Running head: BURJ AL ARAB 1

Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/2kEXgfdQGLBEWtGR6

Student Number: W20030735

Module Title : Building Information Modeling Management, Theory and Practice Module

Code Number : KB7034.

Module Leader: Ray Elysee.

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Abstract

The report is about the case study by Burj Al Arab, which discusses the problems

encountered in the construction of this structure of the luxury hotel. It is crucial to demonstrate

the issues encountered during the construction of this hotel and the BIM-enabled solutions that

could be applicable. The report showcases the difficulties the construction and building projects

face when BIM technology is not available and the benefits these projects could have in the

presence of this type of technology. Some of the issues pointed out in the project are failing to

meet the expected time frame and higher expenditure costs than what was budgeted. BIM

technology offers a wide range of visualization tools that could benefit this kind of construction

project. It would allow the project managers to forecast future issues such as higher spending and

increased timeframe. Therefore, they would be able to prepare themselves adequately to face

these challenges. The paper also includes the solutions to the identified challenges of

construction. These solutions are BIM-enabled, allowing the project to fully utilize the

visualization methods that predict future problems and ensure the project team can avoid those

risks. As a result, the BIM technology ensures that the performance of the staff members is

improved, aids in ensuring that all stakeholders are fully involved, and solves the interoperability

issues.

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Contents
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..2

1.0 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………4

2.0 Case study ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5

3.0 BIM Technology …………………………………………………………………………………………………….7

4.0 Key Project challenges ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10

4.1 The challenge of visualizing the project ………………………………………………………………… 10

4.2 The challenge of involving all stakeholders …………………………………………………………… 11

4.3 The challenge of performance ……………………………………………………………………………… 11

5.0 BIM-Enabled Solutions …………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

5.1 Resolving the Data Visualization problem …………………………………………………………….. 12

5.2 resolving the problem of including all stakeholders ………………………………………………… 14

5.3 Resolving the Performancedifficulty …………………………………………………………………….. 14

6.0 Lessons Learned …………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15

7.0 Reflection ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 16

8.0 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 18

9.0 References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 19

10.0 Appendices ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21

Design Data ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23

Glossary …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26

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1.0 Introduction

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a new technology in the sector for architecture,

engineering, and construction (AEC) that is publicized to improve the outcomes of a project

through creating solutions to certain challenges in the environment of building and construction.

Therefore, this report has the main aim of accomplishing two critical goals. One is to identify

and analytically discuss a case study where the BIM-enabled solutions have been applied in the

context of construction. Afterward, the report discusses the key challenges present in the project

and evaluates the solutions that are BIM-enabled that could be utilized in the scenario(Bosch-

Sijtsema & Gluch, 2021). The report also presents specified lessons that can be learned from the

construction project presented to be referenced in the future if need be. The other purpose of this

study is to ensure that the paper reflects the crucial elements of the BIM-enabled project delivery

practice, which is utilized in the case study to ensure that this technology is employed efficiently

in the construction of the new Burj Al Arab building. The new construction project of the Burj

Al Arab is utilized as the case study in this report. The paper will be divided into a sectionwith a

case study on the construction of the Burj Al Arab building while examining the issues that were

faced in the building process. The other section involved an analysis of how the BIM technology

would be used in making the process of constructing a new Burj Al Arab building easier and

much effective. It applies a complexity visualization solution and improved communication

channels between the stakeholders in the project.

