Many Hills to Climb: Urban Realm BIM at Edmonton's 100 Street Funicular

NEIL KEMP: Hello, everyone. Welcome to my Autodesk University 2023 session. You're listening to session AS600232, entitled, Many Hills to Climb, Urban Realm BIM at Edmonton's 100 street Funicular. Start off with the safe harbor statement, as per usual. And really just note within the last line being the most important, that the content shown in this presentation is proprietary to AU, and not to copy, post, or distribute it without express permission.

So first off, we're going to start with an agenda. I'll first get into some housekeeping, an introduction to myself, and then multiple part overview of the project. We'll start with the vision, going to the team that ran the project, talk about the planning, its design phases, then to its construction, the final realization, some key takeaways, and, for those who will be live in November, a Q&A.

So some housekeeping, some quick notes on the session. This session is in metric. Sorry about that, for those folks used to imperial units.

Note that the project has been open for over five years now and the BIM content shown does reflect that. And also, this reflects my personal experience on the project, and know that any opinions expressed within, are my own. And no specific design info will be shown, just generalized views of the project, for obvious reasons. And that there are AIA learning units available for those wishing to get accreditation for watching this session.

So an introduction of myself. My name is Neil Kemp. I'm a certified engineering technologist and a level P3 member of building transformations, formerly CanIM. And I'm a design technology specialist with Dialog. I'm currently in my 16th year with the firm. And am a strong advocate for open BIM collaboration, BIM being building information modeling, for those of you not familiar.

And CDE's, common data environments, both of which we'll touch on in this presentation, I have experience across all typologies in the built realm, going from arenas to light rail infrastructure, to mixed use towers, all across the board. And my role on the 100 Street Funicular project was that of a structural technologist, working within the structural engineering team in Dialog's Edmonton office.

So first off, we will start on the vision for the project, an accessible place for all. So downtown Edmonton, it lacked true accessibility to the nearby North Saskatchewan River Valley. And a big hurdle to that was that there was a 50 meter elevation difference between the streets and sidewalks of downtown Edmonton and the river's edge below.

And so that really prohibited easy, fairly accessible, barrier free travel. And so there were high expectations for this project. Any, you want to say intrusion, into the River Valley, is important to Edmontonians. It's the largest urban park in North America, several times larger than Central Park in New York.

There were many design ideas proposed for the project, i.e. a gondola, but a funicular did have the most appeal, as part of a multi-modal transportation link between downtown and the Valley. The travel path for the project needed to have a terminus, each at a downtown sidewalk, and right at the river's edge. It was important to essentially, be able to touch the water.

And the project had to be hearty enough to withstand year round exposure to a prairie climate. We're talking a wide temperature range of -40 Celsius all the way up to plus 40. And sustainability and site protection were crucial, especially looking at a naturalized River Valley site.

And so here's an introductory visual to the site. This is a map view from within a Civil3D file that was used to guide some of the early design decisions. You're looking at the existing imagery for the site before the planning and the build began. So you can see sort of a faded, white line running near, left to right, near the top half of the image.

That essentially defines the travel path. And you can see it going through a lot of vegetation. This was a heavily forested site, especially in the lower areas near the river's edge. And we wanted to go into as much planning as possible, to ensure that would have very little effect on the flora and fauna of the site. And so we went through a lot of discipline coordinated Civil3D based work, early on in the planning and the vision, and it was a critical help to the design team.

And a big part of the project was having access to essentially a scrubbed to grade LIDAR map of the project area. And there were many project areas that were under consideration early on, and having this high density, quite accurate file, of the existing grade of the site, really gave a good perspective as to what we could look at for those two terminus points, like which two points could be that best fit, just for overall feasibility of the project. And this is a screenshot from within Autodesk recap.

Now we'll talk a bit about the team for the project. Our client was City of Edmonton. We had funding partners from levels of government, from Edmonton's River Valley Alliance, the design disciplines. As mentioned, this was a multi-discipline project. And we were lucky enough to have architecture, structural, mechanical, and electrical engineering, and landscape architecture, all done within Dialog's Edmonton studio.

The constructor was Graham. And we had many partners, as you see there on the screen, across all disciplines, involved in the project. And many more not listed here.

So the Dialog team, that you get to see there on the right hand side, there was a lot of us giving input on this project, and they were great design partners to work with across the board. And it was just very much a collaborative team effort, which I'll dive into in the later segments. And we were very proud to see the project hit its opening day, as you see there, in late 2017.

