Chosen as "architects of the year in 2015" by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Provencher_Roy team is composed of more than 200 multidisciplinary professionals who have established themselves as one of the preeminent architectural practices in North America. Since its inception, the team at Provencher_Roy has consistently applied their knowledge and expertise in the field of architectural design resulting in an impressive portfolio consisting of universities, museums, hospitals, airports, hotels, conference centers, detention centers, sports facilities and numerous other award winning projects. In addition to its architectural practice, the office has continuously expanded its expertise by developing internal departments in urban planning, interior design, industrial design, landscape architecture and technical innovation, which has led to its work being recognized by more than 80 awards, honors and distinctions over the last 34 years.
Since its foundation in 1983, Provencher_Roy has established itself as a precursor in the world of architecture in Quebec. By striving to find innovative approaches to the impact that every architectural proposal has on its environment and on the community as a whole, the company has continued to remain relevant and contemporary by retaining a holistic vision of architecture which is rooted in modernity yet is open to adaptation. Through its openness and this constant commitment to innovation, the team of P_R has adapted its practice to the major transformations to which the project implementation process has undergone over the last decade.
The arrival of the BIM in the field of construction represented a true paradigm shift; it redefined the way that P_R approached their projects. Although the term appeared in the 1970s in the United States, it took many years before this conceptual and technical advancement became a reality. BIM has now become an integral part of daily practice and the office has been working with it for a little over 10 years, which puts P_R among the pioneers in Quebec. They have thus been able to experiment and collaborate with numerous other teams in order to develop strategies and protocols allowing them to reach different levels of BIM achievements, from the most basic (parametric 3D modeling) to complete integration (assembly and interoperability of Models of all the participants), resulting in true simulations of a project thanks to a virtual prototype.
Provencher_Roy believes that it is essential to understand, integrate and share this process in order to guarantee a better visualization / understanding of the project as well as a better collaboration / coordination.
Olympic National Park, Montreal
Provencher_Roy was mandated by the Régie des installations olympiques in 2015 to renovate the iconic Tower of Montreal of the Olympic Park. Built in 1976 by the French architect Roger Taillibert, it was not until 11 years later that the tower was completed (in 1987) to support the retractable roof. In keeping with the nature of the sports activities that were intended to take place there, the opaque parts of the outer envelope were made with prefabricated concrete panels, while thin strips of high windows were installed to allow zenithal lighting.
After 30 years of being inhabited, the Tower is being reconfigured to host the cooperative financial group Desjardins’ offices in 2018. As part of the project, the Tower of the Olympic Stadium will face a major shift in use: from an existing sports facility that has never been used, it will now accommodate office spaces for about 1000 employees. This new workplace will bring life, activity and energy to this Montreal icon.
The new use of the tower, i.e. "office" type workspaces, requires additional natural light. To this end, the existing envelope, consisting predominantly of precast concrete panels, must be removed to make room for a new concept that emphasizes fenestration to maximize natural light penetration to the center of the tower.
The specific aspect of the existing volume and features of the tower is emphasized by the unique nature of the shape and movement of the forms as they twist and turn. In order to avoid curved glass, the solution was to extend existing slabs on each floor in order to achieve a parallel geometry from floor to floor.
The mandate required delivery of a successful project in an accelerated schedule with sometimes limited information due to it’s complexity. In order to simulate the new curtainwall and therefore aid collision detection at the initial stage, the first step was to collect 3D data, using laser-scanning surveys to capture accurate measurements and create an accurate working model. Point clouds were generated (of the envelope of the building and at each floor on the inside of the tower) to allow us to model the existing tower using Revit.
The design team (architect, structural and building services engineers, surveyors) translated the point clouds data into a full 3D building and data model. We modelled the envelope and the structure. We handed over the model to the main contractor for construction management.
The construction model was managed over the cloud by the contractor in BIM 360 Glue. The subcontractors from every trade were required to input critical information into the model before the construction had even started. ‘’Clash detection’’ has been surveyed throughout the process to avoid discrepancies, limit conflicting information and coordinated with the professionals and different trades.
Considering the existing building complexity, we used another cloud service, BIM 360 Field, for issue management, quality and handover making the construction a success until now.
Innovation
Over the past ten years or so in delivering BIM projects, BIM managers and daily BIM users got the chance to experiment with new technologies on a wide range of projects and constructions. From basic design iterations, to advance calculation methods to evaluate construction cost and schedule, program and data sheet compliance, as well as high-end visualization methods, clients have helped push the smart use of technology in the construction industry in eastern Canada.
