of Alberta – River2D, a two-dimensional depth averaged finite element hydrodynamic model which has been customised for fish habitat evaluation studies.
    The requested export format needed to contain point and break lines to allow the River2D package to perform its own triangulation. Roughness height value was also supplied, but more was needed to optimise efficiency on this important project.
  2. ESP was supplied an Adobe Illustrator file in an older version, which they were unable to open. The ASCII file was deemed to likely be corrupt, so they decided to create a custom import tool for 12d Model to extract as much information as possible.
  3. ESP client SCIRT needed the ability to import and export complex multi level attribute groups for many strings, and while there are many native options in 12d to do these exports, most only allow for one type of string.
  4. ESP’s internal GIS package for cadastral information, Quickmap, allows for the import and management of custom information. They were eager to upload points and lines into Quickmap in order to show nationwide areas they have surveyed and benchmarks established on sites that could be reused by future surveys. Because Quickmap is an Access Database system that utilises WellKnownText, they needed another export tool from 12d Model.

Faced with these challenges, the most effective solution was to leverage the expertise of their 12d Model Customisation specialist to develop tailored 12d Model macros.

These custom macros enabled the ESP team to:
– help optimise their client’s River2D work on the Wimakeriri River
– extract all the relevant information from the corrupted Illustrator file
– assist SCIRT with importing and exporting complex multi-level attribute groups for many strings with their macro that recognises both drainage and super strings
– create the export tool they needed for working with Quickmap.

Building on these successful outcomes, ESP intends to further expand its use of 12d Model macros to drive efficiency and solve increasingly complex challenges in the future.