NDimensional Modeling Technology: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

The term n dimensional modeling nD is gaining increased usage in the field of information communication technologies ICTs in construction; the concept is heightened by the £0.5-millionfunded three-dimensional 3D to nD modeling project at the University of Salford in the United Kingdom. nD modeling is an evolution of the four-dimensional modeling concept and aims to integrate an nth number of design dimensions into a holistic model that enables users to portray and visually project a building design over its complete life cycle. nD modeling is an extension of the building information model BIM , a concept first introduced in the 1970s that has been the basis of considerable research in construction IT ever since. The idea evolved with the introduction of object-oriented computer-aided design CAD ; the “objects” in these CAD systems e.g., doors, walls, windows, roofs can also store nongraphical data about the building in a logical structure. We therefore define an nD model as an extension of BIM by incorporating all the design information required at each stage of the life cycle of a building facility. However, implementing BIM on real-life projects has presented significant challenges, which range from interoperability to integrating knowledge from multiple-domain points of view. In recent years, leading CAD vendors have promoted BIM heavily with their own solutions. However, because these solutions are based on different, noncompatible standards, an open and neutral data format is required to ensure data interoperability across the different applications. In fact, the construction industry has been facing this problem for many years. Research into the development of standard data models has recently been quite substantial. From as early as the late 1970s, the IGES and PDDI efforts in the United States, the VDA-FS effort in Germany, and Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data STEP have so far produced two international standards: the Building Elements Using Explicit Shape Representation Part 225 of STEP , which deals with the exchange of 3D