And so now we'll cover a bit of the planning for the project. As you can see, it was all hands on deck.

So there was an early agreement to pursue a full discipline building information modeling design workflow. And a big part of this was that it would be the first such project for our Edmonton landscape architecture team. And this even went to the extent that, as you saw in the previous slide, we have architecture and landscape on the project, there wasn't actually an architecturally denoted drawing set in the final packages that we put out for bid. Everything was contained within the landscape set.

We wanted it to have the really important feel, that this was a landscape, urban realm driven project. And so the landscape architecture team dove right in, and we had a really, really positive workflow with all the team, together. And that extended to our early planning meetings. Having wide input across the team was crucial, and that's through all stakeholders.

We made it a point that we wanted to have a face to face discussion, whenever possible, to really hammer out any stakeholder input and how it could affect those early design decisions. And we'll talk about data gathering in a bit. Conversation is as important a piece of data as any bit of software that you could work with.

And another critical piece was having 3D holistic visualization of the site, using data, using drone photo videos, our BIM design content. It really helped figure out the right spot for each of those terminus points, which took many iterations. There were quite a few design considerations put forth before we settled on the path we ended at.

And the use of sight visuals really helped guide things like geotechnical monitoring, access points to the site, et cetera. The Hillside site that the project is on is quite an eccentric piece of land, if you will, with abandoned collieries from 100 years ago below. And we really wanted to make sure that we gathered as much information about its existing condition as we could. And those design efficiencies brought forth from that, were a major driver of the project's sustainability across the phases to come.

So as I mentioned, visualization from all angles. Here we have one of the drone visuals that we took before the build began. Wanting to get that- you want to see an analytical visual of the site. Which, there's that fine balance between getting analytical visuals and experiential visuals and knowing that they each have their value. But we wanted to compile as much of that info as we could, and the drone imagery really helped us to gather that.

And the number one requirement on the project, this could not be overstated more. Geolocation is crucial. It was so important, across the any early data that we got from the site, from surveys from civil utilities, et cetera. We wanted to make sure anything going in, and then anything we created going out, was geolocated. And as some of you can tell, that's the tab that you always love to see in a Civil3D file. You make sure that you have good data coming in.

So now on to the design. And you can see there we had no prairie precedents for this project. So many of our design challenges were mitigated with a coordinated ecosystem. The primary tools used for that were Revit, Civil3D, and Rhino, with a host of discipline specific add ins, rendering software, all sorts, brought into, came into the equation. Most of the work was primarily done within those three that you see there.

And as shown on the previous slide, geolocation. Having that in through any imported, linked, exported data, was crucial. We wanted, whenever possible, that regardless of that authoring tool, that if it was something that was going to be shared, that we made sure it had that geolocation.

Because, as I say, we're dealing with a Hillside site and not just that, but a floodplain site. The river's edge is right at the foot of the project, and that water level is very dynamic and it can change in a flash, as we've seen, especially lately, across the world. So having those two conditions meant there was little room for error across the disciplines.

And we really valued having double checks of the site data. It wasn't just, let's rely on the LIDAR, as it appears to be high accuracy, and go from there. We wanted to make sure we had the shot survey work as well. And actually put those two pieces of data together, whether it was within recap, whether looking at things within simple 3D, in Revit itself, we really wanted to be sure that we were dealing with the actual grade that we had, especially when it came to the founding structure of the project.

And that aerial imagery was invaluable, when gauging the impact on the project site of any of its phases, any of its decisions. We really heavily relied on those drone visuals.

And a big, big part of the work, especially within Revit, we worked in True North, whenever possible. That was a very early decision, to help just understand the actual aspect of the site, like its absolute versus its relative. And so the bulk of what we worked on was in True North, with very few changes from that. And no faked views, for the sake of clarity or perspective. We really wanted the actual geometry to be guiding each of the views.

So here's just a very high level view of the collaborative BIM work. This was our five discipline model, going from, you can see the top, the Downtown portion of the site, up on the top left of the view, down to the river's edge on the bottom right. Looking at our topography, our landscape work, the public art piece that you see dead in the middle of the view, the lighting, the vehicle clearances that you can see near the lower right of the image, which I'll show a bit later. It all came together in that collaborative ecosystem, where we made sure that we were sharing that common data, those common coordinates, and really ensuring that we could work together in a five discipline project for the first time, in the studio.

That extended to our external partners as well. You can see just collaborative visual here with Doppelmayr, our funicular design assist partner. Who we wanted to be sure that the geometry that we put together for the funicular track for the machine room, for the founding structure, of the track itself, that it was good for their working clearances. It was good for the machinery that they had intended for the space itself.

