Chopping building costs.

THE GENERAL MOTORS Worldwide Facilities Group plans to cut building costs 25 percent by 2005 and reduce factory design time through its virtual factory initiative.

The worldwide facilities group constructs GM facilities to the tune of more than $4 billion annually.

A study

"The project is a great opportunity to showcase the ability to design in 3-D and capitalize on our objectives of compressing the design-build schedule and reducing construction costs," said Laird Landis, who manages GM's virtual factory efforts.

The Lansing project includes 350 million square feet of designed facility, one square mile of sculpted, landscaped earth, and extensive areas of asphalt paving. Construction costs are estimated to be around $250 million.

To help design the facility, GM engineers will use building modeling software from Bentley Systems Inc. of Exton, Pa. The CAD technology lets users create building concepts and gives them a way to digitally manage building projects and operations.