Built on one of the most complex sites imaginable, Target Field faced challenges that could only be surmounted through extensive use of building information tools and procedures. Situated on a roughly 8-acre site, the building expands to nearly 12 acres on the main concourse. At that elevation the building ties in with elements on every side of the job.

To the north and south, two bridges. To the east, a 99,000 square foot plaza extending over an interstate highway. To the west, a smaller promenade spanning two heavy rail lines. And below, an underground creek of unknown size and location. Each of these elements presented potentially precipitous obstacles that could only be averted through careful and precise modeling.

The construction Building Information Modeling (BIM), created from the 2D contract documents, was this job’s bible. We used it as the lexus of all design and construction information. It was crucial for shop-drawings, schedule logic review, for MEP coordination and constructability issues. In other words, it was used not only to track, but to choreograph construction activities. Our subcontractors, for instance, could only have managed their extensive workforces amidst all the other workforces with the ability to preplan in great detail, an ability unthinkable without the model. This was the largest schedule and the most complicated site in company history and we finished it early — three months ahead of schedule. That would have never occurred without BIM.

Cast in Place Design Through Coordination: Apart from the spatial constraints, time also served as a possible stumbling block. Often, decks were poured well in advance of the final, fully dimensioned interior plans.
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Structural Steel Shop Drawing Design: Delivering more than 3,000 tons of structural steel on time meant that traditional shop drawing review methods wouldn't be sufficient to maintain field progress.
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Working from the Inside Out: During preconstruction, a 4D model was created in part to determine the scheduling of the cranes, all of which operated inside the building footprint.
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A Creative Solution for an Underground Creek: Building above and around an active underground storm-water culvert proved to be a true challenge.
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Building Around a Rail Line: Trains running below the main concourse moved through the construction site up to 14 times a day during work hours.
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Two Structures, One Building: At the 394 plaza bridge connection, essentially two completely distinct structure types had to be merged to support each other.
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Phased design with heavy overlap of construction activities typically leads to strained relationships and substantial rework. This is especially true on a job where nearly one million dollars of work was being put in place per day by up to 900 workers. Target Field, however, served as a shining example of how total team collaboration can be achieved through use of building information modeling.

The best evidence for this was the unprecedented early issuance of a certificate of occupancy, over three months prior to the contractual substantial completion date. All parties agree that modeling provided a forum for communication where complex issues could be resolved without impacting critical path activities.