Crusell Bridge

Crusell Bridge is a new landmark that connects the Ruoholahti and Jätkäsaari areas on the western shore of central Helsinki. It is the first bridge to be built using a comprehensive building information model.

Our design proposal was chosen as a result of the international competition held by the City of Helsinki (Finland). The bridge is a dual-spanned, asymmetric cable-stayed structure 175m long and 25m wide. Its superstructure is constructed from longitudinally post-tensioned concrete beams, while the horizontal structure is of composite steel and concrete.

What set this project apart from others was the inclusion of time and management dimensions in the building information model. The client, designers, contractor and major subcontractors all used the same primary BIM tool and the construction model was published on our server.

Extensive use was made of the BIM model throughout the project for fabricating the components and managing the supply chain, for designing the formwork and temporary structures, for quality control using laser scanning and for construction planning using 4D animation.

BIM also enabled the contractor to see the construction phases in advance and define items such as reinforcements much better than if using an ordinary 2D drawing.

This also enabled correct quantities of materials to be ordered at the time they were required, reducing storage costs.

The Crusell Bridge project has led to a number of developments in the BIM software itself, and was singled out for ‘Special Recognition’ by software provider Tekla in the 2009 Global BIM Awards. It was also selected as The Bridge of the Year in 2013 awarded by RIL - Finnish Association of Civil Engineer.