BIM Design

The BIM (Building Information Modeling) offers a new organizational model in the construction world, allowing for effective and efficient management of all relevant information. It is time to digitize information processes in construction, as is done in other production sectors.

The AEC sector (Architecture Engineering Construction) is facing a new revolution, similar to what happened almost a century ago in the late 1940s with the industrialization of construction.

BIM acts as a true driver for change in a context certainly different from that time (renovation instead of reconstruction) but with absolutely identical objectives:

• Increase in productivity
• Reduction of time and errors
• Streamlining of processes
• Optimization of solutions and costs

The BIM revolution encompasses the entire process: digitization starts from the client and directly enters the construction sites, also involving facility management.

The potential benefits are enormous, both in terms of quality and efficiency.

The keywords for the future of construction are BIM and sustainability.

Relying on BIM becomes increasingly 'necessary' for each player in the industry: it is essential to understand the methodology and leverage the tools available.

BIM, therefore, involves various disciplines, adding value to them. From architectural design to structural calculation and MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) design, from construction site safety to building energy performance, from quantity surveying to project accounting and execution, from photogrammetric surveys to GIS, fully exploiting the latest technologies (augmented reality, virtual reality, immersive reality) and drawing inspiration from the most innovative analysis methods (Big Data Analytics, Machine Learning, IoT).

BIM is not just software but a methodology that allows generating a virtual model containing all the information about the building, not only related to the design phase but to the entire life cycle.

More specifically, BIM can be imagined as a process of:

• Design
• Construction
• Management and maintenance
• Programming
• Building

It contains information for the entire life cycle, from design to construction, to its demolition and decommissioning.

This information is entered into a database and disseminated using the most suitable communication methods, allowing professionals, stakeholders, and clients to share information in a simple and transparent way.

The fundamental goal of BIM is to define a comprehensive representation of the artifact throughout its life cycle..

This is achieved by defining dimensional, qualitative, and quantitative data within the model or its individual elements.

An important characteristic of BIM is collaborative work among the various stakeholders, who have the opportunity to enrich the information model by inserting, extracting, updating, or modifying information.

For example, the architectural designer defines shapes, geometries up to the 3D model; the structural designer defines the elements of the structure (beams, columns, walls, foundations), the thermotechnician calculates energy requirements and defines the thermal power of the heating system, etc

With BIM, it is possible to recreate a virtual building model that is not just a simple three-dimensional representation but a dynamic model that contains a series of information about:

• Geometry
• Materials
• Load-bearing structure
• Thermal characteristics and energy performance
• Installations
• Costs
• Safety
• Maintenance
• Life cycle
• Demolition
• Decommissioning
• ecc.

Thanks to the BIM methodology, the building is "constructed" before its physical realization, through a virtual model, through the collaboration and contributions of all actors involved in the project (architects, engineers, designers, consultants, energy analysts, etc.).

The main feature of this philosophy is a highly strategic approach that offers the possibility of analyzing the architectural object and evaluating its performance already in the design phase.

The designer who uses BIM software can create a three-dimensional geometric model and visualize every aspect related to the design without leaving anything to chance. Thanks to BIM, from the simple design of parametric architectural objects (beams, columns, walls, windows, etc.), plans, elevations, sections, axonometrics are automatically obtained, all constantly aligned and updated with respect to the project. Each change in the BIM virtual model corresponds to an automatic and dynamic change in all project documents.

Architectural design BIM software supports the designer throughout the project: they are generally accompanied by catalogs (libraries) of parametric 3D BIM objects, which can be taken and inserted directly into the model.

Even in the structural field, BIM demonstrates significant advantages that increase productivity. The structural designer takes the virtual model and adds structural information.

They have the significant advantage of having the architectural 3D model on which to perform the necessary simulations. In practice, they do not have to model the structure again, drastically reducing the possibility of making mistakes.

The thermotechnical designer can rely on BIM technology: they take the geometric model and define all the energy characteristics. It is possible to obtain automatic recognition of thermal bridges, simulate shading studies, etc., until obtaining the energy model (BEM, Building Energy Model).

Thanks to the energy model, the designer can carry out the necessary analyses in different phases of the design, being able to predict the real behavior of the building.

Thanks to BIM integration with systems, it is possible to enrich the 3D model with all the system elements.

In this way, it becomes easy to keep the entire plant project under control and see if there are possible conflicts.

Evidently, without the use of BIM technology, system design remains an end in itself, and it is not possible to have an overview.

From the BIM model, it is also easy to obtain the quantity survey.

The advantages, in this case, are also significant: the estimate obtained is dynamic. All of this prevents the technician from making mistakes.