BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING

Swetha.K
Asst. prof, School of Architecture & Interior Design, SRM University, Chennai
__________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT:

Recent developments in architecture have gone beyond our

imagination, where the designs/solutions developed are no longer simple. The
more complicated a design is the trickier it gets to visualize it. The co
ordination between the numerous fields involved in the development of a
design is a herculean task. It is here when BIM (Building Information
Modeling) becomes a metaphorical proposition to the above all. The paper
deals with the basic introduction of Building Information modeling (BIM), its
scenario in architecture and the classification of various softwares used
worldwide. BIM has changed the way industry thinks about how technology
can be applied to the design, construction, and management of building
projects. BIM is an integrated database of coordinated information to which
many participants in the design process contribute. BIM modeling provides for
continuous and immediate analysis of project design, scope, schedule, cost
information and other matter. Use of BIM enhances the communication and
understanding between owner and architect or between architect and others
contributing to the design and engineering process.

Key words: Building information modeling, Programming, Documentation,

Construction logistics, Operation and Maintenance, Risk Mitigation.
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BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING

INTRODUCTION
Building Information Modeling (BIM) allows us to fully & truly construct a
building virtually & in detail. It covers geometry, spatial relationships, light
analysis, geographic information, quantities & properties of building
components. During the BIM-design phase we can not only select & place the
materials that will make up the finished structure, wall & ceiling components,

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HVAC, plumbing & electrical but can also test all such parts for conflicts (clash
detection) to ensure everything will come together seamlessly, and all this
while we can still use an “eraser” rather than having to rework later in the field.

Fig. 1. Schematic Diagram showing the elements considered in BIM.

BENEFITS OF 3D-4D MODELING CONSTRUCTION SERVICES:

Facilitates the visualization, Improves Quality and Accuracy of the
entire Building Life Cycle Management.
Increases the design collaboration and communication between the
members of the AEC industry such as Owners, Architects, Engineers
and Contractors.
Facilitates 4D Visualization (where time is the fourth dimension) by
including the time schedules of activities in the BIM
Construction planning and Management by combination of design and
construction
Ease in producing of high quality, accurate and precise construction
documents

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 Conflict detection between various services before the starting of
construction phase
Risk Mitigation by timely conflict detection
Cost and Time Saving as most of the problems are detect before the
commencement of construction
Accurate extraction of material quantities etc helps in elimination of
waste which results not only in cost saving but speeds the construction
process
Acts as a digital database in which change in one view is automatically
reflected throughout the drawing in entire project

Fig.2.Schematic representation of interlink between Building model, Time &

cost.

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Fig.3. Graphical representation showing the difference b\w VB & 2D CAD workflow.

Fig.4. Diagram showing Interrelationship b\w various 2D & 3D software to VB

database

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SCENARIO IN ARCHITECTURE
I phase – Till early 1980s: Before 80’s design documents are made
traditionally by drawing lines to represent a building. These documents
like plan, section and elevation are the main source to describe the
building to be built. In these traditional drawings each line meant to
convey design so that a building can eventually be constructed.
II phase – 1980s to Late 1990s: With the introduction of computers,
the major switch over started from manual drafting towards the
computer aided drafting, which helped in producing drawings faster. As
buildings became more complex, specialization in the design and
construction process emerged, which in turn lead to more elaborate
forms of information. Use of computers, especially for 2D drawings and
reports are revolutionary changes into Architectural Documentation.
III phase – Beginning of the 2K: In the present day, buildings are
much more complex than ever before. The numbers of people involved
in producing drawings are too large. With the growth of technology, the
building systems are also many. Today, buildings have more security,
electrical, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning), and
energy requirement. Computer based technology has been updated in
order reduce errors, but in the end, they are still collections of manually
created, non-intelligent lines and text.
IV phase – New era: The complexity of a building has challenged the
co-ordination of various building systems. A major switchover from
lines & text to building elements came into existence with the
introduction of BIM. The efficiency difference between CAD and BIM
applications for a particular project in different phases based on studies
show that BIM software when compared to other CAD software saves
around 30% of the total time taken for a design development. By 2020
BIM will most likely have reached all the way into the building codes
structure and the permits process.

