JOHN G. SHEDD AQUARIUM

Data shapes the Design of ChiCago

How do you renovate an existing

oceanarium to accommodate

12 penguins, 7 beluga whales,

5 Alaskan otters, 3 white-sided

dolphins, 2 California sea lions and

schools of Pacific Northwest fish?

what is BiM?

To complete the complex renovation of Shedd Aquarium’s oceanarium, construction teams created a data-rich infrastructure model using Building Information Modeling (BIM) software.Tap the chapters below to learn more

shEDD aQUaRiUM

histORY

a sEaOF Data POiNts

When the Shedd Aquarium opened in 1929, more than a million gallons of seawater were shipped by rail from Florida to fill

the galleries.

For the recent renovation in

2008, Shedd shipped 906,750 pounds of instant ocean sea salt, a

commercial marine salt mix, to

make 3.2 million gallons of salt water.

What is BiM?

shEDD aQUaRiUM histORY

When the Shedd Aquarium opened in 1929, more than a million gallons of seawater were shipped by rail from Florida to fill

the galleries.

For the recent renovation in

2008, Shedd shipped 906,750 pounds of instant ocean sea salt, a

commercial marine salt mix, to

make 3.2 million gallons of salt water.

Shedd continued to Ship Seawater from florida until 1970. today, the aquarium makeS itS own Seawater with Synthetic chemicalS.

shEDD aQUaRiUM histORY

What is BiM?

what is BiM?

wHat is Bim?A Building Information Model (BIM) is more than just the

physical representation of a building. Dimensions such as time

and cost are also represented and are used to communicate

the functional characteristics of the building, as well as mange

building components during construction.

What aRE thE BENEFits OF BiM?

planning conStruction logiSticS to eStabliSh Safe pathwayS and prevent on-Site injurieS

managing project ScheduleS to enSure on-time completion

analyzing a building’S potential environmental impact and making deSign adjuStmentS to improve energy efficiency

coordinating the fabrication of cuStom building componentS

tracking project budgetS to enSure on-coSt completion

wHat are tHe Benefits of Bim?

a sEa OF Data POiNts

what is BiM?

a sEa OF Data POiNts

One way to make a BIM

model is to create a “point

cloud” of precise location

data using laser scanners.

This data helps track labor

and costs by individual

construction components.

The image to the left shows

data points collected from

a scan of the fresh water

supply lines to the sea lion

exhibition tanks. This scan

generated 3.2 million data points.