Nova Hospital: VR and BIM powered construction

A look at Finland’s brand new Nova Hospital reveals how virtual reality (VR) and building information modelling (BIM) has been utilised to get the best results.

The Nova Hospital is Central Finland’s first new hospital to be built in the area since the 1970s, and has been described as a modern hospital boasting maximum efficiency.

The construction of the building has not yet been completed. It is expected to open in late 2020 and is a new type of building with a different concept in comparison to a traditional hospital. The hospital is expected to be around 10% cheaper to operate than older hospitals thanks to the ambitious nature of the project.

The major objective for the hospital “was to engage hospital staff in the project before construction had even started, by allowing them to visit the building virtually,” explained Mikko Jylhä, project director, Hospital Nova, Central Finland Healthcare District.

“Right from the early stages we wanted to share the new designs, collaborate with the building’s future users and gather vital feedback for the design process.”

The hospital utilised an advanced VR solution, Tridify, which gives companies and individuals the ability to combine, share and view 3D BIM models in a web browser. Staff had the opportunity to use VR goggles to explore the ins and outs of the future hospital.

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This advanced way of enabling staff and different groups of people to view the building allowed them to provide more accurate and detailed feedback which was described as “invaluable in helping shape [the hospital’s] design”. As a result of all this, some changes were made to the architect plans which resulted in an even better hospital plan whilst eliminating the need for any expensive alterations once it’s built.

As construction is now in the final stages, the virtual model is still being used by staff in order to accurately test the hospital signage to ensure smooth flow and no confusion as staff and visitors move around the site. This has enabled cost savings for the project to be even higher thanks to all of the changes that were able to be made during the design process. The VR testing can also allow staff to get familiar with the building and the layout before entering the physical structure.

The Finnish hospital also plans to use the Tridify model throughout the building’s lifecycle in facilities management, which will enhance efficiency further and potentially saving even more costs in the long term.

“Using virtual reality for hospital co-design on this scale is rare so we are proud to be at the forefront of such developments, seeing how it can help shape the hospital so it functions as efficiently as possible, for both staff and patients. An efficient design is critical as it helps guarantee the delivery of the best quality and economically efficient healthcare in years to come,” added Jylhä.

Learn more about Tridify’s simple solution to get 3D BIMs on the web here.

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