Building information modeling

Using digital design models has been a common practice in the manufacturing industry for decades. Project teams at companies such as Boeing and Toyota have placed digital models at the core of their collaborative, concurrent engineering processes. The same approach, called building information modeling (BIM), is increasingly being adopted by architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) service providers for building and infrastructure projects. Unlike CAD, which uses software tools to generate digital 2D and/or 3D drawings, BIM facilitates a new way of working: creating designs with intelligent objects that enables cross-functional project teams in the building and infrastructure industries to collaborate in a way that gives all stakeholders a clearer vision of the project. Models created using software for BIM are intelligent because of the relationships and information that are automatically built into the model. Components within the model know how to act and interact with one another. BIM not only enables engineers architects and construction firms to work more efficiently, but creates a foundation for sustainable design, enabling designers to optimize the environmental footprint of a structure during the design phase. Convergence is breaking down the barriers between technical disciplines. The integration of BIM, geospatial, physical modeling and 3D visualization provides a framework of interoperability that enables an intelligent synthetic model of entire urban environments.