And they were an invaluable partner throughout the process, in making sure that we had the data that we send on to them was good. And it was a great communication flow throughout, because of having that coordinated BIM data at its core.

And a visual here, that we wanted to really make sure that we looked at the site, not just from a static point of view but something dynamic. We have a lot of roadways passing under the pedestrian bridge that forms a key piece of the project site. And these clearance paths that you see in those gray boxes, we wanted to make sure we had dynamic traffic envelopes shown, based off the existing grade and those road crowns, and making sure that our structure is clear of them, ideally, and robust enough for, obviously, dealing with traffic impact.

We wanted to be absolutely sure that the traffic clearances that we have allowed on those roads, were accounted for within the structure, which the 3D environment definitely allowed for. And here, we have a combined visual. As mentioned, the aerial imagery came into play a lot, and we wanted to show early on in the design what the finished product would look like, vis a vis the existing site.

And we loved how this visual would come together, to just give you that bird's eye view. Like I said, more of that analytical side and the experiential side. But it just really shows that nice, full picture of what the site will look like, as this gateway coming into the Downtown core.

And so now on to the construction. And you can see service without interruption was a big part of the work. So nearly every working surface on the site was sloped, as you'll see in a video coming up.

And the design really heavily influenced minimizing the waste, the temporary works, and the equipment footprints. During the construction phases, we wanted as little effect on that existing flora and fauna as possible, really just keeping the true intent of that naturalized site, even as we were doing the work to build the project structure within.

It came down to a major design decision being a deep screw pile foundation would be our go to, which was installed with few problems from our design assist partner, Almita. And there were minimal road closures on the site, which we found were only for necessary work that essentially required it. Example, erecting the bridge girders, going across Grierson Hill Road, cable trays below, handrails outward of the structure itself.

But there was very minimal interruption of the daily life of Edmontonians using that area of the city. And also, a big part of having that collaborative, proactive BIM workflow, is that unnecessary site visits were minimized through very careful planning and that collaborative BIM content.

So here's just a visual of some of the early works. You can see shoring up against the neighboring hotel MacDonald site on the left hand side of the view. And this is the work that you'll see the tops of the screw pile foundations. Some put in vertical, some put battered on both x and y angles, to the direction of the funicular and the stair beside it. And like you see, you see very little beyond the actual footprint of the project itself, needed for the construction works to happen.

Here's a visual from a bit further on. You're looking at the installation of the funicular track and its base steel up on top of the concrete plinths. Coming from the screw piles. The stair steel beside that, with landings and the promenade deck coming into shape below. And the retaining walls put in, for the neighboring site, that you saw on the previous slide.

And one of the few closures on the site. This is looking at the girder erection over Grierson Hill Road, of the single piece steel girders brought in, with those vehicle clearances taking into account. And just very little interruption to the site. This is one of my favorite views of it, as you see towards the Frederick G. Todd lookout, at the Valley's edge.

And so here's a video from one of our project partners, Almita, showing the installation of their works on the site.

So it gives you an idea of some of those constricted works on the site, and just all the consideration that had to happen across all the project partners, to ensure we minimize the effect on that, those construction works throughout that phase. And so now we come to the realization of the project, its actual complete build, that central connection in the city between downtown and the River Valley.

So we had a successful completion in late 2017, on time and on budget. There was an instant adoption by Edmontonians, of all backgrounds and abilities, which was a key piece of the project, to ensure that everyone, regardless of however they made their journey to the site and through it, could have that same experience across the, its different parts.

We're very proud of the project. It has become an award winner across many industry groups in the AEC industry. And it's become a focal point of a really transformative Edmonton skyline over the past decade, with sister projects happening at the same time, such as Rodgers Place and the Ice District, the Walterdale Bridge, the Royal Alberta Museum, the Valley Line LRT. Just, there's a lot happening in downtown Edmonton, and we're really proud to say that this project helps people experience that in new ways, that they hadn't been able to before.

So you can see here, it's truly a multi-modal connection. You're looking at the funicular descending in the middle of the photo there, towards its lower access point. You've got the feature stair of the project, with its combination of a very sustainable Kebony wood and these concrete seats. And it's used for running, biking. We have a bike track from the promenade level up to that top promontory level.

