What is BIM and why do you need it?
All around us technology is revolutionising the way we live, work, play and communicate. It is happening so quickly that it becomes hard to remember what it was like before the Internet, smart phones and wireless data. At the same time, there are significant technologies emerging that are set to enhance our increasingly digital civilization.
Architecture is in the middle of its biggest transformation since the introduction of computers. Along with that comes the adoption of new technologies. Advances in digital design tools, inter-connectedness and computer-controlled fabrication are converging to transform every phase of the design and build process. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a simple enough idea: a single digital model of a building that everyone — architect, client, suppliers, builders, environmental managers — can work on. The downside of BIM is only a possibility — for now, at least.
The technology is more about process than product. But even that could lead to a different sort of building. BIM is a youngish technology. We’re still shaping the tool, but we should take care: because it will shape the cities we live…
