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Architecture Structural Engineering Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Engineering Project Management Special Inspections

From Paper to BIM

PDF 3D Views for Structures
It was not very long ago that the design for a structure was represented on a sheet of paper with lines, curves, and annotations. For a 3D object however, this could be impractical. It took many sheets of paper to show what the building would be like, which often led to mistakes. Also, the drawings were only understood by a few specialized people. Often homeowners, business owners, and others could not decipher what the design would look like off the paper and as a building. These issues however, are about to disappear with new Building Infor-

March 2012

this issue
From Paper to BIM P.1 Navigate our 3D Model P.2 Safe Rooms P. 2 Recent Project P.3 About Us P.4

Louisville Library Renovation

The Western Branch of the Louisville Free Public Library will be closed for about five months beginning Feb. 26 for a $500,000 makeover of the historic structure, which opened in 1908 at 10th and Chestnut streets. Its brick exterior will be repaired and a major interior makeover is planned.

mation Modeling (BIM) software which is becoming more prevalent in the Architectural/Engineering design community. With the click of a button, the 3D design from Autodesk's Revit can be converted into a PDF file viewable by anyone with the free Adobe Reader. This file can then be sent to clients so they can get a better idea of what their building is going to look like. With the BIM file in PDF format, a relatively standard computer has no trouble opening the file without the need for the Revit or other design software. The PDF is layered allowing the client, contractor etc. to view various aspects of the project by turning of portions/ elements of the building that are blocking the view of what they want to see. Using the PDF BIM file, clients can examine all the different aspects of the design for their new building. They can see what the structure looks like, HVAC, plumbing or electrical systems and what materials they are made of or they can hide the roof to take a look at the inside of the building. They can see lights, furniture, electrical wiring, and vents. Even better, the client can keep the BIM file to add updates to the building so the plans stay up to date and add pertinent maintenance data to the file (equipment/material specifications etc.). In this case however, the client must own a compatible version of the Revit or other BIM software.

The work will include the addition of a reading room for its archive of AfricanAmerican documents, upgrading children's facilities with new collections and furnishings, a new teen study and activity room, new flooring, extensive painting, and space to increase the number of computers from 12 to 20, library director Craig Buthod said. The renovation was designed by MSR Architects of Minneapolis, in collaboration with local architect Eric Hansen of Icon Engineering & Inspections. David Contractors of Louisville is the project manager.
Click here for the complete story in the Louisville Courier Journal

Navigating a 3D File in PDF

Mechanical & Plumbing System View

March Madness History of Basketball

It was the YMCA that had a major role in spreading basketball throughout the United States and Canada, and then throughout the world. In 1893, Mel Rideout arranged the first European match in Paris, in Montmartre. At the same time, Bob Gailey went to Tientsin, China (1894), Duncan Patton to India, Genzabaro Ishikawa to Japan, and C. Hareek to Persia. The First World War broke out in 1914, and the U.S. Army started fighting in Europe in 1917. During World War I, American Expeditionary Force brought basketball wherever they went. Together with the troops, there were hundreds of physical education teachers, who knew basketball quite well, and even James Naismith spent two years with YMCA in France, in that period. Not only did they bring basketball with them, but even the modern basketball, that is the game as it was played in the United States at that time.
The photo above is the 1895 YMCA Basketball Team that participated in the first basketball game in Louisville, Kentucky. Click here for the complete story

Transparent View

BIM can also be useful to an engineer, not just a client. Because BIM brings together all aspects of the building, it is easy to see where a mistake needs to be corrected, such as if a beam on the roof or floor system interferes with a ventilation duct or piping. Previously, these errors may not have been caught because the 2D plan drawing of the roof was separate from the drawing showing ventilation. The use of BIM software in the design process has proven to be a valuable tool for the design team as well as for the clients.

The client is more informed about the overall design and the project can run more smoothly as a result of reduced coordination issues between disciplines. Click here to view the instructions for manipulating a BIM PDF file. Click here to view one of ICONs latest projects in BIM. For more information visit: http:// bim.arch.gatech.edu/?id=402

Safe Rooms for High Wind Events & Tornadoes

Is your safe place really safe?
The National Weather Service ruled the damage suffered by storms in Hardin and LaRue County on February 29, 2012 was community center or church should not offer residents their facilities as a safe room unless they feel their facility is capable of providing wind events. means that, near-absolute protection for its occupants during extremeNear absolute protection based on our current

knowledge of tornadoes and hurricanes, the occupants of a safe room built according to FEMAs guide will have a very high probability of being protected from injury or death. Since 1953 tornadoes and relatdue to an EF2 and EF1 Tornado that touched down in Elizabethtown and Hodgenville. The winds were determined to range from 73 up to 157 miles per hour. Many residents sought shelter from the storm within their homes or work. However, just because your home or office is built to code does not mean it can withstand winds from tornadoes or strong storms. The primary difference in a buildings structural system designed for use as a safe room, rather than for conventional use, is the magnitude of the wind force that it is designed to withstand. The current residential building code for Kentucky requires homes to be built to withstand winds of 90 miles per hour at three second gusts. The EF2 tornado that struck Hodgenville last week consisted of wind speeds between 113MPH and 157MPH. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has published several documents pertaining to Safe Rooms and their design. The latest, released in August of 2008, titled Design and Construction Guidance for Community Safe Rooms provides detailed guidance for stand-alone safe rooms (a separate building) and internal safe rooms (a specifically designed and constructed room or area within or attached to a larger building or home). residence, business, ed weather events have caused an average of 57 percent of all U.S. insured catastrophic losses. In 2007, that number increased to 69 percent.

