If you like to geek out on building information modeling and virtual design and construction, you should enjoy this overview of the top BIM/VDC topics. The following collection of feature stories and case studies is based on the number of BDCnetwork.com readers who clicked on the article in the past 10 months. The topics range from BIM for facilities management applications to modular data centers to augmented reality.
1. “BIM Becomes VDC”
By John Tobin, LEED AP, Director of Architecture, EYP Architecture & Engineering
The disruptive growth of BIM has been largely due to the unanticipated interest contractors have taken in the technology. Contractors have grasped the power of BIM with far more vigor than designers. Contractors look at BIM models and immediately understand how they could be used for VDC tasks. www.BDCnetwork.com/vdc
2. “Augmented reality goes mainstream: 12 applications for design and construction firms”
By David Barista, Editor-in-Chief, BD+C
Thanks to inexpensive mobile devices and increasingly advanced software apps, Building Teams are finally able to bring their BIM models to life on the job site. This article offers a dozen distinct applications for augmented reality and profiles one of the nation’s largest AR implementations: the Oakland Medical Center Replacement. www.BDCnetwork.com/ar
3. “’My BIM Journey’ – 6 Lessons from a BIM/VDC Expert”
By Jared Krieger, AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager, Gensler
From applying the two-inch rule to simplifying the BIM execution plan, Gensler’s Jared Krieger offers valuable advice for taming BIM/VDC workflows based on his five-year journey with the technology. Krieger discusses how to prepare for virtual coordination meetings, work more effectively with subs on BIM-driven projects, and apply clash detection tools more effectively. www.BDCnetwork.com/mybim
4. “World’s tallest children’s hospital pushes BIM to the extreme”
By David Barista, BD+C
Learn how the Building Team for the 23-story Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago implemented an integrated BIM/VDC/IPD workflow. This report includes an in-depth look at the coordination of the tower’s 10th-floor mechanical space, which, according to the Building Team, could not have been built within the time frame and budget without the use of BIM and VDC. www.BDCnetwork.com/bimhospital
5. “Level of Development: Will a new standard bring clarity to BIM model detail?”
By Jeffrey Yoders, Contributing Editor, BD+C
This article breaks down the Levels of Development Specification developed by BIMForum. The document will allow Building Teams to specify and articulate with a high level of clarity the content and reliability of BIM models at various stages of development. www.BDCnetwork.com/levels
6. “BIM 2.0: AEC firms share their vision for the great leap forward in BIM/VDC implementation”
By David Barista, BD+C
For our 2013 Giants 300 Report, BD+C reached out to dozens of AEC firms that made our annual BIM Giants lists and asked one simple question: What does BIM 2.0 look like to you? What they had to offer ranged from augmented reality applications to “smart” job sites to BIM for O&M tasks. www.BDCnetwork.com/bim2.0
7. “5 tips for running a successful BIM coordination meeting”
By Jared Krieger, AIA, LEED AP, Project Manager, Gensler
BIM tools are great, but if you can’t run efficient, productive coordination meetings, the Building Team will never realize the benefits of true BIM coordination. The author offers helpful tips for making the most of BIM coordination meetings based on his experience working on BIM/VDC-driven projects. www.BDCnetwork.com/5tips
8. “Hospital project pioneers BIM/VDC-based integrated project delivery”
By Jeffrey Yoders, Contributing Editor, BD+C
Everyone talks about the need to bring together BIM/VDC and integrated project delivery in the design and construction of complex projects, but so far there have been few cases of true integration. Jeffrey Yoders profiles one of these rare projects: the Marlborough Hospital Cancer Pavilion. www.BDCnetwork.com/ipdhospital
9. “Electronic surveying improves accuracy on BIM-driven hospital project”
By Robert Cassidy, Editorial Director, BD+C
In the rapidly changing world of virtual design and construction, the MEP component of building information modeling has earned a reputation as something of a technology laggard. That negative perception is changing, as MEP engineers find new ways to put BIM to use. www.BDCnetwork.com/surveying
10. “BIM-driven prototype turns data centers into a kit of parts”
By Ryan Schultz and Timothy Connor, Architects, Sheehan Partners
Considering their predominantly functional and technical nature, data centers are becoming as much a product as they are a building. This article explores a BIM-designed data center prototype that takes advantage of mass customization of assemblies to achieve higher levels of efficiencies. www.BDCnetwork.com/bimdatacenters
11. “7 ways it pays to use BIM for data centers”
By David Barista, BD+C
Perhaps no other project type stands to benefit more from coordination using BIM and VDC than data centers. This article explores how AEC firms and owners are getting the most bang for the buck when using BIM/VDC on data centers. www.BDCnetwork.com/7ways
For more BIM articles, visit: www.BDCnetwork.com/bimit.
Related Stories
Affordable Housing | Aug 7, 2024
The future of affordable housing may be modular, AI-driven, and made of mushrooms
Demolished in 1989, The Phoenix Ironworks Steel Factory left a five-acre hole in West Oakland, Calif. After sitting vacant for nearly three decades, the site will soon become utilized again in the form of 316 affordable housing units.
Great Solutions | Jul 23, 2024
41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.
Virtual Reality | Jul 8, 2024
Can a VR-enabled AEC firm transform your project?
With the aid of virtual reality and three-dimensional visualization technologies, designers, consultants, and their clients can envision a place as though the project were in a later stage.
Affordable Housing | May 30, 2024
General contractor’s keys to a successful affordable housing project
General contractors can have tremendous influence over a project’s success in terms of schedule, budget, and quality. However, to ensure a project is put on this path, there are a few factors that must be considered.
AEC Tech | Apr 30, 2024
Lack of organizational readiness is biggest hurdle to artificial intelligence adoption
Managers of companies in the industrial sector, including construction, have bought the hype of artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative technology, but their organizations are not ready to realize its promise, according to research from IFS, a global cloud enterprise software company. An IFS survey of 1,700 senior decision-makers found that 84% of executives anticipate massive organizational benefits from AI.
AEC Innovators | Apr 26, 2024
National Institute of Building Sciences announces Building Innovation 2024 schedule
The National Institute of Building Sciences is hosting its annual Building Innovation conference, May 22-24 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. BI2024 brings together everyone who impacts the built environment: government agencies, contractors, the private sector, architects, scientists, and more.
BIM and Information Technology | Mar 11, 2024
BIM at LOD400: Why Level of Development 400 matters for design and virtual construction
As construction projects grow more complex, producing a building information model at Level of Development 400 (LOD400) can accelerate schedules, increase savings, and reduce risk, writes Stephen E. Blumenbaum, PE, SE, Walter P Moore's Director of Construction Engineering.
AEC Tech | Mar 9, 2024
9 steps for implementing digital transformation in your AEC business
Regardless of a businesses size and type, digital solutions like workflow automation software, AI-based analytics, and integrations can significantly enhance efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness.
AEC Tech | Feb 28, 2024
How to harness LIDAR and BIM technology for precise building data, equipment needs
By following the Scan to Point Cloud + Point Cloud to BIM process, organizations can leverage the power of LIDAR and BIM technology at the same time. This optimizes the documentation of existing building conditions, functions, and equipment needs as a current condition and as a starting point for future physical plant expansion projects.
AEC Innovators | Feb 28, 2024
How Suffolk Construction identifies ConTech and PropTech startups for investment, adoption
Contractor giant Suffolk Construction has invested in 27 ConTech and PropTech companies since 2019 through its Suffolk Technologies venture capital firm. Parker Mundt, Suffolk Technologies’ Vice President–Platforms, recently spoke with Building Design+Construction about his company’s investment strategy.