Current buildings (Bimport)

In SpacePro, importing an Excel file representing a current building is possible. The name is intentionally used as "current building" because this building is created outside of the Reworc software, either in reality as a building in use for which there is asset management data or as a design in CAD or BIM.

The goal of the import is to view the current building through the lens of the SpacePro Spacetypes so that we can compare its Surfaces, counts, and ratios to those of an existing SpacePro space program.

See the linked How To file on the precise steps to follow to create a Current building.

The contents of the Excel file

The structure of the Excel file is flexible. You can name the columns and order them as you like. We expect the following, though: The names in the columns of the first row represent which data resides in all following rows (headers).

You can store information in multiple tabs but only import one tab at a time.

Each line represents one space on a given floor for which the following information is expected:

• A column for the Building. It is anticipated that an export file contains information for multiple buildings. A box with the names of the available buildings is shown by selecting the column that includes the building. This means you can process the same Excel file multiple times for different buildings.
• A column for the Floor. Usually, rooms are situated on multiple floors. This info is also used when you create a concept building to be used in Stacking and blocking.
• A column for the Space name. Usually, rooms have specific names. It helps a lot if these names are descriptive for their use, so mapping them to SpacePro SpaceTypes is easier.
• A column for the Group (optional). Spaces may be assigned to the Organizational Entities in the space program you will compare with the current building. This optional column can contain those names which you will be able to map.
• A column for surface area. This is the area of the room (or space), which is in m2 or sqft. Different rows with similar space names will have different dimensions. This is very common for Current buildings.
• A column for map location. This optional column is currently unused, but you can enter coordinates or a Google Maps URL.

Mappings

The mapping rules allow you to map rooms of different sizes to different Space Types. The simplest example is if you have spaces in the Excel import named "Meeting room" and want to map them to the three available Space Types (S, M, and L).

The default rule maps all sizes indifferently—each occurrence of spaces in your Excel will be mapped to one space type.

The other mapping type ("each mapped surface") will divide the space size in Excel by the surface of the Space Type. This is applicable in a situation where you have ample space (let's say 42m2), and you want to map that to SpaceType "Workstation," which has a surface of 7m2. This will result in 42/7 = six instances of Workstation.

Adding an extra mapping rule will apply to instances of space names up to the specified surface area. This way, you can create a cascade of thresholds and map each range to a specific Space Type. The import module will reorder the mapping rules and update the labels to show how the mapping rules will be applied.

At the bottom of the mapping rule section is a summary showing the number of mapped Space Types and the resulting Surface. Ideally, the number of Total mapped is as close to the Total actual so that there is minimal difference between the Excel data and the resulting import.

You create the mappings for each Space Name you want to import.