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 Fig.5. Schematic diagram represents the Evolution process of Architectural
Documentation
TOOLS RELATED TO BIM.
The field of BIM players breaks down into makers of three distinctly different
sets of tools viz 3-D modelers, Viewers/Surface modelers & Analyzers
3-D modelers - The 3-D modeler is the true BIM tool, working with solid,
parametric objects in sufficient detail to virtually construct the building.
Although there are several additional 3-D modelers in the market, these are 4
of the main players
Autodesk/Revit- Revit was originally a startup, acquired by Autodesk
& introduced as Autodesk Revit in 2002. Revit’s platform is completely
separate from AutoCAD, both as to code and file structure.
Bentley Systems - Bentley Architecture, introduced in 2004, Several
other Bentley modules integrate well with Bentley Architecture like
Bentley Structural, Bentley Building Mechanical Systems, Bentley
Building Electrical Systems, Bentley Facilities, Bentley Power Civil,
Bentley Generative Components. With these modules, Bentley
addresses almost all aspects of the AEC industry.
Vico- While Vico is a new company. Graphisoft sold ArchiCAD to a
German software developer in 2007, it spun off the ArchiCAD-based

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 construction suite to Vico software, focusing on the design and
construction industry. The engine, ArchiCAD, has been a solid modeler
since the mid-1980s, and is now a very stable platform. Other modules
in this suite include project management, Estimator, and Project
Control, which is scheduling software.
Tekla- Tekla is a Finnish software house founded in 1966 that
specializes in structural steel, steel reinforcing in concrete, and precast
concrete modeling. In this area, the software is capable of taking a
design all the way from concept, through design and structure analysis,
through detailing, all the way into production and assembly. Therefore,
you can use the same model created at the outset of the project for
prefabrication output.
Viewers/Surface modelers- Not all views of the project have to be in that
detail, however. The financing entity may want to see what the building will
“look” like—as may the owner— and for that all you need is a surface
modeler—or a viewer—to which all shapes are hollow. All it knows about is
surfaces, which is all it needs to recognize in order to show concepts, and
detect clashes for instance, and as such is of tremendous value. A
viewer/surface modeler builds its model entirely on surface dimension. A box
will have 6 sides, all of which will be incorporated as adjoining planes, but as
far as the software is concerned, the box contains nothing.
Google-Sketch Up- Originally, Sketch Up was developed by @Last
Software, and has, ever since, due to its ease of use and affordability,
taken the design community by storm. Google purchased Sketch Up a
while back, and it appears to be a good match.
Navis Works- Navis Works has developed links to virtually all BIM
modelers on the market, and so can import, say, a plumber’s 3-D
model along with an HVAC 3-D model for the purpose of clash
detection. Like Sketch Up, Navis Works will also allow you to rapidly
put a surface modeled design together for communication purposes.
Analyzers - Analyzers are normally third-party software that speaks to the
main BIM tool, meaning it can import and then analyze data from the 3-D

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modeler to determine the model’s energy efficiency or day lighting, among
other things. Analyzers are those freestanding software programs that
specialize in importing BIM data from modelers for purpose of simulations and
analysis. There is a wide array of these players in the field, such as these:
Energy+ - Energy Plus is now the primary software tool used for
energy performance analysis of commercial buildings by the
Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program. Developed in
1996 by DOE, Energy Plus is a new generation building energy-
simulation program
DAYSIM-DAYSIM is a daylighting analysis software that calculates the
annual daylight availability in arbitrary buildings as well as the lighting
energy use of automated lighting controls (occupancy sensors,
photocells) compared to standard on/off switches. Among the dynamic
daylight performance metrics calculated by DAYSIM are daylight
autonomy and useful daylight index.
Apache SIM-This analysis software enables you to assess every
aspect of thermal performance, from annual energy consumption and
carbon emissions down to individual surface temperatures. Apache
Sim is at the core of the IES suite of thermal-analysis products, each of
which simulates an aspect of thermal performance: solar shading and
penetration (Sun Cast), HVAC systems and control (Apache HVAC)
and natural ventilation and mixed-mode systems (MacroFlo).
Life Cycle-NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) and its
partners created the U.S. Life-Cycle Inventory Database to help life-
cycle assessment experts answer their questions about the
environmental impact of materials used in building industry and other
industries. The database provides a cradle-to-grave accounting of the
energy and material flows into and out of the environment that are
associated with producing a material, component or assembly. It’s an
online storeroom of data collected on commonly used materials,
products and processes.

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 “BIM is here to stay.”
—Steve Jones, McGraw-Hill
“The real promise of BIM lies in its application across the entire project team, especially in the
area of improved building performance.”
—Technology Industry Analyst, Jerry Laiserin
CONCLUSION
Building Information Modeling has grown out of its infancy. BIM, both
as mature software and as process, has in fact arrived, and regardless of cost
or learning curve, its benefits have been proven to outweigh its drawbacks.
Use of BIM enhances the communication and understanding between owner
and architect or between architect and others contributing to the design and
engineering process. Better communication obviously enhances trust and
fosters project progress.
REFERENCES:
1. Eastman, C., et. al. 2008. BIM Handbook, A Guide to Building Information
Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors. Hoboken,
N.J.: John Wiley & Sons
2. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 15 Mar 2009,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_Foundation_Classe
3. http://buildipedia.com/in-studio/design-technology/the-daily-life-of-building-
information-modeling-bime
4. Building information modeling: a strategic implementation guide for Architects,
Engineers, Constructors, Real estate Asset managers By Dana K. Smith, Michael
Tardif

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