Amazing Timelapse of 30Story Building Constructed In Only 360 Hours

Watch the timelapse here China certainly has a construction industry that is one of a kind. Although it is sometimes embroiled in controversy, this massive industry is doing something that so many others are not. They are taking outrageous and innovative design schemes out of the concept phase and actually creating them. The construction team behind the countrys Ark Hotel the Broad Group subsidiary Broad Sustainable Building (BSB), which is a 15 storey hotel building built in 2010 in just six days, have showed their industry prowess once more, this time delivering the 30 storey T30 Hotel in the neck breaking speed of 15 days. Ones first and foremost concern in regard to this building, and its unique methodology, would be that of safety, with an overwhelming conclusion that there is no way such speed could come without a cost to occupational health and safety standards. Like the former Ark Hotel, the onsite injury list has been at zero. In addition to that, the China Academy of Building Research has assured utmost structural soundness, going as far as to confirm that the building has been constructed solidly enough to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake. For the complete story, click here.

PROFESSIONAL DESIGN
ICON Engineering, having vast experience in the design of safe rooms, is currently working on the design of a safe room for an industrial facility in Louisville. Professional engineer & ICON owner, Mike Childers, says most homes and businesses already have areas or rooms that could be renovated in to safe rooms. Renovating an existing area to create a true safe room requires me to look at the complete room. The roof deck (ceiling of the room) needs to be designed to resist windborne debris impacts and should possess the ability to potentially carry the weight of the rest of the building. Other aspects to consider are ventilation and maximum occupancy of the safe room. Mechanical or natural ventilation systems need to be designed for all safe rooms. To schedule an appointment to have your safe room designed for your home or office call ICON at 270-737-4226. Complete documents and story at www.FEMA.gov.

Vernon Avenue Bridge

Recent ICON Engineering Project

The Vernon Avenue Bridge is a small 154 foot bridge spanning the Ware River in Barre, Massachusetts. Although many big, well-known bridges use a structural health monitoring (SHM) system, the Vernon Avenue Bridge is unique because it is one of the first small bridges to use a SHM system. A SHM system is based on the idea that with the help of sensors, a bridge can provide information on how much stress and strain it is under. One of the hardest parts of using a SHM system is deciding how many sensors to use and where to place them. Too many sensors results in an overload of data that is hard to interpret, while not enough sensors can result in inaccurate conclusions. The Vernon Avenue Bridge uses about 200 sensors that measure strain, temperature, tilt, and pressure. Another unique aspect of this bridge is that the SHM system was put in at the same time that the bridge was being built. This means that the sensors were installed after steel fabrication, but before the beans were delivered to the construction site. Installing the sensors during construction is also much less costly than installing them after the bridge has been built. -STRUCTURE 2012 magazine, February

Fun Fact!
First Internet Domain
The first commercial Internet domain name, in the TLD com, was registered on 15 March 1985 in the name Symbolics.com by Symbolics Inc., a computer systems firm in Cambridge, Massachusetts. By 1992 fewer than 15,000 com domains had been registered. In December 2009 there were 192 million domain names. A large fraction of them are in the com TLD, which as of March 15, 2010 had 84 million domain names, including 11.9 million online business and e-commerce sites, 4.3 million entertainment sites, 3.1 million finance related sites, and 1.8 million sports sites. -Wikipedia

ICON Engineering & Inspection Services, PLLC offers Architectural and Structural , Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Engineering as well as Project Management Services. Our A/E Design Team specializes in Commercial, Churches, Heavy & Light Industrial, Government/Military, Educational, Correctional & Medical Facilities. Having provided services on many different types of projects ranging from small wood framed construction to large steel and concrete commercial, institutional and industrial facilities our architectural experience enables us to create new ideas for each project while the refined science of engineering leads us to the most efficient solutions, resulting in least material and least cost. The ICON A/E Design Team understands that each discipline is interrelated therefore our multi-discipline team assures efficient coordination and integration of services for the best overall solution to design challenges.

ICON Engineering & Inspection Services, PLLC

35 Public Square Elizabethtown, Kentucky 270.737.4226 ph 270.737.0441 fax www.iconofetown.com

35 Public Square Elizabethtown, KY 42701

Ph: (270) 737-4226 Fax: (270) 737-0441

www.iconofetown.com

NAVIGATING A 3-DIMENSIONAL PDF MODEL

Anyone can open and view a 3D PDF model with free Adobe Reader software that is probably already installed on your computer. Below are a few quick tips when trying to navigate a 3D building model in Adobe. Open the PDF file and click to activate the model. The 3D model is broken down into different layers, with different parts of the building categorized by the discipline or area where they were created. Each of these layers can be turned on and off by simply unchecking the box next to the layer in the model tree (If the model tree is not visible, click on the Toggle Model Tree button in the toolbar above the model). You can also select individual elements in the model just by clicking on them. This will highlight that individual element in the Model Tree, where you can then hide that individual element by unchecking the box next to it. Right-clicking on the element in the model tree will allow for more options. To change the look of the model, you can click on the Model Render Mode button in the toolbar above the model and change the graphics. For example, if you select Transparent, all elements in the model will become transparent, allowing you to see everything within the model at once. You can zoom in and out by scrolling the wheel on your mouse, or you can select the Zoom button in the toolbar above the model and then click and hold anywhere in the model and drag up and down in the model while holding the left mouse button to zoom in and out. To rotate the model, select the Spin button in the toolbar above the model. Then click and hold anywhere in the model and drag the mouse left, right, up, or down while holding the left mouse button to rotate the model. If you hold down both the left and right mouse buttons, you can move the model around on the screen. This can also be accomplished by selecting the Pan button. Clicking on different views in the Views box will change the camera angle to a preset view. The ISO view is selected in the example figure above.

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