D e pa r t m e n t of Re a l E s t a te

and Construction, HKU

RECO7618
Built Assets of the Metaverse:
Gaming and VDC
Lecture 2

28 October 2023

I r Ke n M a o
Objectives

• Learn the concept and practical

workflow of Vir tual Design and
Construction (VDC)

• Get hands-on experience of basic

oper ation of VDC sof tw are, game engine
and metaverse

• Share experiences on the application of

VDC and game engine in construction
projects
 Lecture 2 - Rundown
Time Topics/ Activities
14:00 - 14:45 • Lecture (VDC concept and VDC technologies/
Solutions)

14:46 - 15:55 • Break

15:56 - 15:40 • Lecture (VDC technologies/ Solutions and

Workflow of 4D Simulation)
• Briefing on Group Project No.2

15:40 - 16:00 • Q&A

 1 Vir tual Design & Construction

2 V D C Te c h n o l o g y / S o l u t i o n s

To p i c s

3 Workflow of 4D Simulation
 Virtual Design
and Construction

ONE
 What is the VDC concept?

• Terminology - Vi r tua l Design and Con struction (VDC)

• Time – In 2001, Center for Integra ted Fa ci li ty Engineer in g a t

Sta nford Univer sity of California launched VDC conce pt

• Main Initiator - Prof essor Mar ti n Fischer

• Def inition - The manag eme nt of integrate d multi-discipl inar y

per fo rmance model s of d esign-construction p rojects, including
the product (i.e ., facilities), work processes and organizatio n of
the d esig n - construction - ope ratio n team in orde r to suppor t
explicit a nd public b usi ness ob ject ives.
 Integrated Digital Deliver y
through VDC and BIM
• Integrated Di gital Deliver y (IDD) is the use of dig ital
technolog ies to inte g rate work processe s and connect
stakeholder s wo rking on the same project throughout the
construction and build ing life-cycle.

• This include s design , fabr ication and assembl y on-site , as

we ll as th e opera ti ons and mai nten an ce of building s.

• Integrated Di gital Deliver y (IDD) builds on the use of

Bui ldi ng Informa tion Modelling ( BIM) a nd Vi r tual
Design a nd Con structio n (V DC)
Integrated Digital Deliver y
through VDC and BIM
 Differences between VDC and BIM
VDC BIM
1. VDC is a broader conce pt; 1. BIM is more sp ecific to information
m anagem ent (i.e. IS O1 96 50)
2. VDC uses BIM as a working frame work ;
2. BIM is a p rocess of creating and
3. VDC doesn't alw ays involve BIM;
m anaging d igital information about a
4. VDC simulate s the com ple xity of b uilt asset.
construction d eliver y and id entifies
3. Identif ying poten tial diff iculties/issue s
p otent ial dif ficulties/issue s;
is only one of the BI M uses (e. g. 26 uses
5. VDC sim ulate s the co st, tim e and labou r of B IM in C IC BIM Stand ards Ge ne ral)
req uirements involved in the
4. Apply throug hout the p roject lifecycle
construction p rocess.
 Similarities between VDC and BIM

Multidisciplinary
models

Enhance
collaboration

support better
decision-making/
business objectives

• The re is cer tainly a blurring of b ound aries betw ee n VDC and BIM, but VDC is pe rhaps a
narrowe r par t of the process within the w ide r BIM umbrella
 V D C Te c h n o l o g y /
Solutions

TWO
 Applications of VDC

1. Muti-disciplinar y
2. Construction Planning Design Collaboration
• Desig n Visualization
• 4D simulation
• Desig n Revie w/ Ap proval
• Co nstruction Seq uen ce
• Issue M anagem ent
S imulatio n

5. Quality & Safety

VDC
• Safe ty Training
3. Digital Frabrication
• Quality C hecking
• M iC
• M iMEP 4. Cost Planning
• Re-bar cut and be nd • Q uantity M easurem ent
• 5D Sim ulation
 Muti-disciplinar y Design Collaboration

VDC/ BI M

1. Efficiently visualize designs to improve communication and

reduce error
2. Speed up and faciliate the Client’s review and approval

Common Da ta En vi ronment (CDE)

1. Design models managed in the CDE platform

2. Co-authoring and work sharing features improve the efficiency
of modelling work in the CDE platform
3. Visualize changes using CDE platform
4. Manage issues and clarify information in CDE platform
BIM Software for Design Visualization/
Design Review
VR for Design Approval/
Decision-making
Tools for Design Collaboration
( O f f- l i n e M o d e )
Tools for Design Collaboration
( O f f- l i n e M o d e )
Tools for Design Collaboration
(Online Mode)
Autodesk Construction Cloud
(BIM Collaborate)
 Autodesk Construction Cloud
(BIM Collaborate - Clash Matrix)
 Integration of Reality Capture
and VDC

Capture site Cloud platform Cloud platform processes

condition through processes link the link the image to BIM
360o image image to BIM model model
Integration of Reality Capture
and VDC
 Construction Planning

1. Visualize the com ple x pl anning sch edul e (Gantt

C har t) in minute s

2. Plan the sequence of constru ctio n ac ti vi ties/ site

lo gistics/ co nst ruction metho ds

3. Forcast the potential spat ial conf lict s in 3D and 4D

mode
Tools for Construction Planning
 4D Simulation and
Construction Sequence Simulation
Construction Sequence Simulation
(with Safety & Environmental Protection Considerations)
 Digital Frabrication

1. For MiME P, VDC/ BIM assists to de sign the

modularisation of MEP comp onents a nd the
suppor ti ng frames (e.g . size s, we ight, etc.)

