BIM Nirvana

In the last few weeks I received a few interesting emails asking about my take on what would be the ideal architecture/construction software of the future.  After checking out to make sure that no responses were to the CAD companies, I set out to ponder this question...

Note, this is not going to address any of the awkwardness of this intern who is missing the big picture...

To process this out, let's think about the process of architecture in an Integrated Delivery manner:

The players: Owner, Architect, Contractor...Engineers, Sub-Contractors, Consultants.

Traditional problems: Systems developed in a vacuum. Keeping current with the design. Translations. Document control. Real-time cost tracking. Options studies. Information duplication/communication. Multiple offices/locations. Product accuracy. Specifications review. Design intent vs. constructability. Design review. Schedule and sequencing. Project management in the model/drawings. Redrawing and rebuilding.

So...

A software package that allows each member of the team to contribute, modify, view, and attribute in a single, modular, and tracked environment that automatically populates schedules, costing, specifications, and the real-time construction/fabrication/erection documents in a coordinated parametric BIM model that can be accessed globally, 24/7, from a single archiveable database that is hosted at a 3rd party secure location and spans outside of corporate firewalls.

That's it. Have at it Bentley/Autodesk/VICO/Google/Graphisoft/player yet to be defined. 

Hopefully one of you will get it right...