Partnership to pool expertise for international competition

Teesside University and Darlington-based Niven Architects have joined forces to use their specialist expertise in a 48 hour international challenge to aid design techniques in the Middle East.

The joint design team, which is made up of staff from Niven Architects, academics from the University and four undergraduate students, is working together on Build Qatar Live 2012.

Build Qatar Live is an international design competition where teams must complete a multi-disciplinary building design within 48 hours using the construction industry's most advanced Building Information Modelling (BIM) software and workflows.

Johnathan Munkley, who will be leading the team, is the BIM manager at Niven Architects and the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) associate in a collaboration between Teesside University and Niven Architects.

Part 2 Architect Jonathan is working at Niven on a two year KTP where he is developing and implementing protocols for integrated BIM and lifecycle information flow. BIM is set to become the industry standard for architects, their clients and professional consultants they work with including surveyors, engineers and construction contractors.

KTPs see talented graduates working in a business to help improve competitiveness and productivity through better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Businesses also get the benefit of specialist support from University experts.

Johnathan said: 'Due to the infrastructure that has been put in place within Niven Architects and its consultants we now feel confident to compete in such an industry leading competition.

'I’m looking forward to the pressure - and the learning outcomes will allow the firms involved to move forward at the cutting edge of technology in the years to come.'

Professor Nashwan Dawood, Director of Teesside University’s Technology Futures Institute, is a world leading authority on construction, research and innovation and will be supporting the team through Build Qatar Live.

He recently worked alongside Qatar University and multi-national construction technology company Hochtief ViCon to examine ways to cut costs and raise efficiency in the construction industry in the Gulf.

Professor Dawood said: 'This is a great opportunity to apply the knowledge and understanding of the BIM concept and how it can benefit the industry in terms of gaining efficiencies and trust through the supply chain.'

Dr Mohamad Kassem, Senior Lecturer in Engineering Project Management at Teesside University is the KTP supervisor in the collaboration with Niven Architects.

He said: 'This international design competition is a unique opportunity for Niven, Teesside University and our KTP project. We will test an early version of the BIM workflow we are developing in the KTP.

'Our objective is to show how advanced design technologies such as BIM, along with structured protocols, can bring about efficiencies in the design process.'

Penelope Tiffney, Associate Lecturer in Spatial Design at Teesside University, will be providing architectural input and assisting four of her undergraduate students who are on the Build Qatar Live team.

She said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity for the students as it allows them to test their skills and also learn vital lessons with regard to working as a team, under intense pressure.'

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