Product Model & 4D CAD: Final Report

This Product Model and Fourth Dimension (PM4D) report presents the findings from the design and construction of the Helsinki University of Technology Auditorium Hall 600 (HUT-600) in Finland. Running simultaneously with the design and construction of the HUT-600 project, an international research partnership extensively applied the product modeling approach, tested the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) interoperability standards, and employed an array of design, visualization, simulation, and analysis tools on the 17-month, USD $5-million capital project. Through our dissemination of project experiences and analytical results, we hope that building owners, end-users, and project teams will take advantage of the current capabilities and benefits of the PM4D Approach, which leverages commercially available state-of-the-art analytical and visualization tools to optimize the design, construction, and operation of a proposed facility during early project phases. Figure 1 shows the software tools that were used by the project participants involved in this research and shows the information that was exchanged between these tools via product models based on open (IFC) and proprietary standards. In this research, we have documented cultural, technological, and business barriers to the PM4D Approach.