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Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/2kEXgfdQGLBEWtGR6

2.0 Case study

The Arabian tower, which is commonly known as the Burj Al Arab, is a building designed as

a luxury hotel positioned on an island that is artificial. The artificial island is about 300 meters

from Jumeirah Beach in Dubai. The luxury hotel has a height of 321 meters and is considered the

third tallest building that is a hotel globally. The overall cost of the Burj Al Arab construction is

approximated to be about 7.8 billion dollars which make this hotel the most expensive in the

world (Clough, I. (2021).The building was constructed in the early 1990s when Dubai

experienced economic growth due to the revenues acquired from the oil trade. The ruler of Dubai

at the time commissioned a British consultancy Atkins to design construction that could

represent Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. Therefore, the agency, led by Tom Wright, who

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was the architect, designed this construction with the inspiration of the billowing sail of the

traditional yacht of Arabs. As a result, 39% of the overall space remains non-occupiable. Most

people have criticized the building for its style over function; the building is very tall, but a huge

percentage of its space is not utilized. Regardless of the criticisms that have been established

regarding the building, it has been able to succeed in its purpose of becoming a symbol of Dubai.

The Burj al-Arab building is notable due to the various accomplishments in complex

construction and engineering with which it is associated with. The building portrays an

impression of floating on water through the artificial island created and the construction design

being built low enough to suffice this impression. The activity of reclaiming the land from the

sea took a longer time than expected; it took the constructors three years to fully reclaim the

land. The process involved engineers creating a surface that has a layer of large rocks that form a

firm foundation for the construction. In addition, perforated concrete blocks were placed on the

bedrock of this island in a pattern that follows the honeycomb to ensure that the impacts that the

sea waves create are lowered and to develop a manufactured sponge which allows the building to

have a low threat of flooding when the sea level rises. A total of 230 piles that are made of

concrete were used in securing the construction of the manufactured island. However, the overall

concrete used in the building measures about 70,000 cubic meters, and there are steel

components measuring about 9,000 tons. The completion of the project required huge human

resources amounting to 2,000 laborers for the building to be finished. Burj al Arab building has a

layout which is in the form of two wings that are spread in a v-shape. These wings create a mast

and enclose the huge hall. Filtering out of the heat and sunlight that is in excess is done through

the two layers of architectural fabric, which are included in the building’s front area. The

building consists of 202 hotel suites which have two-level that is the front area which is curved,

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and a balcony on the upper floor. The building achieves the needed stiffness through the

enormous metal trusses that have a triangular section which was utilized in the exterior

sidewalls. The trusses are designed in a manner that they can expand and contract by a gap of 5

centimeters on a given day. Achieving this property required the contractors to develop a special

rod of linkage that steers these operations. The building also has a helipad which is suspended

near the roof of the building at the height of 210 meters. The helipad is made up of inverted steel

to ensure that it is efficient.

The building has a very well-designed interior which has been attributed with the seven

stars commendation the building has been given by the media. It was designed to be extravagant,

eclectic, and stately. The interior was designed by a famous designer from china Khuan Chew

who had high experience in designing high-profile hotels. The project directors commissioned

Chew to design the interior using the elements of earth, fire, water, and wind. The building has a

180 meters tall atrium which is a major attraction for the exclusiveness of the hotel. The interior

includes marble and precious stones, a fountain, aquariums, and a gold foil as the inspiration for

representing the ancient world elements.

3.0 BIM Technology

To improve the outcomes of a building and construction, BIM requires people, procedures,

and technology to collaborate in all activities. The BIM technology encourages the use of team

works to design, build and develop structures of construction instead of conducting the

operations of designing drawings of the construction individually. It is the newest technology

that is advocated to be used in the construction and building industry to allow easy handling of a

complex building design. It is useful in lowering costs and saving time through its use of

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individuals and technology in the development of hospitals, residential, commercial buildings,

and skyscrapers. BIM allows people to use three-dimension models, numerous visualization

software and puts an emphasis on the involvement of all parties concerned with the project in

pursuit of promoting teamwork. The workflows that are BIM-enabled ensure that the

management of the project is dynamic and synchronized through the use of similar formats of

files and procedures within the projects. By doing this, all the stakeholders who are involved are

able to adequately prepare themselves for changes that are made within the project. Thus,

uniformity is maintained throughout the project processes (Deng. et al., 2021). The use of BIM

guarantees that the processes of construction are improved, the wastes resulting from the

building operations are lowered, and the efficiency and quality of the end product are improved.

