Autodesk customer success story Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd.

About the firmEstablished in 1996, Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd. (VBAPL) is acknowledged as one of India’s leading architectural practices, which has contributed significantly to the skyline of Mumbai. Founder and Principal Architect Vivek Bhole has shaped the firm as a multidisciplinary design consultancy with over 200 professionals committed towards a common vision of achieving innovation in the built environment. VBAPL follows a multi-faceted design philosophy that inherently seeks to create unique solutions catered to individual’s needs while being aesthetic, functional, economical, sound and sustainable. With more than 15 years of experience, Vivek Bhole has played an integral role in the practice’s expansion; duly ensuring that the highest standards of management, technical excellence and design quality are maintained at par with international requisites. This comprehensive provision of

Building success/success in collaboration

services has allowed VBAPL to build a wide spectrum of projects for both reputed multinationals and emerging enterprises across commercial, retail, residential, healthcare and institutional genres along with townships, SEZ and IT Parks.

VBAPL initiated Building Information Modeling (BIM) in its practice with Autodesk® Revit® in 2011 and has since then applied it successfully to various projects to cover differing scopes such as residential townships on a contoured site, contemporary building architecture, interior work and detail drawings. The software’s elaborate features included significantly improving collaboration between people and processes throughout design, documentation and construction, which was imperative for VBAPL given the scale of their work and participants. Vivek Bhole, Principal Architect – VBAPL, emphasizes, “Through BIM, Autodesk® Revit®

Image courtesy of Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd.

We created the initial schematic design layout in line with AutoCAD® because we were still in the learning process with Revit. But because we could link that sketch file into Revit® Architecture, it helped us recreate everything in 3D to perceive a clear picture of our concept. The ability to link with Revit® gives us the flexibility of modification in several stages, whether that is done in the AutoCAD® file or Revit® file

– Vivek Bhole Principal Architect – VBAPL

COMPANY

Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd.

LOCATION Mumbai, India

SOFTWARE

Autodesk® Revit®

Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd. uses the many benefits of Autodesk® Revit® Architecture to build better collaboration, enhance design quality and achieve success for their high-end Residential Towers project in Mumbai.

Image courtesy of Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd.

Autodesk customer success story Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd.

supports our core mission in a way that no other design process can do.”

Project SummaryDeveloped by the KBJ Group – a prime real estate firm based in Mumbai, the Residential Towers project is prominently located at Siddharth Nagar, Goregaon East in the same city. The scheme comprises two identical 19-storey towers of 2.5 and 3 BHK apartments as typical floors; with four cross-ventilated units per level. To break the visual monotony of these repetitive floors, VBAPL has purposefully planned the uppermost levels as luxurious duplex penthouses with double-height living rooms, spacious bedrooms and other necessary requirements. This conglomeration of duplexes at the top of the towers further adds to the character of the elevation through the introduction of glass facades for its double-height areas.

The twin towers rise from a connected mass of two levels of podiums, which house shared facilities for both wings. While its lower storey is appropriately earmarked for efficient parking, the upper floor accommodates a state-of-the art club with amenities such as gymnasium, swimming pool, jogging track and spa. Directly above it, an exclusive service floor has been created wherein all services coming from the residential towers are diverted into its substantial expanse. The apartments above overlook specially-designed landscapes at this level for a lush green view.

The challengeThe Residential Towers project in Mumbai presented three key challenges for VBAPL. “One of the first issues we faced on the project was how to collaborate across all involved disciplines – particularly between architects, interior designers and contractors,” says Vivek Bhole, Principal Architect – VBAPL. Coordination with clients, critical to complete the loop, added another layer to the information exchange. Vivek adds, “Our challenge was to create an eye-catching design within a limitation of time and money while keeping our clients fully informed.” This included the developer group’s keen desire to survey multiple design options such as room and cluster layouts, material and color palettes and furniture arrangements, which had to be duly accounted for in the scheme’s progression before its finalization. The third task for VBAPL was the need for clarity in visualization so that their various teams and consultants could understand circumstances before execution and address them to avoid wastage of time, material and money.

The solution VBAPL chose Autodesk® Revit® Architecture as the solution to ideally address the project’s challenges. Specifically built for BIM, Revit® software empowers design and construction

professionals to bring ideas from concept to construction with a coordinated and consistent model-based approach. Revit is a single application that includes features for architectural design, MEP, structural engineering and construction.

Interoperability for Easy Linking of Drawings Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software provides interoperability with other software design tools including computer-aided drafting (CAD) systems such as AutoCAD® software, used predominantly by the building industry, so that design firms can work productively with the combination of tools that best matches their project requirements and team structure. VBAPL used this feature to their advantage. Vivek Bhole, Principal Architect – VBAPL, explains, “We created the initial schematic design layout in line with AutoCAD® because we were still in the learning process with Revit. But because we could link that sketch file into Revit® Architecture, it helped us recreate everything in 3D to perceive a clear picture of our concept. The ability to link with Revit® gives us the flexibility of modification in several stages, whether that is done in the AutoCAD® file or Revit® file.”

Bidirectional Associativity for Interconnected Workflow Given that Autodesk® Revit® Architecture stores all model information in a single platform, VBAPL could easily manage data coordination, interlinking and updates as per changes done in any drawing. “We created multiple design options, which were then modified several times. It would have taken much time and effort to keep updating the design as per the incoming changes if we worked only in AutoCAD®/ CAD software but Revit® Architecture completely changed the typical scenario. Since Revit® allowed for changes made in a drawing to be reflected across each and every of its details automatically, we had absolutely no need to keep watch on the same! For instance, after design deliberations when we were required to alter a window size and it was rectified in the plan, then that change was mirrored in the elevation, sections, 3D view and window schedule simultaneously,” elaborates Vivek Bhole, Principal Architect – VBAPL.

Customization for Greater Productivity Autodesk® Revit® Architecture allowed VBAPL to not only build on capacities but also tailor the software specifically according to their needs to increase efficiency. Vivek Bhole, Principal Architect – VBAPL, says, “Revit® gave us the flexibility to create our own customized library of parametric components, which will further improve our design productivity and work quality in future projects. We created standard blocks for column beam framework, windows, doors,

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Image courtesy of Vivek Bhole Architects Pvt. Ltd.

railings, types of floors, MS framework, trusses and many more elements.”

Worksharing for Enhanced Team Coordination and Consistent Design With Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software, multiple users can simultaneously work and save information on the same intelligent building model. This attribute of worksharing facilitated VBAPL’s different teams to work separately in individual files while being automatically linked to the main file and allowed them to achieve greater coordination and minimize errors in teamwork. “Worksharing is one of my favourite features in Revit® Architecture because as we develop the designs, everything remains synchronized and consistent without manual intervention.”

Detailed Visualization for Superior Renders VBAPL used Autodesk® mental ray® software to accentuate the detailed views generated with Revit® and produce photo realistic renders. “We used Revit® Architecture to build the 3D model and then enhanced it by rendering both day and night views with Autodesk® mental ray® to create high-quality, presentable renderings to enhance the project,” mentions Vivek Bhole, Principal Architect – VBAPL.

The result With Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software, VBAPL could perceive both overall and detailed design clarity that allowed them to enhance productivity, reduce rework and focus on innovative approaches while keeping their clients better informed and more involved. Vivek Bhole, Principal Architect – VBAPL, stresses, “Because Revit® Architecture gave us the benefit of reflecting changes from one to all drawings, we could save more time on ongoing drafting changes and instead dedicate more time on design development, which plays an important role in increasing design quality.”