Images courtesy of Yurky Cross Chartered Architects
Design Problems solveD With
bim and vectoRwoRks
yurky Cross ChArTered ArChiTeCTs is a London-based firm
that specializes in affordable housing and mixed-use projects in
the South East. The firm often faces two reoccurring challenges
with projects in the city: space and differing opinions. Yurky
Cross Chartered Architects’ Practice Director Michael Cross and
Senior Architectural Technicia n Christiaan Briggs used Building
Information Modeling (BIM) to solve these issues for a project
on Lewisham High Street.
Following the demolition of buildings on Lewisham High Street
in the SE13 area of London, Yurky Cross designed 6,460 square
feet of ground-floor commercial space and 51 self-contained
residential units.
“Lewisham went through numerous iterations and discussions
with planners,” said Cross. Like almost all of their projects in
London, maximizing the potential of the site was the first
concern; the design called for a scheme that fully filled the
vectorWorks checks a Lot oF
boxes, not just in concePtuAl
Design, but Also PresentAtion,
moDeling, everything. you cAn stAy
Within thAt one ProgrAm AnD get
the Work Done.
site space, and proposed a tall, corner focal point. Cross
explained, “As a very prominent site in Lewisham High Street,
there were many opinions about how the building should look.”
Using a column with brickwork laid out in a grid system, Senior
Architectural Technician Christiaan Briggs and his team created
visual plans in Vectorworks for an exterior that worked within
the street context, while still standing out. To accomplish this,
Yurky Cross created a BIM model for multiple design iterations.
Yurky Cross has used the software for over 20 years, and Briggs
has been working with Vectorworks for his entire career. “It’s
very flexible, and we’ve always been able to directly model
anything we like,” he said. The firm keeps all of its work
directly in Vectorworks Architect, freeing up time that could be
restricted by switching between different, specialized tools and
allowing the team to make the most out of each BIM model they
create. “We don’t tend to hop in and out of other programs,”
Briggs added. “Vectorworks checks a lot of boxes, not just in
conceptual design, but also presentation, modeling, everything.
You can stay within that one program and get the work done.”
learn more about the software the empowers yurky Cross
Chartered Architects at www.vectorworks.net/uk/archetech2018