How important is it to have updated above and below ground as-builts of your college campus’ facilities?
At Florida State University’s Doak Campbell Stadium, it was paramount to stadium renovation needs.
GPRS Project Managers, Tyler Zak, Marcus Buck, Shamar Orr, and Bill Lessig, recently mapped the above and below-ground infrastructure of Florida State University’s Doak Campbell Stadium for stadium renovations, which had no up-to-date documentation of its buried utilities and its existing aboveground stadium infrastructure.
Overcoming Design and Construction Challenges in the $255M Renovation of Florida State's Historic Stadium
The $255-million-dollar renovation to Florida State’s 73-year-old stadium’s west side, adding premium seating, including founder’s boxes, and a field level club, posed some challenges for the design and construction firms overseeing the project in a joint venture.
A vast majority of the space within the stadium required accurate as-built documentation, and two acres-worth of land in need of identified and mapped underground utilities, and another 600,000 s.f.t of area that required that 3D laser scanning and modeling. The renovation plans were complex for both stages of the two-phase project; An ArchiCAD BIM model (building information model) was required to provide the university’s renovation team with a better idea of the planned architectural and design updates. GPRS’ customer, Populous, known for their worldwide architectural leadership, needed a single source of data, where all architects on the project could see the latest design, document changes with ease, and collaborate accordingly.
Enhancing Stadium Renovations: How GPRS’Point Cloud to BIM Services Helped Transform Florida State Seminole’s HomeFootball Stadium Project With Accurate Data.
By hiring GPRS, Populous put the nation’s lead contractor for existing condition documentation to work. When it comes to 3D Laser Scanning for stadiums in the U.S., GPRS has scanned close to 20 major stadiums and arenas across the country to provide accurate above and below ground infrastructure visualization services.
These services help architects, general contractors, and facility managers alike through:
• Elimination of costly return visits to the site
• More accurate, complete as-built surveys for design and construction renovation
• Minimized construction rework due to interferences/clashes
• Accurate measurements for fabrication
• Fast, unobtrusive scene capture
• Non-contact assessments that leave sites untouched
The solution needed for phase one of the project was provided through three different GPRS 3D laser scanning Project Managers who worked collaboratively over four days to capture the existing conditions of the Florida State Seminole’s home football stadium.
These Project Managers, who included Tyler Zak out of Orlando, Florida, Marcus Buck out of Atlanta, Georgia, and Shamar Orr out of Miami, Florida, scanned the exterior and interior of the stadium with 2-4 millimeter precision. This data provided Populous with the interactive system and data their engineers and architects needed. The data included three different concourse levels, stadium seating, and suites.
Maps and Models included in this portion of the stadium’s work included:
- Intensity map point cloud
- TrueView viewer files
- Revit 2021 3D model of the entire stadium
These results provided those in charge of the project with precise details within the 3D Model so that renovations could be designed accurately the first time around; helping save money and keeping the project safe and on time for its August 2025 due date. This date is one that is paramount for the University’s football program, since the Seminoles celebrate their home opener against the Alabama Crimson Tide at that time.
Architects on site who utilized the BIM model were able to provide the faculty at Florida State who were overseeing the renovation a better idea of the complexities to the architecture and design of the project at hand. Technical construction drawings, which included floor plan views, elevation views, cross-sections, iso-metric representations, etc., could all be easily built from the 3D BIM model and shared with all disciplines involved within the project. The BIM model also allowed architects to plan the precise renovations to the stadium’s layout, from design changes and material selection to cost estimation and construction phasing, with ease.
How Subsurface Damage Prevention Played a Part:
It was of the utmost importance to not only accurately measure and collect the existing conditions of the stadiums above ground infrastructure, but also the underground elements where needed. Without this vital subsurface data focused on where demolition was to occur, major incidents could result. Because on a college campus, a utility strike can interrupt classes, extracurriculars, and even endanger the lives of faculty and students.
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The solution to the second portion of the project involved GPRS Project Manager, Bill Lessig. Lessig spent the second portion of the stadium renovation in a specific section underneath the concourse, locating underground utilities where the GC planned to demo. In five days’ time, Lessig was able to map out utilities within a two-acre section under the stadium.
Some of the utilities mapped included a fire water main, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, and power lines. After locating utilities on site, GPRS 3D laser scanning Project Manager, Tyler Zak, came back on site to capture all utility marks by Lessig with 3D laser scans. Our in-house Mapping and Modeling Team then added them to an existing model, creating an integrated above and below-ground BIM model that the customer could reference throughout the project lifecycle.
All of the utility data mapped on site by Lessig and Zak was also collected and uploaded into our GIS for construction platform,SiteMap® (patent pending). Uploading and delivering the maps, models and as-builts via SiteMap® gave the general contractor responsible for renovations easy access to underground utility information when they were to begin demolition. All the relevant site data was available 24/7 from any tablet or mobile device with the SiteMap® Mobile app to help eliminate information siloes and enhance communication between team members on site.
Image Description: Underground utility data within SiteMap® from demolition project locate.
Partner with GPRS for Safe and Efficient Project Execution
At GPRS we provide nationwide existing condition documentation and subsurface damage prevention services to help ensure your projects remain on budget, on time, and safe. To learn how we can help you Intelligently Visualize The Built World® on your project so you can access your above and below ground facility data within SiteMap®, schedule a service or request a quote today.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How much does 3D laser scanning cost?
The cost of 3D laser scanning can vary widely depending on your project scope. GPRS customizes every quote specific to a project’s needs. GPRS Project Managers use 3D laser scanners to capture every detail of your site, delivering building dimensions, locations, and layout with millimeter accuracy. This can include the aboveground structural, architectural, and MEP features, plus underground utility and concrete markings. Our Mapping & Modeling Team can deliver point clouds, 2D CAD drawings, 3D BIM models, 3D Mesh models, TruViews, and Virtual Tours at any level of detail.
Does all the data collected by GPRS Project Managers get uploaded into SiteMap®?
Great question! Yes, it does. Every underground utility scanned by our Project Managers in the field is collected using GNSS devices; either a GNSS Geode or our proprietary GeNiuSS iQ device and uploaded to SiteMap® within five minutes from the time of collection. This provides all GPRS customers with real-time, layered utility maps of the proposed scan boundary for their project, helping to keep the project on budget, on time, and safe, while also eliminating data siloes common to construction projects.
3D BIM models, Rectified 3D Photogrammetry, and sewer inspection reports are also available and viewable within SiteMap® to helps teams Intelligently Visualize the Built World® above and below-ground.
