Development of BIM-supported integrated design processes for teaching and practice

Abstract

 Building Information Modelling (BIM) promises to integrate the fragmented disciplines of architecture, engineering and construction, and to optimize the life cycle performance of buildings. BIM case studies have been used in university teaching to encourage and support its adoption by the building industry. This paper describes the development, over two consecutive years, of BIM-supported interdisciplinary design labs, involving students of architecture, civil engineering and building science. The performance of, and satisfaction with integrated design processes, and the functionality of the BIM software were evaluated using time recording, surveys and focus group discussions. A standardized evaluation procedure was adopted which allowed comparisons to be made between the two courses, and different results to be directly related to changes in course design. Our main finding over both iterations was that it is difficult to combine training in BIM software with learning about integrated interdisciplinary design processes. The first iteration was severely affected by lack of interoperability between BIM software systems. This was addressed in the second iteration by restricting software combinations to systems that were compatible. Despite significantly improved design quality, the focus in group discussions then shifted to problems with collaboration and teamworking within the interdisciplinary groups. Our results have implications for both the design of interdisciplinary BIM-supported design labs, and for building practice itself. In particular, lessons learnt in the areas of project management, software usage, modelling conventions and incentive mechanisms are directly transferable to the design of BIM-supported integrated design processes, and for practical application by the building industry.