Presentation given by David Burden (Daden Ltd) at Be2Talks, London, 25 September

1. The Third BIM: The social
built environment model
David Burden
Daden Limited
© 2013 www .daden.co.uk

2. Background
 The Library of Birmingham was a £189m project to build an iconic new
Central Library for Birmingham
 In 2010 Daden developed an immersive model – working from
architects plans - for use by Library staff to plan the use of the new
building and to engage with the community. Daden delivered the
immersive build (developed in Second Life) in Dec 2010
Architect's original image 2D plans in the 3D world 3D immersive model

3. Consultation Tools
To help users interact with the model, and to give Library staff information on the
user experience we provided a range of consultation tools including:
 voting & survey podiums,
 layout selection choices,
 a virtual tour guide,
 a “flying book” tour,
 information icons,
 virtual smiley “post-it” notes
The virtual post-its could be used to make comments, and then voted on by other
visitors. All data was logged on the web and available to the project team.

4. Orientation Space
The orientation space provided the same function as a site Marketing
Office. It helped to put the build in context, provided links to
information about the physical build, and also showed users how to
choose an avatar and how to use the consultation tools. There was
even a virtual receptionist!

5. The Virtual Warehouse

6. Virtual and Real

7. Virtual and Real

8. Virtual and Real

9. Virtual and Real

10. Virtual and Real

11. Quotes
“The opportunity to reach more
people, more quickly and in a
more meaningful way was
extremely important to the
planning for the new Library. “
- Tom Epps, Development Project
Manager, Birmingham Library Service
“ I got one of the kids out of the audience
to drive himself around the Virtual Library
while his Mom and Dad were watching on
the big screen and they were absolutely
staggered ... to try and have the same
impact other than through a 3D model, it
would be really, really difficult.
- John Marsh, Project Manager, Service Birmingham
“The virtual model showed us areas
where we needed to review our
existing plans, and was a huge help in
planning the layout of the facilities that
were installed”
- Tom Epps
“ Wouldn’t have had the nerve to
position the screens the way we
did if we had not been able to
test out first in the virtual build.”
- John Marsh
“This has proved a powerful tool for the
project team and staff as we develop the new
library, enabling us to get a really good feel
for how the spaces in the new building will
work that would not otherwise be possible.”
- Brian Gambles, Library Director, Library of Birmingham
“As a new building planning tool,
that has be a big tick for me and
absolutely tremendous.”
- John Marsh

12. The “3 Ring” Model
We can see the need for 3 models in a built environment project – ideally
sharing data, information and even 3D renders, but each speaking to a
different audience and providing different functionality
The Architect's Model
- Overall Use
- Aesthetics
- Sell the project
The Builder's Model
- Structural Integrity
- Bill of Parts
- E&M Services
- Building Information
Modelling (BIM)
- Build the project
The User's (Social) Model
- Planning by Real Managers
- Practical Use by Real Users
- Training and Education
- Use the project

13. Immersive Environments
 A real sense of “being there” -
regardless of the technology being
used
 Somewhere that lets users wander
where ever they want, meet with
other people and potentially carry
out real-world tasks and make
changes to environment
 NOT just a virtual world (eg
Second Life), or needing special
hardware (eg CAVEs and 3D
screens), or Virtual Reality (with
fancy headsets), or a Game or
Serious Game – but may support
any or all of these
 A subjective experience

14. Why an Immersive Build?
 Save cost (and time) by reducing rework (typ. 2-20% project costs).
 Users and stakeholders are more engaged and have a real say and
influence in the process, helping to design and build the space they
will use – resulting in improved client satisfaction (which may mean
higher revenues or reduced churn costs)
 Dispute risks are reduced due to a greater shared understanding at
all levels on all sides during the project
 Operating risks are reduced as you've been able to virtually
practice evacuations, health and safety and emergency
management, and even inform the security planning of the building
 Shared across different parts of the business to provide further
benefits during live use (including training, security, change
management)

15. Different Uses #1
Planning – working out how the build will
rework in the context of the local built
environment
Consultation – taking the model on the road
and allowing public access to gather views
from across the community, virtual “planning
for real”
Project Management – holding virtual meetings
actually in the build. Working with sub-
contractors.
Social – what is it like to actually use the
space. Are escalators and signage OK.
Where are the toilets?

16. Different Uses #2
Security – overlay CCTV, access control and
other feeds, giving security staff a better
planning tool & greater situational awareness
Environment – overlay environmental data
feeds and models, giving users and managers
a visceral sense of the environmental data
Disabilities – let users (and project staff) try
accessing the build in wheelchairs, reduced
mobility and other challenges
Services – visualise E&M systems from BIM
and other data and link into back-end systems
to support maintenance engineers

17. Different Uses #3
Navigation – use the model to support touch-
screen, kiosk and mobile navigation aids and
systems
Training – from business-as-usual training for
staff, through health & safety and fire
evacuation, to major incident training
Live Services Delivery – use the model to
deliver real services pre and post build – such
as virtual performance and conferences
Simulation – visualise the output from
business process simulation systems, crowd
models and other simulations

18. Different Uses #4
Whole Life – from initial ideas to demolition,
the immersive model can support planners,
owners, maintainers, managers and users
through the whole life of the building
Retrofit – support the planning of through-life
redesign and retrofit, creating “white room”
models and then building back up

19. Benefits beyond BIM/CAD
 Gain a more subjective, first-person, view of the environment,
from first-person view and freedom to roam, and interact
 The environment is multi-user, so users can interact with each
other – supporting collaborative working and consultation, and team
training
 Controlled changes can be made by users in-world and are
instantly visible to other users, and can be fed back to BIM
 Objects can be interactive, even linking to real systems, eg
signage, letting users practice real use
 Users can annotate the space, vote and make choices, feeding
back comments which can be automatically collated
 Users can be tracked through the building, and their interactions
with its systems logged – helping to understand future traffic flows
 The virtual building can actually be put to “live use”, e.g. for
entertainment or training

20. Web: www.daden.co.uk
Email: info@daden.co.uk
YouTube: www.youtube.com/dadenmedia
Twitter: @dadenlimited