Regardless, as I mentioned, of how anyone is making their journey, we wanted to be sure that they have that ability to, within this site. On the very left there, also, you can see one of the sustainability features on that wayfinding sign, that existing stair down to Edmonton transit was maintained on the site. Where somebody who heads down the stairs and travels to their right, can actually still go down that former, the former wooden stair that traveled up to the sidewalk level and maintain that connection to Edmonton transit, and actually go two points further from there.

And a big part of it was having a new view of the River Valley. This is a view from the promenade towards the Frederick G. Todd lookout. Essentially, right in line with the edge of the river. And we love the panoramic views that this offers. As you can see, a lot of folks taking it in, especially during the fall, seeing the beautiful colors, as the change on the leaves on the trees. So it's just been a great addition, to allow people that new perspective on that gem of Edmonton, being the North Saskatchewan River.

And it's a four season project. We want people to use it all throughout the year. Lighting was an important feature, to make sure that people felt safe when accessing the site in the dark. It does, as an aside, maintain park hours, if you will. The funicular does not run 24 hours a day. And but for those times when it is not much daylight, during, the winter months of the year we wanted to make sure everyone felt safe and still feel like this is a destination, a thoroughfare, and something that they can experience each day of the year.

And another video now, from that perspective, as we mentioned Edmontonians of all abilities, we wanted them to be able to enjoy the site, you'll get to see a particular Edmontonian's unique perspective on accessing the project and what it's meant for him, in his experience in the River Valley and downtown.

ZACHARY WEEKS: If people would just learn to be more open minded and accepting of what everyone has to bring to the table, I think it's going to be a much better place to live, for not just people with disabilities, but everyone. I'm Zachary. I founded the Zachary Weeks Foundation, which makes wheelchair blankets for children with disabilities.

The Edmonton mechanized River Valley access, it really opens up a whole new area that I can explore, and one that I've been able to only see in photographs. We are a growing city, so it's really a treasure that we can embrace this natural area within the city, to enjoy.

Get down to nature's level and experience what everybody else has been talking about, for my whole life. It's truly a game changer for people with disabilities. The funicular and gently sloped trails, they make a world of difference. I can enjoy just like anyone else.

My favorite spot has to be the overhang that overlooks everything. I like to see the big picture, all at once.

My dream is that we have a city that's able to be fully accessed and enjoyed by everyone, no matter what their ability or situation. That's the way we're going to make a more inclusive society.

NEIL KEMP: So a great perspective there. And really does bring things into focus, of why we build and building for everybody, and making sure that we do try to focus on all points of view as we're looking at a site. This is a placeholder slide for something that isn't yet in place. I'm going to skip over this.

And as mentioned, it is an award winning legacy. We're really proud that the project has been recognized by peer groups across the world, honestly, from international architecture awards, National Urban Design Award of Excellence, through partners in the province recognizing it, our minister of transportation being one. And it's just really meant a lot that our peers, across the industry, in all facets of the work they do, appreciate this project and the efforts that went into it, across our team.

So some key takeaways, finally, some lessons. There's always lessons to be learned on any project.

And a big part of that is gather data and dispel assumptions. So as I've mentioned a few times before, geolocation was a huge part of that across all our disciplines. Whenever you can based on data first off, in a project, will be so important going forward. And making sure that data is shared and common, as much as possible, across the team.

And collaborate proactively ahead of those design decisions and involve all stakeholder input. The most, as I mentioned, the most important piece of data you can have on a project is conversation.

And gather both those analytical and experiential visuals for project context. We looked at those top down bird's eye views that we get from the drone. But also, you want those like hands on views of the project and see like, what will it actually look like from the user point of view.

And a big part of our work, from a granular perspective, is doing a cross-check of LiDAR with shot survey data, whenever possible. As mentioned, don't just take one or the other for gospel. Make sure that they both appear to be playing nice together, when you're looking at the existing conditions of the site.

And to go along with experiential visuals, consider all user points of view during the design phases. Case in point, there was one gentleman in a television interview, not long after the opening of the site, who mentioned that he traveled in a wheelchair. And mentioned that when he was in the funicular car, traveling down the hillside, that the handrail and the mullion separating the top and bottom panes of glass on the sides of the car was right at his eye level. And for it being that point where you get like the most, you're supposed to have the most view of the River Valley, that it wasn't necessarily the case for him.

And on a naturalized site, as I mentioned, it's a four season project, lighting, active security, CPTED, which is crime prevention through environmental design, those can be difficult balancing acts. And it's important to put them all into consideration when you're looking at a public realm site.

And thank you very much for taking the time to listen to the session. And however you enjoy the conference, I hope you get the most out of the sessions you attend. And take care.