Benefits of Our New BIM Workflow for Commercial Housing Projects

It is estimated that BIM technology can deliver 30% cost savings on commercial construction projects. We have developed an apartment design workflow using Building Information Modelling technology and cloud rendering. Mass housing is an ideal application for cost saving technologies based on the BIM platform.

Wikipedia Definition of Building Information Modelling

What Does our BIM Workflow Mean For the future occupants of the new homes?

This technology presents accurate, deliverable 3D views of all spaces, and it also creates opportunities for innovative new services to emerge. At a basic level, the real-time link between the 3D images, the 2D construction drawings, and the organizational database for the project is key. All designers, tradesmen, estate agents, contractors and prospective purchasers understand the design completely.

• Full 3D design process integral to the actual construction drawings- this means there is less chance of misleading 3D graphics of interior spaces!
• Developers who adopt BIM can avail of high tech cost efficiencies at construction stage- these reductions may be passed on to end users
• Create new benefits for buyers and project stakeholders
• Visualize all spaces in each individual apartment- a huge benefit for home buyers, marketers and non-expert clients
• Market each unit with customizable 3D design; BIM, when adopted by building contractors, allows ongoing design change through later construction changes. This lets the design adapt to market needs.
• Create interactive browsable “website” for each unit as design documentation evolves; this can be made available for marketing.
• Mass customization; make new homes more bespoke by adapting to purchasers’ requirements during initial construction. This gives developers a new ability to sell detailed interior design and IT features for each unit, a cusomised “turnkey experience” with limited additional administration.

For the contractor Building Information Modeling means:

1. Far fewer basic construction or layout errors
2. Sub contractors and design consultants gain a comprehensive understanding of the architect’s design goals, and the main contractor’s construction and assembly concept.
3. The people working to procure parts and materials can change the specifications of technical components and the design can be checked and updated in real time. This means they can shop around for materials during construction without unraveling the organizational structure of the project.
4. Technical issues can be articulated in 3D quickly and cheaply onsite.
5. Design information can be disseminated in digital form from a central server; design changes during construction can be added to the model and viewed onsite.
6. New technologies such as CAM, 3D printing, and GPS based setting-out are supported by BIM documentation, with simple file conversions and without separate drafting processes.

It means that the project can change quickly and easily during design, and even until the later stages of construction. The design can adapt in real time to economic changes in the cost of materials, and components while maintaining complete contract documentation.

Developers who do not adopt a BIM process at concept design stage may ultimately have to pay for old fashioned CAD drawings to be re- drafted in order to employ cost saving technologies at construction stage. It is crucial to invest in BIM documentation at the earliest design stages.