It allows the constructors to have an allowance for making errors and trying new designs prior to

beginning the operations of construction. The visualization property of this technology ensures

that people can conduct multiple trials to ensure that the decisions that are made are the best for

the value of money that is put into a project and the requirements which the project client has

made.

Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/L4z36gG4q5vFKpgt6

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The idea of planning prior to carrying out the actual processes is common in numerous fields as

it allows the professionals to map out the end result of specific operations. In construction and

building, making plans and testing them is crucial to ensure that costs in the project are lowered

and the required building is constructed within the required time. It ensures that the professionals

can be in a position to predict the problems that could be faced in a given project. Therefore, they

equip themselves to tackle these issues and prevent the risk of project failure from occurring.

BIM technology ensures that the made plans can be preserved and passed on in an accurate

manner without losing any crucial data as various parties are given those details of the plans. It

ensures that the accessibility of data is made possible to improve the efficiency and performance

of various team members in the project. BIM ensures that digital documentation is adhered to at

all times during the project operations. As a result, the project director and manager can have

real-time access to the data. It ensures that all parties are involved in each stage of the project

and ensures that the client’s requirements are considered in every step.

BIM technology has numerous benefits, which are seen in every phase of the construction

process. In the planning stage of a project, BIM ensures that there are alternatives to the analysis

activities of the approaches that are employed. It also allows the project team to estimate and

analyze the cost which is to be incurred in a given project. It can also aid in determining the

development specifications which are needed in this phase. In the phase for designing the

construction model, BIM helps to promote collaboration of the team members in the project and

ensures that they are well coordinated to carry out the needed designing activities easily. In

addition, it makes it easier for the stakeholders such as the client, architects, and engineers to

share data regarding the building. During the actual operations of constructing a given project,

this technology of BIM ensures that the overall project wastes are reduced, and the costs of

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materials that could be wasted are avoided. The challenges that are linked with construction

activities are minimized when BIM is applied in a given project. The technology can also be

utilized in the activities of operating within the building and maintaining it. BIM ensures that the

interruption period during construction activities is minimized. Also, it encourages the project

team to avoid problems related to waste and reworking since it ensures that any challenge which

arises as the project activities are conducted is addressed immediately.

4.0 Key Project challenges

4.1 The challenge of visualizing the project

The plan, design, and construction of the Burj al Arab hotel all require the use of

visualization of the data to ensure that there is clarity. The Atkins agency that was commissioned

to design and construct the building faced the challenge of visualizing the information they used

in the project. Taking into account that there were numerous stakeholders involved in this

construction process, there was a high need to use visualization to ensure that project data could

be shared among all the needed stakeholders. Structuring of the artificial island and reclamation

of the land took a long time because of the poor visualization, which caused delays as changes

were experienced during the application of the plans that had been set. Using two-dimension

drawings limited the people in the project from seeing the plan clearly. It also limited the

engineers’ and architects’ capability to try various ideas they could have and assess their usability

(Huang, 2021). The gap in developing understandable models that were clear lowered the

productivity of the officials assigned in the project and caused huge delays when actualizing

those plans. The extended time frame in reclaiming the land and constructing the building

despite having adequate human and material resources showcase the problem of having well-laid

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out plans that had been fully accessed and tried. The complexity of the project created a huge

challenge and required the use of data visualization technology to ensure that all risks and

challenges could be forecasted and avoided during the actual construction process.

4.2 The challenge of involving all stakeholders

Involving the stakeholders with no knowledge of building in the project was a huge

problem. The team that was assigned the designing role had to ensure that all stakeholders were

involved in delivering a design that was suited for the client efficiently. Explaining information

regarding how to reclaim the land, the strategies to use in resolving the flooding issue, and the

overall design of the building to people that are non-specialists in the construction field could be

difficult using a two-dimension prototype (Khudhair. et al., 2021). Even though the architects

and engineers had been given the authority to make all designs, they had to consult with the

client to ensure that their strategies were in line with the goals of the project. Therefore, there

was a huge possibility that their activities were dependent on people who were not specialists in

design, making the property mostly consider style instead of functionality.

