Harnessing tech to let Edinburgh St James shine
Looking after everything the light touches is one way to describe my role in a dream project. Walking up Calton Hill and taking time to appreciate the skyline of Edinburgh, you marvel at the historic buildings, but you also now find your eyes drawn to the work taking place on the Edinburgh St James project to transform the city’s East End.
Recently, standing at the famous beauty spot with my young son, I tried to explain my job as I pointed out the development in the distance. I reminded him of the scene in the Lion King when King Mustafa explains to Simba about his kingdom and he says it’s “everything the light touches”. He seemed satisfied and it also sums up my role on this project, collaborating with a huge team of designers, engineers and contractors using the latest technology to create this £1 billion development. My area of specialism is the design, fabrication and installation of the facade.
BDP Glasgow Studio is the lead consultant and technical architect for the design of Edinburgh St James, Nuveen Real Estate’s iconic development, and is delivering the master plan as part of the Laing O’rourke construction. My role on the project relies heavily on digital collaboration tools and this has never been more necessary than during the Covid-19 pandemic. The project team works collaboratively. The integrated virtual design and construction solutions we use are being developed to be used from project concept through to commissioning on what is arguably the most complex building project under way in Scotland at present.
A 3D model of the site is being used in real time. We all share a digital process and use the model as a virtual representation of the physical complex of buildings to validate construction processes, sequencing and assemblies long before materials arrive on site. We all have clear process and guidance, giving confidence in the resilience of the digital strategies we have in place. The complex model also faciliprefer tates virtual inspections, reducing the need to physically visit the site. The project employs a cloud-based virtual reality capturing system, like that used in Google Maps. This allows users to interrogate the sequence of construction works. I am an architect who enjoys designing with a digital model, but the model is only as good as the input. The beauty of digital modelling is that it is simply a template for all types of styles of working. It allows for those who drawing to have their ideas included in the model. During our virtual meetings at BDP we can all view and comment on the digital model and it can be updated in real time. It is also possible to track elements through a time sequence, from seeing a stone panel at the factory for inspection, seeing it delivered to site and its final position. We can also look at plans that show the detailed instructions used by the contractor on how it is assembled and installed.
In a new world of work including construction, where remote working is necessary, the virtual building model becomes the one the designers and main contractor use to develop solutions such as design quality, precision and durability, also seeking to minimise the impact on elements that are existing, fabricated and already in place. In the current climate of physical distancing, with the protocols we have adopted, there is less need for designers to visit a site, but this will still be necessary from time to time. Although I am committed to the model, I am an architect and there is a need to see the building you have dreamed about, particularly if you have invested so much time in its aesthetic and you can see the impact it will have on future generations.
We do know from working on Edinburgh St James remotely that we are not hanging up our hard hats yet as there is always a place for us on site. But we see we have established real collaboration and progress using digital platforms and will always find a vantage point to admire the buildings glinting in the sunlight.
The project employs a cloudbased virtual reality capturing system,