BIM meets the Big Apple – A Case Study in Excellence

How does BIM help the City of New York champion design and construction excellence across its $6 billion portfolio? As the primary capital construction project manager in the city of New York, New York City Department of Design and Construction (NY DDC) works with over 20 agencies and numerous contractors to design and build the city’s public facilities and street infrastructure. This portfolio is valued at over $6 billion. A fast moving city doesn’t wait for anyone, which is why the NY DDC turned to building information modeling (BIM) technologies and best practices to help it overcome the fundamental challenge of doing more with less. You may recall that NY DDC was also a runner up in the 2011 [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards for its achievements using BIM technology and standards. Now you can read about how NY DDC, and the municipal agencies it supports, is using BIM in this free case study featuring NY DDC Deputy Commissioner, David Resnick, and BIM Manager, Safiy Abdur-Rahman. How BIM Changed the Face of the City for Years to Come – Free Case Study Perhaps, like no other city, BIM has transformed the way NY DDC handles some of the most exciting and dynamic architectural and infrastructure challenges in the world. Including the design and construction of the new LEED Silver targeted, New York Police Academy in Queens, NY – one of the largest public campuses in the world. The success story explains how NY DDC has used Autodesk BIM software and design and construction best practices to address a number of challenges including:
  • Increase in its overall portfolio and complexity of projects, with tighter schedules and leaner budgets
  • A bidding process that failed to provide necessary expertise for specialized projects
  • Cumbersome project management processes
  • Quality control issues
  • Lack of uniform design standards for BIM projects
In order to respond to these challenges, the DDC has employed an array of programs and projects:
  • Early BIM Adoption - An early pioneer of BIM, NY DDC mandated the use of BIM tools such as Autodesk Revit Architecture in the development and management of two key DDC projects. BIM provided greater transparency throughout the design/construction process, minimized errors, increased productivity, and, ultimately, cost savings.
  • Expanded use of BIM - In light of the success of these projects, DDC looked to expand the use of BIM across its projects. The success story explains the necessary steps undertaken to do this.
  • Streamlined Workflows with BIM Standards - To ensure the consistent application of design standards NY DDC worked with Autodesk reseller Microdesk to develop a “BIM Guide” for use by architects and engineers and construction managers to assist them in preparation of contract documentation and standardized building information models, etc.
The success story expands on these key achievements, as well as NY DDC’s future plans for BIM and use of Autodesk tools to archive data, improve collaboration in the field, and more. Download it here and read more about NY DDC’s other projects in: How one Public Sector Agency is Transforming New York’s Design and Construction Landscape. Related Blogs