As of July 1, the Wisconsin Division of State Facilities will require all state projects with a total budget of $5 million or more and all new construction with a budget of $2.5 million or more to have their designs begin with a Building Information Model.
The new guidelines and standards require A/E services in a design-bid-build project delivery format to use BIM and 3D software from initial planning concepts up to bidding documents and finally to project closeout. There are five projects over the $5 million threshold up for A/E selection in the next few months, followed by 18 more expected between 2009 and 2011. The projects include new and existing construction for 16 state agencies, including the Department of Military Affairs, Department of Administration, Department of Corrections, and the University of Wisconsin system.
Public comments are now being taken on the new BIM standards and guidelines at the DFS website: http://dsfbimstandards.forumco.com/default.asp.
Two thoughts on this: First, by going through a thorough pilot program that delivered 13 projects worth a combined $300 million since 2008, the Wisconsin DFS is in a good position to make this requirement. They know what to expect and how BIM projects should be delivered.
Furthermore, requiring BIM will force a lot of architects and engineers that bid on state contracts to make the switch to 3D design. Overall, this is a good thing, but there will be unintended consequences. The new guidelines don't require integrated project delivery (IPD), so there's a potential for "BIMwashing" using traditional 2D documents, just as we've seen greenwashing in sustainable projects.
Weigh in on the Wisconsin BIM mandate debate on my BIMBoy blog at: /blog/1340000734/post/1190046119.html
Related Stories
| Nov 1, 2010
John Pearce: First thing I tell designers: Do your homework!
John Pearce, FAIA, University Architect at Duke University, Durham, N.C., tells BD+C’s Robert Cassidy about the school’s construction plans and sustainability efforts, how to land work at Duke, and why he’s proceeding with caution when it comes to BIM.
| Nov 1, 2010
Vancouver’s former Olympic Village shoots for Gold
The first tenants of the Millennium Water development in Vancouver, B.C., were Olympic athletes competing in the 2010 Winter Games. Now the former Olympic Village, located on a 17-acre brownfield site, is being transformed into a residential neighborhood targeting LEED ND Gold. The buildings are expected to consume 30-70% less energy than comparable structures.
| Oct 27, 2010
Grid-neutral education complex to serve students, community
MVE Institutional designed the Downtown Educational Complex in Oakland, Calif., to serve as an educational facility, community center, and grid-neutral green building. The 123,000-sf complex, now under construction on a 5.5-acre site in the city’s Lake Merritt neighborhood, will be built in two phases, the first expected to be completed in spring 2012 and the second in fall 2014.
| Oct 21, 2010
GSA confirms new LEED Gold requirement
The General Services Administration has increased its sustainability requirements and now mandates LEED Gold for its projects.
| Oct 18, 2010
World’s first zero-carbon city on track in Abu Dhabi
Masdar City, the world’s only zero-carbon city, is on track to be built in Abu Dhabi, with completion expected as early as 2020. Foster + Partners developed the $22 billion city’s master plan, with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Aedas, and Lava Architects designing buildings for the project’s first phase, which is on track to be ready for occupancy by 2015.
| Oct 13, 2010
Editorial
The AEC industry shares a widespread obsession with the new. New is fresh. New is youthful. New is cool. But “old” or “slightly used” can be financially profitable and professionally rewarding, too.
| Oct 13, 2010
Test run on the HP Z200 SFF Good Value in a Small Package
Contributing Editor Jeff Yoders tests a new small-form factor, workstation-class desktop in Hewlett-Packard’s line that combines performance of its minitower machine with a smaller chassis and a lower price.
| Oct 13, 2010
Prefab Trailblazer
The $137 million, 12-story, 500,000-sf Miami Valley Hospital cardiac center, Dayton, Ohio, is the first major hospital project in the U.S. to have made extensive use of prefabricated components in its design and construction.
| Oct 13, 2010
Thought Leader
Sundra L. Ryce, President and CEO of SLR Contracting & Service Company, Buffalo, N.Y., talks about her firm’s success in new construction, renovation, CM, and design-build projects for the Navy, Air Force, and Buffalo Public Schools.