4.3 The challenge of performance

The delays in the project activities showcase that there was poor planning and low

performance of the huge human resources that were used in the project. Even though the

materials and human resources needed on the project were available, having a poor strategy

lowered the productivity of the involved people. It created challenges that necessitated using

additional costs in ensuring that the processes were completed (Liu & Zou, 2021). The

complexity of the Burj al Arab building resulted in low productivity due to poor implementation

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of the plan. The delays during the Project construction caused by unexpected changes resulted in

increased costs and lowered the output of the people involved.

5.0 BIM-Enabled Solutions

5.1 Resolving the Data Visualization problem

The Burj Al Arab hotel construction becomes difficult from the initial step of getting the

land that is to be used to mount the building. The complexity of the building could also be made

easier using BIM technology to ensure that issues such as wind and high heat could be resolved.

The new Burj Al Arab construction can be understood easily and clearly seen when the BIM

technology is utilized. It would present the non-specialists in construction with a prototype that

can be easily seen and analyzed from all angles (Onungwa. et al., 2021). Adopting the BIM

technology in the initial stages of planning and designing ensures that all stakeholders can

equally contribute and be engaged. The technology ensures that the communication challenge is

addressed. It ensures that all people can equally contribute and bring forward opinions that

ensure the efficiency of the whole team. By doing this, the stakeholders could be sure that they

are able to promote style in the building and increase its functionality. Although there are many

visualization approaches that could be utilized, it is essential to determine that the choice of the

tool of visualization that is used is a vital decision that is to be made while putting into

consideration the stakeholders involved and the nature of the project. The management of the

project ought to ensure that they use the BIM strategy of simulation to project the functionality

of the measures they are to put in place. It would ensure that the stakeholders have a clear

understanding of the project, and thus they can act in ways that support the whole project.

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The initial process of construction would utilize a three-dimension model to ensure that a

clear image of what the project would involve is laid out. It would be conducted using the data

that is available, information from the research, and through the engagement of specialists in the

construction field. It would ensure that the stakeholders familiarize themselves with the project,

and therefore they can easily contribute in areas where they see that there could be problems in

the future. The model would allow the progress of construction to be easily checked to ensure

that the set standards and regulations are followed. The visualization approach of three-

dimension ensures that the structural aspects of the project can be planned, and thus, their

implementation is made easier. The BIM technology lowered the costs in the construction of the

building by allowing the stakeholders to have a well-laid out plan that was implemented.

3D model of the hotel

Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/XJqc93KGDiRYogvM7

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5.2 resolving the problem of including all stakeholders

BIM technologyensures that all stakeholders collaborate and coordinate in the project

operations. It was used in developing better plans for land reclamation and building the complex

traditional Arab yacht-shaped building. It ensured that people were able to grasp the

requirements for the project easily. Having this understanding ensured that they could cooperate

more in the project and havea clear visualization of what they are working on. Using BIM

technology ensured that even the non-specialists in the construction field couldcontribute

meaningful opinions that speed up the overall project Activities and ensure they are efficient.

The early use of BIM ensured that the operations of reclaiming the land to develop an artificial

island were easily developed. These operations allowed the architects and engineers to acquire

planning permission once the client approved the layout of the island and the design (Pag?s-El

Karoui, 2021). The use of augmented reality approaches ensures that the client can not only read

the plans but have a glimpse of what the construction activities would yield in the end process.

BIM ensured the team that is set aside for designing the project gets approval for fulfilling their

client requirements, and therefore they can continue to make their plans to align with what the

client wants. The visualization technique ensures that the project team can be able to identify the

different responsibilities and roles which they have been required t fulfill through their

engagement in the process of visualization. The process ensures that the procedure of developing

the tallest building in the world with a seven-star rating is made easier and enjoyable by the

involved workers.