Software 101: Randomize façade
In 2012, while designing the main facade of a military research facility in Québec, the project required the production of a random distribution pattern of façade panels on the main entrance of the building.
The randomization through software such as Grasshopper and Rhino was not a difficulty, but reproducing it in Revit with hundreds of panels was a manual and tedious operation. Few programs allowed interaction with Revit at the time and manual iterations on the amount of each panel type was not an option.
Each panel had a corner recessed and its opposite corner was popping by the same dimension. That gave 4 different panel types plus a full recessed panel and a regular panel or a total of 6 types.
Once the Revit family created with all 6 types based on a single parameter named ‘PANEL_TYPE’, were placed on the “curtain walls” and the list of these panels was exported into Excel through BIMLink. Then simply randomized with the RANDBETWEEN Excel command and pushed back in the data with BIMLink in Revit, achieving the first random facade iteration within a couple of seconds.
Make the client and all stakeholders understand the design
The most common issue for an Architect is being able to convey the design and make all stakeholders understand the space being created for them. The advent of powerful pocket devices, tablets and the likes as well as Virtual Reality (VR), cloud computing and Augmented Reality (AR) over the last couple of years gives architects the chance to make the client dream and navigate through their building years before completion.
For a new mission control room at the Canadian Space Agency in Montreal, in 2014, P_R experimented with Revit out-of-the-box cloud render ability to send panoramic views to the client so they could experiment with the Google cardboard and their cellphone to validate the visibility of monitors in the main control room from all desk positions.
On the Jetée Alexandra project, real-time renderers were used such as Lumion or Enscape and oculus rift goggles for weekly design review with success.
Participation in software preview/beta on a regular basis is an integral aspect of internal development in the office, the latest example being the Autodesk Live service opening a whole new potential to the design presentation.
Program Compliance: Revit + Excel = World of Possibilities
During all phases of a BIM project, Data manipulation is the main concern. For example, checking that the program requirements match the model being designed is an important element on hospital projects such as the Sainte-Justine Children Hospital (Montreal) that was completed in 2016 or the Sacré-Coeur hospital project now under development in Montreal.
The practice has experimented with several different tools for project program management but so far the “Revit + Excel” pair has been the most powerful so far and also the easiest pair to be explained and used by all project stakeholders. It allows for non-Revit user interaction with the model in an almost seamless way.
Data sheets: Excel + Word / Indesign
From an Excel database of the project’s data, up-to-date data sheets can be produced all along the life of the project. Using Word and its Mail Merge command or Indesign and its Data Merge capabilities the data can be formatted the way required to produce attractive project documentation.
Never repeat the same task twice
A few team members at Provencher_Roy keep an eye on the Dynamo software evolution and create scripts to automate repetitive tasks, others do try plugins to facilitate project documentation: create legends of all casework with a script, transfer data from a parameter to another, create a dashboard for projects, check family naming compliance with our protocol, etc.
The team at Provencher_Roy is always on the lookout for ways to make better projects with the best tools available, these have just been a few examples of what the practice does to produce BIM projects of the highest quality.
About Anik Mandalian
A graduate in architecture from the University of Montreal and with more than 18 years of experience, Anik Mandalian joined the firm in 2003 and has since never ceased to demonstrate her outstanding value as a partner in charge of BIM and project manager. Enjoying extensive experience in all phases, from design to execution, she has developed outstanding skills in terms of team management and construction.
Anik Mandalian has carried out numerous major projects with a high degree of technical complexity, major constraints and specificities. In particular, she has acted as project manager on several mandates of detention facilities and participated in the design and implementation of institutions, universities, transport infrastructure and health facilities. Having worked on BIM on major projects from the conceptual design phase to the completion of construction, she is the executive partner in charge of implementation, focused on creating new methods and processes for fellow employees to integrate and follow.
BIM team @ Provencher_Roy
Franck Murat, our BIM Director since 2007, went from being a single individual to implementing an efficient BIM team at Provencher_Roy. On his arrival in Quebec in 2007, he joined Provencher_Roy, where he quickly began a pilot project on Revit. As a BIM Director, he oversaw numerous large-scale BIM projects (CHU Ste-Justine, Quebec Museum of Fine Arts, Decelles HEC Renewal, Valcartier Military Laboratories, Sorel-Tracy Prison, etc.). Every new mandate received currently requires for our BIM expertise. In parallel, we have produced a new Revit template and a consolidated BIM protocol that are the sum of all our experiences. It is rapidly becoming the kick-starter tool for all our new projects, an aspect of the practice, which the project teams find exciting and challenging.
