Photo: Greg Aragon

Left, Colin Donahue, facility manager for California State University, Northridge, discusses design elements with Bob Bucker, dean of the Mike Curb College of the Arts, Media and Communications, and executive director of VPAC.

The facility also includes a 175-seat black box theater, backstage support, classrooms, 230-seat lecture room, rehearsal and events space, and a new broadcast facility for the college�s KCSN public radio.

To help make all the pieces fit on a project of this magnitude, C.W. Driver heavily utilized BIM, says Brett Curry, the firm�s vice president of operations.

�A building as complex as this really lends itself to modeling,� says Curry.

He says BIM was instrumental in clash detection and for attracting bidders.

�Clash detection is a big sell for BIM,� says Curry. �You can run the computer through it, and if there are two objects that shouldn�t be touching, [BIM] will point it out.�

He says this problem occurred on some large duct work that was designed to go through trusses, but that modeling says wouldn�t work.

�We went back and forth with the architect and finally convinced them that it wasn�t going to fit, so we shrunk the duct down and pushed it out a bit so it would fit,� he says. �That could have been something very costly had we not caught it in the shop drawing, and tried to have fabricated duct hung.�

He says BIM was also used to give interested contractors a clear idea of the project.

�We put this project out to bid in 2007, when the market was still pretty hot and we used it as a sell tool,� says Curry. �We had it on our FTP site so all of our bidders could look at the model and understand the complexity.�

The center, which is headed for a LEED silver rating, will employ a maze of underground concrete tunnels to silently push air through 622 floor diffusers throughout the theater. The air units help save energy because they�re four-times smaller than the norm and deliver air at a lower rate.

�It�s a much more efficient way to heat and cool the building because we are doing it at the audience level rather than having to cool the entire chamber,� says Curry.

And for even fresher air, the center will boast an outdoor park area surrounded by a grove of existing oak trees, 173 new trees, drought resistant plants and meandering walkways.

On Nov. 1, a performance by the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra will complete the �tuning� process of the adjustable elements of the hall. The inaugural season begins on Jan. 29, with a spectacular gala evening featuring performances in classical, pop, jazz, country music, Broadway and dance by leading artists. This will be followed by a black-tie dinner.