5.3 Resolving the Performancedifficulty

There were a lot of problems that were encountered, especially in the initial stage of

reclaiming the land leading to the low productivity of workers. Using a virtual model which is

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easily analyzed allows the project team to develop strategies that are efficient for the project. A

lot of planning errors were made in the project, causing delays as the project team tried to solve

those gaps in planning. Using BIm technology ensures that all stakeholders familiarize

themselves with the plan and changes that occur are easily communicated, making the process of

construction efficient and highly productive. The good design blueprints of the new Burj Al Arab

can help the managers in determining the areas that require maintenance. As a result, a lot of

money is saved, and the involved parties are allowed to have high productivity in their different

operations within the project. BIM ensures that people can keep time in their construction

activities by having an easier guide of all the activities they are expected to carry out.

Availability of data that is made by the BIM technology ensures that the productivity of all

members is improved and their contributions can be clearly outlined. Therefore, BIM technology

ensures that the high performance of the workers in the project is accomplished when all the

needed approaches are implemented and better channels of communication are utilized (Uoenes.

et al., 2021). Even though individual specialists can operate efficiently in the project, shared

ideas and increased communications make the operations easier to be carried out and ensure that

difficulties that arise are resolved in the teamwork groupings. As a result, the set timeframe of

the project is maintained, and the cost of realizing the goal is lowered.

6.0 Lessons Learned

New Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai is a huge and complex project that necessitates the use

of creatively strategized plans using BIM technology to ensure that the needs of the client are

met, and the professionalism actions are met. The construction clearly represents the residents of

this area and ensures that the style that is needed is showcased. The architects and the engineers

that were involved in the project did an amazing task of realizing the objectives of the client and

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ensuring that complex construction requirements were handled as required. BIM technology

ensures that the project timeframe is met, encourages coordination and collaboration between the

project team members, and allows all stakeholders to have an opportunity to contribute their

ideas to the project. The complexity of the project depicts that the designers and architects in the

project require to be recognized for having contributed a lot to the realization of the project. BIM

technology ensures that communication between the stakeholders in the project is established

and increases the capability to incorporate as many efficient ideas as possible (Xiao & Bhola,

2021). The analysis of the Burj Al Arab project enlightens the constructors that the technology of

BIM is useful in many ways and can have a huge impact on the end result of a project.

7.0 Reflection

The new Burj al Arab hotel project has shown that BIM technology is useful in complex

projects. It has elaborated the manner in which stakeholders in projects can use the approach to

increase their communication and resolve problems that arise during the implementation of the

plan. It has also shown how complex procedures in a project such as land reclamation are made

easier by breaking down the whole project and ensuring that each activity that is to be carried out

is assessed separately. By doing this, the project managers are able to forecast future issues and

resolve them accordingly. The technology of BIM not only ensures easier planning but also

ensures requirements such as meeting financial budget and a certain time frame are adhered to.

It is shown that in the initial project, the financial budget and time frame were extended,

while in the new Project, BIM technology allows the stakeholders to meet all requirements and

still maintain the budget and timeframe that is set. It is an indication that the use of BIM

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technology adds value to a project and allows the performance of the people involved to be

increased. Taking into account the challenges that the project faced, it is clear that using BIM

technology from the initial stages of the project could be very helpful in realizing the goals of the

client and ensuring that the facility is exceptionally stylish but also functional even in the future

(Khudhair. et al., 2021). It is shown that BIM ensures that the maintenances of this kind of

complex project are made easier for the future workers since a well-elaborated blueprint can be

provided to ensure easier performance. Using a three-dimensional drawing of the project and

augmented reality models ensures that the end result is projected prior to the actual construction.

As a result, the client and other stakeholders are able to contribute to making the project meet the

set standards.

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8.0 Conclusion

The BIM technology is utilized to ensure that the new Burj Al Arab construction is

designed and built within the required time frame. The problems that were faced during the

construction of the hotel are elaborated, and their subsequent solutions are documented. Issues

ar