2. Simul ate the deli ver y and site insta llation

of the MiME P module (e .g. study the de live r y
routes of larg e MiME P module )
 Digital Fabrication
(Example - Reinforcement Bars)

Accurate re-bar
BIM Model ready
for Fabrication

One click button export rear batches into .bvbs

without plug-in / scripts
 Digital Fabrication
(Example - Reinforcement Bars)

Rebar cutting
Finished product with tags
optimization

Rebar Tag
 Digital Fabrication
(Example - Reinforcement Bars)
Auto-Generated
Central Kowloon Route East - Digital Fabrication for Bridge Bar Bending Schedule
Digital Fabrication (Example -
Reinforcement Bars)
 Digital Fabrication (Example -
Reinforcement Bars)

Central Kowloon Route East - Digital Fabrication for Bridge

 Cost Planning

1. Mod el-based quantity take-off for bud get

e stim ate

2. Visualize the cost d ata through 5D s imulat ion

3. Fore cast project exp enditure and reflect project

pro gress
Tools for Cost Planning
5D Simulation
 Safety and Quality
Sa fety Tra in ing

• High risk task/ operation (e.g. working at height, lifting

operation, working with electricity)
• 1st person perspective through immersive virtual reality
technology
• Induction safety training

Qua lity Check

• Verify actual site installation against the coordinated BIM

model
• Augmented reality technology allows users to visualise and
interact with 3D data and other records on site
3D Animation for Safety Training
Web VR for Safety Training
VR Cave and VR Headset
for Safety Training
AR App for Safety Training
 Augmented Reality (AR)/
Mixed Reality for Site Quality Check

Trimble XR10
 Augmented Reality (AR)/
Mixed Reality for Site Quality Check
 Workflow of
4D Simulation

THREE
 Workflow of 4D Simulation
for VDC
Issues, Feedback and Update

Submission to
Appointing Party/
Lead Appointed
Party to review
BIM/ GIS 3D Model Native 3D Modified 3D
Authoring Model Model
(e.g. Revit, InfraWorks, File(s) File(s) 4D Simulation
etc.) Coordination Production
and Review Model sub-division
Video/
and activity-model
(e.g. Fuzor VDC, Interactive
(BIM Manager,
Project Planner, mapping Synchro 4D, File(s)
Project Manager) Navisworks
Project Scheduling Native Modified etc.)
(e.g. MS Project, Scheduling Scheduling
Primavera P6) Data File(s) Data File(s)

Further breakdown
of activities and
activity-model
Mapping
Issues, Feedback and Update
 Workflow of 4D Simulation
Production After Coordination
3D Model Data Scheduling Data
Method 1

Fuzor Add-in Fuzor

Revit Cache Fuzor VDC
Model sub-division and add parameters for
file(s)
1. Create schedule
activity-model mapping by importing
Method 2 the CSV/ XML
Fuzor Add-in
.nwc file(s)
Revit 2. Assign 3d model
Fuzor objects to Modified CSV/
activities by XML MS Project/
Model sub-division Cache conditional
CSV/ XML
Other 3D file(s) Primavera P6
file(s) filters file(s)
model
.fbx, .3ds, . Navisworks
authoring 3. Set animation 1. Breakdown
obj, .ifc
software styles for the activities
file(s), etc. activities 2. Add parameters
for activity-model
Method 3 4. Create and mapping
Other 3D generate video
model FBX for 4D
authoring simulation
file(s)
software
1. Model sub-division
2. Create and export different model files to in line
with activities in the modified CSV/ XML files
 Guidance of 4D Simulation and
Construction Sequence Simulation
Thank You

ke n _ ma o @ o u t l o o k . c o m
 References
What is Virtual Design and Construction? VDC definition
What is Virtual Design and Construction? VDC definition – Bim Corner

Understanding the Key Differences Between BIM and VDC

Understanding the Key Differences Between BIM and VDC (hermosillo.com)

VDC and Its Applications in BIM : A Quick Look at Fundamentals

https://constructible.trimble.com/construction-industry/vdc-and-its-applications-in-bim-a-quick-
look-at-fundamentals

Virtual Design and Construction Software

https://www.autodesk.com/solutions/virtual-design-construction-workflow

Compare Navisworks vs Revit

https://comparisons.financesonline.com/navisworks-vs-revit