Queen’s Wharf goes big on BIM

There’s a buzz in the Brisbane CBD, and it’s not just all the digging and earth-moving. It’s also the palpable sense that the $3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf project will take the city to the next level internationally.

The concept drawings are certainly impressive, as are the bare numbers. The development covers more than 26 hectares, or 10 per cent of the Brisbane CBD footprint. It incorporates 50 new bars, cafes and restaurants; 2,000 apartments across three residential towers; and more than 1,000 premium hotel rooms operating under four hotel brands, one with a casino.

There’s plenty of public space too – 12 football fields’ worth. It will need to be big to accommodate the additional 1.39 million visitors expected in Brisbane as a result of the project. It will also be sustainable. The design has earned a 6 star Green Star Communities rating.

No less impressive is the technology being used during construction. Building information modelling (BIM) is allowing the developers to create a virtual project environment, using laser scanning to coordinate new and existing built forms.

Public stakeholder requirements can also be reviewed through the management of an expected 600-plus models, originating from multiple software platforms.

AIRAH’s Future of HVAC Conference is taking place in Brisbane this year, and Destination Brisbane Consortium’s Chris Deans and PDC BIM’s Alastair Brook have offered to talk in detail about the Queen’s Wharf project and the role BIM is playing in it.

They will explore the adoption of virtual reality and the benefits achieved for the client and design teams. They will also demonstrate how as-built information can be prepared for facility management in the future.

The Future of HVAC Conference is slated for September 11–12. You’ll have to wait a bit longer for Queen’s Wharf Brisbane itself – the core integrated resort development is expected to open in late 2022.

This article originally appeared in the July 2019 issue of Ecolibrium.

Please note the featured image is a concept image only. It is subject to approvals.