Trendenergy: Martiri di Belfiore elementary school gym in Mantua, Italy

Project information

Project lead: A&I Progettazione Integrata S.c.a.r.l.
Electrical and special systems design: TRENDENERGY società tra professionisti srl
Project: Demolition and reconstruction of the Martiri di Belfiore elementary school gym in Mantua, Italy
Project start and end: March – June 2024 (design project validation)
MagiCAD modules: MagiCAD Electrical, MagiCAD Common Tools, MagiCAD Create

The project: Demolition and reconstruction of the Martiri di Belfiore elementary school gym

The project involved the removal of an existing building, which included an educational space and a caretaker’s accommodation that was no longer in use. The new building was conceived as a set of two distinct bodies, to emphasize their separate functions. The main portion houses the gym. It is made using a prefabricated structure and wooden roof, and extends along the edge of the street, thus maximizing the usable surface area of the plot.

Italian company TRENDENERGY società tra professionisti srl designed the electrical and special systems for the energy-efficient building with the help of cutting-edge technologies and in full compliance with the latest Minimum Environmental Criteria (MEC).

The challenges: Electrical and special systems

The design of the electrical and special systems was challenging, mainly due to the nature of the building itself. The prefabricated and reinforced concrete structures created significant constraints on the electrical systems, forcing the design team to use innovative solutions when routing cable trays and containment to avoid affecting structural integrity. Additionally, the electrical design required careful planning to avoid clashes with ventilation and piping systems and to ensure their proper operation.

Another key challenge was the limited availability of technical spaces allotted by the architecture of the building. This meant that the designers had to find ways to maximize the available space and identify alternative routes without compromising efficiency or functionality.

Innovative solutions

“We highly recommend MagiCAD. It is an essential tool for MEP designers who want to increase efficiency, reduce errors and improve the quality of their BIM projects.”
Valentina Leoni – BIM Coordinator TRENDENERGY

Thanks to the flexibility of MagiCAD, the numerous design iterations that were needed to meet the project requirements did not compromise delivery times. The software allowed for quick modification of the systems to adapt to the building geometry, which helped ensure optimal integration between design disciplines and guaranteed maximum efficiency without delays. The different MagiCAD applications were particularly useful for the following tasks:

1. MagiCAD Create: The application was used to create customized BIM libraries and objects, making it easier to edit components according to project specifications, which, in turn, helped optimize modeling times.
2. MagiCAD Common Tools: The selection of general productivity and coordination tools helped in the the creation of the electrical model and in checking for clashes between different design disciplines. The common tools also allowed designers to manage the data in the model with the help of spreadsheets, automatic indexing of components, and automatic updating of families in the model with dataset parameters. The tools also enabled them to easily create printouts and share design data and IFC files.
3. MagiCAD Electrical: The Electrical module facilitated the modeling of cable routes thanks to automatic routing tools, and allowed designers to insert products from datasets created with MagiCAD Create, create and manage electrical circuits and customize and organize 2D symbols for better management of design drawings.

The advantages of MagiCAD software

“The biggest advantage of MagiCAD is the ability to centralize all the information of an MEP project into a single work environment. Thanks to its interoperability with other software, such as Progetto INTEGRA, MagiCAD allows you to create a complete and coherent project model while drastically reducing the risk of errors and ensuring a clear and up-to-date overview at every stage of the project.”

“The introduction of MagiCAD into our workflow has allowed us to dedicate more time to the actual design work. MagiCAD tools have allowed us to minimize the time spent on modeling, as well as on entering and processing information and exporting to IFC format to share the model with the client.”

“The use of MagiCAD families, which are more “streamlined” than those available from different electrical manufacturers, allowed us to comply with the local data limits for the IFC file that was delivered to the building authorities.”

Valentina Leoni – BIM Coordinator TRENDENERGY

Most used features

“Once you try the features available in the software, it is really difficult to go back”

Valentina Leoni – BIM Coordinator TRENDENERGY

The MagiCAD functions that TRENDENERGY noted in particular are the Standard Connection, Update Parameters, and Merge Parameters tools. These allowed them to carry out tasks that would normally take hours or even days in just a few minutes. Thanks to these features, the designers were able to significantly simplify the management and coordination of the different system components.

They also found the following MagiCAD functions to be essential:

• MagiCAD Common Tools:
  • Real-time clash checking
  • Running Index
  • Merge Parameters
  • Builderswork Openings
  • Legend tool
  • IFC Export
• MagiCAD Electrical:
  • Install Product from dataset
  • Connection and Crossing tools
  • Circuit Management
  • Symbol Organizer

“The ability to check for clashes between disciplines (MEP, architecture and structural) in real time in the modeling phase, has helped us save precious time during coordination meetings, where we come in with an already verified model and do not need to use any external software.”

Valentina Leoni – BIM Coordinator TRENDENERGY

The company

TRENDENERGY, founded in 2011, is a leading company in the MEP design field in both the public and private sectors, with decades of experience and a team of highly qualified professionals. The company offers a complete range of services, from design to testing, of civil and industrial electrical systems, renewable energy solutions, public lighting, plumbing and fire prevention. Thanks to cutting-edge tools and continuous training, TRENDENERGY provides innovative and tailor-made solutions for every need.

Volpi Vittorio – Designer

Leoni Valentina – BIM Coordinator

Bertelli Fabio – BIM Specialist