Abstract
Building information modelling (BIM) represents a workflow whose application on a construction project will enable all involved players to compile as well as work with information on every aspect of a building in a common model/database. Through BIM, the entire building can be virtually designed and built on a computer. BIM touches every part of a building’s life cycle starting from the design phase well into the construction phase and beyond that into asset management. This research examines the experiences of early adopters of BIM and use that insight to introduce BIM, specially focusing on the structural analysis and design stage of a building. The study demonstrates how all structural design activities can be integrated with each other and how cross-discipline collaboration with the architect can be achieved through the adoption of BIM without leaving ones customary structural design platform. As a demonstration, a sample building is modelled using Revit along with conventional structural software packages ETABS and SAFE. Plugins and applications were developed for these software packages to facilitate interoperability amongst them so that they all act together as a single platform. Modelling, analysis, design and clash detections were facilitated by applying BIM. Major benefits of employing BIM in a structural design project are illustrated through this research.
Highlights
During the life span of a building project, several professionals across various disciplines make their contribution, usually working in segregation
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is implemented on a G + 12 mixed-use building; architectural design is integrated with structural design through a common database; and structural object templates that are capable of storing structural analysis and design data are created
Through the tools and plugins developed in this study, structural related information generated by ETABS, SAFE and the tool themselves could be imported into the central model
Summary
During the life span of a building project, several professionals across various disciplines make their contribution, usually working in segregation. The final product of BIM will be a model that is data-rich, intelligent and parametric digital representation of a building or infrastructure (Sampaio, 2017). With all these promises and advantages, the actual BIM implementation is, a huge undertaking. For a successful data integration and BIM implementation, the software packages used by structural engineers should be able to effectively exchange data with BIM packages. BIM is implemented on a G + 12 mixed-use building; architectural design is integrated with structural design through a common database; and structural object templates that are capable of storing structural analysis and design data are created. All the design activities are integrated through the development of tools and plugins programmed to mitigate the interoperability issues among the different software packages
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