Digital Collaboration Helps Dewan Navigate Complex Design Delivery for AMAALA Yacht Club in Saudi Arabia

BIM and cloud-based workflows supported faster, more coordinated project delivery

Dewan Architects + Engineers leveraged advanced BIM and cloud-based collaboration tools to support the delivery of AMAALA Yacht Club, a major component of AMAALA on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. Designed by HKS, the 7,900 sqm yacht club presented significant technical challenges, particularly in resolving its complex curved and organic geometry while coordinating multiple disciplines and project stakeholders. Dewan served as Lead Consultant, helping translate the architectural vision into a coordinated and deliverable project. To address these challenges, Dewan adopted an integrated digital workflow using Autodesk Revit, Navisworks, BIM Collaborate Pro and Dynamo. These tools supported design development, multidisciplinary coordination and information sharing within a common digital environment. During schematic design, the team focused on modelling the yacht club’s façade and transferring its complex curved geometry into Revit. As the project progressed into detailed design, the digital model expanded to incorporate interior design elements including lighting, furniture, fixtures and equipment, before BIM Collaborate Pro was used to support comprehensive documentation during the tender stage.

“By leveraging Autodesk's solutions, we are able to comply with the ISO 19650 standard for managing information throughout the entire lifecycle of a building asset using BIM. The approach delivered measurable efficiencies. Dewan reported an average 43% time saving during collaboration, 17% during design and 28% during change management, alongside a 40% time saving in design collaboration. The team also reported completing its project scope in eight months, compared with an estimated 16 months using alternative workflows.”

Christopher Stock

Head · Digital Delivery (BIM)

For Dewan, AMAALA Yacht Club demonstrated how BIM and cloud-based collaboration could go beyond coordination alone, providing a practical way to resolve challenging geometry, connect multidisciplinary teams and maintain the pace required by a complex design and delivery programme. The project was subsequently featured by Autodesk as a customer story, highlighting Dewan’s use of technology and collaborative digital workflows in supporting the delivery of AMAALA Yacht Club.