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AEC From the Ground Up: The Building Information Model
1 Nov, 2004 By: AIA ,H. Edward GoldbergIs BIM the future for AEC design?
Computers and digital technologies have changed almost every aspect of society, but they've only just begun to have a major impact in reshaping the architectural and building industries. While manufacturing, industrial design, entertainment, and many other areas that rely on design and production have been revolutionized, the effect on construction practices has been small. We still rely on hand labor, work from drafted drawings, and generate schedules and work plans in traditional ways.
 Figure 1. Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2005 outputs construction documentation in standard 2D format such as plans, elevations, details, schedules, and specifications. |
Even BIM (building information modeling), a methodology for storing complete information about a building in a computer model that is lauded as the newest innovation, is based on a 30-year-old concept introduced by Chuck Eastman, Ph.D., of Georgia Tech College of Architecture and Computing: "Building information modeling integrates all of the geometric model information, the functional requirements and capabilities, and piece behavior information into a single interrelated description of a building project over its lifecycle. It also includes process information dealing with construction schedules and fabrication processes."
3D modeling, virtual buildings, single building models, and other ideas have been used during the last decade or so. These concepts focus on two areas: The generation or extraction of 2D drawings from 3D building models to improve productivity in documentation, and the use of data embedded in objects contained in the model for the purposes of generating schedules and lists of materials.
BIM (building information modeling) extends these ideas from drawing and schedule production to the creation, management, and communication of information about the building—specifically addressing the quality and consistency of that information. Certain inconsistencies are acceptable for drawing production, such as approximate vs. completely accurate area measurements, elements drawn graphically instead of modeled, and components duplicated one on top of the other. These inconsistencies are unacceptable in BIM, however, because they make the information unreliable for use by other team members and other software applications.
 Figure 2. Graphisoft ArchiCAD, in combination with the RCC database and Timberline Software (www.timberline.com), can produce a high-level construction estimate. |
The building model excels in coordination between multiple design disciplines and in making building information available for use throughout the entire building cycle, including the design, construction, and facility management stages of a project. Depending on the particular need, data can be viewed as a 3D model, as traditional 2D construction documents, and as binary information for output to other programs for energy and structural analysis, estimating, and project management. BIM works on design, construct documentation, analysis, and implementation levels.
Design
Because BIM mimics a real building, some of the real benefits on the design side can be fully realized only when the architect or designer is the computer operator. This issue is getting attention from many of the large architectural firms that have traditionally used CAD as an electronic drafting tool and have structured their practices according to a hierarchy in which a project architect sketches a concept and the CAD operator acts as a scribe. One of the greatest benefits of using a BIM application at the design stage is the ability for the designer to understand the relationships of the building and its systems instantaneously in regard to aesthetic, performance, and program issues. IN THIS ARTICLE |
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About the Author: H. Edward Goldberg
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