Behind every element and subassembly of elements that an architect inserts into a drawing or model of a project there is, implicitly, a supply chain resulting in the delivery and placement of these parts on the construction site. Traditional architectural drawings and CAD models abstract away from that supply chain, but BIM (Building Information Modelling) databases make it explicit, designable, and manageable. This in turn is opening up new ways to think about designing and producing buildings and – as we are beginning to see – new formal and functional possibilities.
A+U takes a comprehensive look at the use and applications of BIM in architectural practice – aspects of design, fabrication, simulation, and the short term influence of BIM on architecture are discussed and accompanied by plans, models and photographs.
This issue of a+u magazine focuses on exploring the potential for BIM technologies in design. Ultimately, it is up to the architect to explore ways in which BIM could be utilized. With novel design and fabrication techniques becoming more essential in the design process, architects need better tools to help them navigate through complex data to acquire more control over their design. With design concepts often being diluted by the overwhelming influx of information, BIM could play a significant role in its revitalization.
Slowly but surely, a paradigm shift in design is taking place. By incorporating BIM into the design process, there is no doubt that architects will have more opportunities to discover new forms of expression.
CONTENT:
Imaginary Roundtable: Looking Back From the Future of Design
Leading designers envision a future of BIM based design
Essay: Thinking in BIM, William Mitchell
Essay: What is BIM?, Chuck Eastman
BIM and Design
3D Geometric Space Form, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Relationship between Design and Construction, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture
Algorithmic Design, Yazdani Studio of Cannon Design
Multi-Office Linking Design, RTKL Associates
Virtual 3D Assembly Space Parametric Design, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
Essay: A Brief History of Digital Design and BIM at SOM, Carl Galioto
Fabrication
Precise within 1/32 inch, KieranTimberlake
Assemble Like a Kit of Parts, Douglas Gauthier and Jeremy Edmiston
Panel Fabrication by CNC Milling, SHoP Architects
Virtual Construction, Bergmeyer
Readily Understandable Representation, KlingStubbins
Automotive and Architectural Design, Gage / Clemenceau Architects
BIM and IPD, KlingStubbins / Tocci Building Companies
Essay: New Ways to Design and Build, Carl Bass
Roundtable: The Benefits of BIM and 3D Tools, Philip Bernstein, Jay Bhatt, Marc Petit
Simulation
BIM Analysis for Form and Facade, Gensler
Seamless Integration, Architectus / Ingenhoven Architects
Awareness of the Climate, BNIM
Diagrid Structure, Kunwon Architects Planning & Engineering
New Technology and BIM, SHoP Architects
Linkage between Detail and Facade, Kohn Pederson Fox Associates
Correlation between Design and Structure, Samoo Architects & Engineers
Honeycomb Grid, HOK
Construction in BIM, Arup
Film Technology in Architecture, Neoscape
Essay: Architecture 2030, Edward Mazria
Project Chicago: Green Building Research
Architects, 5 Years into the Future
BIMs Impact on Design Process, Stanford Institute of Design
Engaging the Tools, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture
BIM as a Communication Tool, Tohoku University, Graduate School of Engineering
Parametric Design Experience, The University of Sydney, Faculty of Architecture
BIM in Japan 2009
Dialogue: BIMs Impact, Tomohiko Yamanashi Ryuji Fujimura
Full Scale Visual Reality, Taisei Corporation
Design with Real-time Analysis Reporting, Nikken Sekkei
Traditional Timber Joint with BIM, Tomohiko Yamanashi / Nikken Sekkei + Takeyuki Katsuya / NSD
BIM Word Index
