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Learn how a nearly 100-year old residential building was renovated using Archicad, giving new life to a historic monument in downtown Amsterdam.

With over 2,500 employees and projects in 40 countries, Nikken Sekkei is among the largest and most successful architectural design firms in the world. We recently sat down with Tomohiko Yamanashi, Executive Officer and Deputy Head of the Architectural Design Department, to discuss two of the firm’s recent, major projects, as well as the evolution of BIM.
This case study presents an interview with Nikken Sekkei’s Senior Executive Officer and Deputy Head of Architectural Design Department, Tomohiko Yamanashi and features the firm’s two recent major projects; “On the water” and “Passenger Terminal Building No. 3 Narita International Airport”.

Background
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched a test project for temporary shelters made from bags filled with earth in Syria. The architect, Anas Aljbain, is using Archicad to develop the designs.

The Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture in Vietnam hosted the final round of the Archicad BIM competition on June 24, 2016. The winner was Team “345”. The competition was established in 2014, and is organized by GRAPHISOFT Japan and Ho Chin Minh City University. It is sponsored by Kajima Corporation, Okinawa Digital Vision, YKK AP FACADE, and several other firms. This year, close to 300 students participated; the task was to design buildings in the densely populated area of a city. As a result of this competition, Team “345” won a trip to Japan to see BIM in practice. In addition, the 2nd and 3rd place winners of the competition won internships with the sponsoring companies. Read on to see the submitted materials of the top 3 teams: Team “345”, “The 94s” and “BTT”.

OPEN BIM helps the development of this gigantic mixed use project in Helsinki, Finland. Tripla will be a bold, three-block urban entity connecting East and West Pasila, which had been separated by an old railway yard. The overall design will comprise offices, a shopping mall and congress center, housing, a hotel, a multi-purpose arena and public transportation terminal. The development is committed to continuing the sustainable expansion of the Helsinki city center, while creating a new, diverse backdrop for Helsinki urban life.

Located in Hong Kong, the architects at Enzyme used Archicad to design a unique residence in Java, Indonesia starting with the concept phase. According to the architects, using a design process that involves BIM achieves the best result with a better use of time and resources in a much more accurate way.

A uniquely constructed, large scale timber structure wins the JIA (Japan Institute of Architects) grand-prix award.
In 2014, the JIA Japan architectural award went to Yamaga City Yamaga Elementary school designed by Coelacanth K&H. Even for the architectural firm, which has received many prestigious awards and is a leading figure of the atelier architectural firms of Japan, this particular project was difficult and challenging. The supporting tools behind the creative work of the firm members, Kazumi Kudo and Hiroshi Horiba, the main architects, and other staff were Archicad and BIMx. We interviewed the architects, Kudo and Horiba, about this project.

Background
Funded by the European Commission, the ‘Traditional Wooden Constructions of Europe – TRAWCOE’ (2013-2015) Leonardo Learning Partnership project set out to develop a novel educational and technical solution for vocational education and training in the realm of Traditional Timber Building. The project was initiated and coordinated by EK Association (Budapest, Hungary) and brought together a broad partnership comprised of construction trade representatives, architectural practices, timber processing companies, vocational schools offering carpentry and architectural training and not-for-profit organizations active in the field of preservation of historic monuments and traditional crafts. The participants of the international partnership represented seven European countries: France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Founded in 1998, querkraft is today one of the most renowned
and successful architectural firms in Austria. The professionals at
querkraft, known for thinking outside the box, have a convincing
track record of unconventional, imaginative projects ranging
from residential buildings to spectacular museums and industrial
complexes.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” is an African proverb that Emmanuel Coste likes to cite to describe his collaborative and proactive approach to architecture and project management. Convinced from the start by the advantages of “craft” tools like CAD, Emmanuel Coste directs an architecture firm which became the standard-bearer for design of complex projects brought to life by innovative technologies; a reference for high environmental quality that unites a broad multidisciplinary team.