TPA Airside F
Tampa, FL
Year Built 1988
SF 230,000
Client
The Beck Group
Services
Project planning and coordination , QA/QC, building documentation - 3D modeling of structural systems
In 2018, Tampa International Airport’s ‘Airside F’ terminal entered the planning phase for upgrading its envelope systems. Before the new systems could be designed, the Beck Group, KCI Technologies, and RCM were contracted to collect all drawings of the facility, laser scan the building, and generate a comprehensive digital model to serve as the basis for design – all while the terminal remained in operation.
Given the high volume of air traffic, all fieldwork had to be done at night.
To increase measured accuracy and limit accessing the tarmac through the emergency doors, our team set survey control points inside and outside the terminal. For risk and access reasons, we limited scanning the roofs from the ground level and adjacent structures. Using long-range scanners to capture the roofs from a distance saved time, limited the field crew’s risk exposure, and rendered excellent measurements.
But relying on record drawings and scan data to develop the final model created a problem: we needed to convey to the designers which model elements were concealed, and therefore based solely on drawings, and which elements were exposed and validated for both size and location. Using a set of parameters and filters, the model demonstrated which information source we had used to place each building component. This communication solution was simple, elegant, and stored all information within the model itself.
The complexity of the roof structure required building custom trusses to allow for maximum flexibility. No elements were modeled in place; instead, each structural component was modeled using the appropriate family category.
Every time we are asked to document the existing conditions of a building we learn about its history, its deviations from the design intent, and how it has performed structurally over its lifetime. This information is usually lost, but RCM is committed to compiling and documenting all such data within the final model. This maximizes the transactional value for the end user and allows them to reference it at any point during the design process.
Key Characteristics
Seamless integration with client’s standards
Complex roof structure
90% of the building modeled at LOD300
+/- 5/8” represented accuracy