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...

Misusing made up words...

Oh words,  you silly silly things you...

After a 2 1/2 hour dialogue this week involving the terminology BIM, we have reached a point where it is as generic as saying CAD or model or ice cream (you gelato people know what I mean...). 

Why, you ask? 

Theoretical Rant:: start::

BIM originally was a push towards a dynamic building model,  which was a resolution of the traditional issues with 2-dimensional documents that were not linked to elevations, sections, etc. Moving into a 3-dimensional environment 10-15 years ago, architects began utilizing 3D for visualization, unconnected models that were detached from the document set.  As we matured, and CADD marketing intervened, we came to realize that we needed architectural models that were the basis of our design, and 2D 'views' dynamically derived in real-time from said model(s).

This, depending on which marketing ploy you conceded to, become Object-oriented modelling or BIM. Throw in some intelligent databasing for scheduling, and you have the basis for what Bentley, Autodesk, Archicad, and others are marketing as BIM today. 

That's great. 

But today the terminology is changing, as we are working dynamically outside the bounds of the architects' offices. Engineers, contractors, and fabricators, are all entering into the 3D arena. One model is not the case anymore, as you have system models that overlay from the EOR and DC trades. Simulation, analytical, cost tracking, sequencing, coordination, and E&O models all exist. BIM has become watered down with all of these.

And worse.

Lawyers are entering into the fray. AIA, AGC, and owners are all trying to interpret this landscape, and without a clear lexicon, this will only create greater confusion.

Where will this go? Hopefully a clean restating of terms. BIM needs to go away, as it is beyond recovery now. We need to look to the future, or even get to where things are today. This includes moving beyond the marketing brochure. This includes a clear definition of activities, who is doing what, and the processes that extend all the way through the lifespan of the model.  

Without this ground, we will not be able to move beyond the developers, able to control and shape the tools and methodologies on our terms.

::end::Theoretical Rant

And ice cream is egg based. Gelato is not ice cream. Sorbet is not ice cream. Get with the times people, these are critical distinctions!!

Why Google can dominate another market

So why are there new competitors to the throne of architectural CAD? There is definitely legacy, for sure in some of the big dogs - Autodesk, Bentley, Archicad. But, just as American automakers may soon get schooled by cross-disciplined tech startups in the Valley, is there a chance that diverse thinking or support may revolutionize traditional thinking? To point - currently trends in thinking, in a historically very conservative and legacy-driven application field, are causing a dramatic shakeup to the way projects are being delivered and tearing down walls between traditionally animosity-driven silos. And this is an industry that every year or two has went out and willingly upgraded to a 15 year old CAD package that was only slightly tweaked from release to release.

So what are the relative strengths? In the concept of database back-end, Google definitely has several strengths. Strong search functionalities, in-place server farms, and the fact that they already own SketchUp gives them a leg into the modeling arena. Abstracting this, why would they want to? A web-based interface with an intuitive modeling/building application, tied into their ambitious OS development in Android and advertising-based revenue stream would make a logical tie to a very flexible Google-driven open architecture virtual 3D web that could be cross-linked from PC to cell phone, potentially into gaming consoles, and give them the backbone to another entire evolution of the internet. Combine that with their vested interest in Apple with a potentially optimized Mac (or even OS non-specific architecture), and Apple-centric love of all designers and architects that have cursed for years the lack of a great CAD app for the G5's, and voila...a slice out of a nice little pie. Plus throw into that the revenue from ad-supported virtual internet, and the combined revenue from the CAD side of AEC, and potential startup investments in an entirely integrated ecosystem from scheduling, fabrication, and the visualization markets...how could they not??

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