Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2015 | Page 42

THE ANGLE
By Petteri Lautso
The writer is Customer value director of Ruukki Construction

Building
Information
Modeling brings
unprecedented
life-cycle cost
control to retail
and commercial
property
development

I

t is a big advantage if the cost and timetable implications of each tenant request
during and after construction can be evaluated swiftly. The changes in consumer
behavior are so fast that we can’t necessarily
predict exactly how the commercial spaces
designed now will be used when the building is ready, let alone after ten years of use.
Increasing attention is paid to flexibility of buildings, but it might not be simple
to balance immediate construction costs and
possible future savings. Ruukki construction has successfully used building information models (BIM) containing also cost
and schedule data, so that developers can
reduce hassle and improve the user experience they offer tenants.
40 Nordicum

Another good example of the power of
building product supplier BIM comes to play
when optimizing operating costs. Changes
in global economy can have drastic effects
on energy costs. For developers it doesn’t
mean striving for extreme energy efficiency,
but solutions that produce reliable information on investments and operating cost.
For example Ruukki Construction’s
Energy panel, an exterior wall system that
delivers extreme air-tightness has been well
received. The BIM model that is a part of
the system makes it possible to assess the
investment cost and future savings on building level simultaneously.
For Ruukki Construction, that delivers frames and envelopes, the use of build-

ing information modeling has made it possible to deliver not only the physical structures, but information over the building lifecycle and specific issues at a given time during construction.
New technology allows the entire
chain of players from major building component manufacturers to users and owners
of buildings to work together seamlessly.
It is now just a question of building the
right project team to realize the full potential of BIM.