Introduction to Building Information Modelling

Globally, the architectural, engineering, construction and operation (AECO) industry is delivering complex projects with Building Information Modeling (BIM) in their project processes and workflows. Today, AECO industry is inclined towards employing graduates with exposure to BIM tools, techniques and processes. In line with today’s AECO industry necessities, it is essential for exposing AECO department students to this new paradigm shift.

BIM involves representing a design as combinations of “objects” – vague and undefined, generic or product-specific, solid shapes or void-space oriented (like the shape of a room), that carry their geometry, relations and attributes. BIM design tools allow extraction of different views from a building model for drawing production and other uses. These different views are automatically consistent, being based on a single definition of each object instance.^[22] BIM software also defines objects parametrically; that is, the objects are defined as parameters and relations to other objects, so that if a related object is amended, dependent ones will automatically also change.^[22] Each model element can carry attributes for selecting and ordering them automatically, providing cost estimates as well as material tracking and ordering