Why do we need BIM in design?

What BIM is.

BIM is an extremely relevant topic in the design and construction sector, and is an acronym standing for ‘Building Information Modelling’. The term is used to describe the process of collaborative working that efficiently enables all facets of a project to work coherently. BIM allows the AEC team (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) to have a central workspace through which they can collaborate their individual input onto a continually developing 3-D model. Emerging in the late 1970s and early 1980s, BIM first came onto the market in the form of products like Rucaps and Sonata – software programmes that kickstarted the development of the industry throughout the late 20^th Century. But it wasn’t until the turn of the century and the introduction of Autodesk’s AutoCAD and Revit (bought from Revit Technology Corporation in 2002) that BIM became more of a mainstream product in architecture practices. In the present day, BIM software is capable of rendering, simulating weather patterns and structural stability, data management and virtual representation. Categorising BIM is a hard task as its remit is so vast – while it may have started off as a software package, the complexity of BIM has allowed it to be defined as a process or even a design language.

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Why BIM is useful.

Constructing a building or architectural project is never a short and fully in-house process; the multi-faceted nature of the discipline requires a number of contractors and firms to constantly be involved. When you have such a wide ranging team of architects, engineers, planners etc…, communication and transparency is pivotal in the success of a project. This concept is even more prevalent in the globalised world where often the firms are based in different countries to the client or other contractors. BIM, as a central workspace platform, facilitates a more efficient approach where different roles can work simultaneously and in congruence. The intelligence of BIM generates plan models and material data all from a single 3-D drawing – minimising the need for multiple files which can create a messy and disorganised workspace. As the plans are all generated from the central 3-D design all changes and modifications are consistent across the project. If a specific window is modified in the 3-D design then all the existing plans linked to that model will show the change. The consistency and system intelligence removes the need for manual modifications to each plan which ultimately reduces the time scale for the project. For any project, the client has to be involved throughout the process and through the development of BIM and VR technology, clients can be walked through virtual renderings of the structure. But perhaps the biggest benefit of BIM technology is that all the structural assessments and building simulations can be done before any physical construction is undertaken. This foresight minimises any construction problems that could occur, thus reducing the project’s cost and time.

The problems with BIM.

While BIM has certainly grown in popularity over the recent years, there are still companies who are sceptical about the hype surrounding the technology. In a bid to increase the use of BIM, the UK government issued a mandate in 2016 stating any project funded by them had to use central modelling processes. In a survey conducted by the National Building Specification it is stated that between 2011 and 2018 there has been 61% increase in firms using BIM software. With a number of firms and corporations still not using modelling technology though, a process shown to improve efficiency, what are the reasons behind such decisions? A major factor is cost and training – many companies are wary about dedicating a chunk of their budget to staff training in new software and the programme monthly fees. For smaller practices in particular these costs may not be immediately justifiable, and while I don’t think any companies completely disregard BIM’s worth, its high running costs can be off-putting. Another problem with BIM is the very large file sizes that can arise due to the vast amount of data and functions being performed and stored. To deal with such large file, firms are having to invest in workstations with a RAM around the 24 GB mark – an amount only needed by typically high power intensity operations. BIM is not the perfect solution to efficiently managing and designing projects; it has its merits, but it also has a number of areas which need addressing such as project confidentiality.  

A look into the future of design.

BIM has definitely not reached its peak and it still needs more patches to ensure it becomes this design utopia it is trying to be. However, the emphasis and focus cannot lie solely with the technology as a cultural shift in the way project teams manage, communicate and operate is key in implementing a central and smooth approach. As the globalisation of the construction sector continues to grow alongside the advancement of design technology BIM is in the perfect position to be at the centre of the AEC community for a considerable period of time. I can see information modelling being rolled out more and more into the urban planning sector as its ability to design and simulate solutions remotely is hugely beneficial when dealing with congested urban areas steeped in human traffic and life. A shift in mindset is leading planning teams and councils to create urban plans that provide holistic and coherent urban plans – and so via BIM firms can model scenarios and modify inputs to judge their best options.