Second honourable mention for the Western Metro Extension project in the Tekla BIM Awards competition

The project to extend the Helsinki metro from Ruoholahti to Matinkylä, as publicised by A-Insinöörit Suunnittelu Oy, won a second honourable mention at this year's Tekla BIM Awards. The results of the competition were published and the awards were handed over on Tuesday 21 June in Helsinki.

The panel of judges appreciated the cast-in-situ components that were modelled for the Western Metro Extension project, the use of building information modelling to check the project’s status and the use of the building information model to present data to the authorities as part of the project. The project was publicised by A-Insinöörit Suunnittelu Oy along with ALA Architects Ltd, Granlund Oy, YIT Construction Ltd, Lemminkäinen Infra Oy, Helin & Co Architects and Arkkitehtitoimisto HKP Oy.

”The group of Granlund employees involved in the Western Metro Extension project is very proud of the honourable mention because the designers involved in the project specifically required and promoted building information modelling and the use of combined models. Several years of work went into the design models and these have been utilised by designers as well as personnel on construction sites,” says Anssi Leppäaho, who worked as Granlund Oy’s representative.

The Tekla BIM Awards competition was held for the eighth time in its present form. The panel of judges included Veijo Käyhty from the Rakennuslehti magazine, Mikko Malaska from Tampere University of Technology, Jyrki Metsola from Kymdata Oy and Ville Rousu from Trimble. The panel paid special consideration to collaboration using building information models, diverse uses of models, knowledge management and the client’s role in the building information modelling project.

”This year’s BIM Awards competition clearly demonstrated the extent to which building information models have been used in construction projects,” says Jarmo Manninen, Trimble’s Business Director for Tekla products in Finland and the Baltics. 

In terms of its scale, the Western Metro Extension is an iconic project and the panel of judges appreciated the special tools that were put to good use in challenging modelling locations.

”In the very high-quality projects included in the competition, BIM data was used, distributed and adapted to support various processes, such as quantity surveying, scheduling, supply chain management, work execution and decision-making. Building information models will become construction information models, which will play an essential role in meeting quality, productivity and safety objectives. In our opinion, the Tekla BIM Awards competition effectively highlights advanced construction projects in which the potential of building information modelling is given entirely new perspectives.”

”The event was held on Särkkä island. In addition to the awards, there was a retrospective of Tekla’s 50-year journey as well as a performance by St. Notes, a vocal group that is rumoured to go by the Finnish name ”Pyhät muistilaput” (holy notes) – something engineers will appreciate,” says Anssi Leppäaho.