Trimble announced the winners of its 2024 Tekla Global Building Information Modeling (BIM) Awards, recognizing outstanding projects that utilized Tekla solutions. The biennial competition evaluates projects based on various criteria, including the use of BIM, collaboration, innovative application of Tekla software, constructability, environmental benefits, and overall “cool factor.”
The overall winner of the 2024 BIM Awards is the Kruunuvuori Bridge in Helsinki, an end-to-end BIM project that also took home the prize in the Infrastructure Project category.
Overall Winner & Infrastructure Project: Kruunuvuori Bridge, Finland
The 1,200-meter-long, cable-stayed Kruunuvuori Bridge will be the longest car-free (train, pedestrians and cyclists only) bridge in the world upon completion. The project was a collaboration between multiple organizations. It utilized a range of BIM software, including Trimbles’s Tekla Structures, Novapoint, and Connect, as well as non-Trimble software such as Autodesk Civil 3D, Navisworks and Grasshopper. The project also involved wind tunnel testing to ensure sound structural design with a 3D-printed model. It was the blending of so much BIM software that impressed the jury. The use of BIM, in all its variations, allowed all stakeholders to see progress throughout the construction process.
Public Project: Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion, U.S.A.
Turner Construction overcame serious challenges in building the curvaceous 50,000-square-foot aquarium expansion. The shell-like tank has no straight edges. There were 229 panels designed with Rhino and Grasshopper. A bidirectional link to Tekla Structures was needed to ensure consistent geometry, make installation sequence drawings, and perform constructability analysis. Construction was aided by Trimble Connect and FieldLink, which allowed construction crews access to the latest 3D models.
Industrial Project: Brewery Roman, Belgium
Belgium’s oldest family-run brewer, Brewery Roman, makers of Gentse Strop and Ename beers, needed to expand and double its production capacity. The project involved preserving part of the façade and reconstruction of the rest, as well as an overhaul of the beer production area with its 100-year-old copper kettles. A LiDAR scan of the building was merged with the BIM model so the steel structure added would fit inside the existing building. The installation of massive precast sections was modeled and animated with a Tekla plug-in that was able to model crane movement and loading – preventing tipping.
Sports & Recreation Project: Al Hudayriyat Island Velodrome, U.A.E.
Build it, and indeed, the world’s top cyclists will come. That was the thought that launched the Hudayriyat Island Velodrome in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., a 3,500-spectator indoor cycle arena. Both Revit and Tekla were used on the project, and the two played nicely with
The project involved Tekla software for connection design, detailing, fabrication and erection of steel and concrete as well as coordinated facade, R.C.C. and M.E.P. Perhaps most remarkable was Tekla’s ability to manage the complex presetting of the 2,000 metric ton roof steel and ensure proper camber after construction.
Commercial Project: Lyyra, Finland
The mission: build a multistory building that occupies a whole city block on top of an existing metro station. The train service is not to be interrupted and let’s run a road through it on a diagonal. This is what was required in Helsinki, Finland.
The Lyrra project stood out not just for its daring but also for its data-driven approach and collaboration between stakeholders. The project was also recognized for its commitment to sustainability, including using “green I-beams,” created at half the carbon cost of standard steel beams, and recycling 95% of demolition waste on-site.
Small Projects: Te Veld Modular Homes, The Netherlands
The Te Veld project, focused on designing modular, sustainable homes, won in the Small Projects category. The homes, made of prefabricated timber, demonstrated innovative use of BIM for rapid production and delivery optimization.
Student Project: Funicular-Shaped Structure, Poland
Tomasz Stęplowski from Wroclaw University of Science and Technology won in the Student Projects category for his thesis on a reinforced concrete hall design, utilizing Tekla Structures to explore graphic statics principles.
API Development Project: Component Code Generator, U.S.A.
Keyack Technology Solutions won in the API Development Projects category for their tool that automates coding processes in Tekla Structures, reducing the time required to program system configurators.
Public Choice Winner: Preservation Plaza Canopy, U.S.A.
While an international jury picks all the above winners, Trimble reserves one award that the public picks. This year’s people choice was the Preservation Plaza Canopy project by Structures Online from a field of 155 entries.
