TABLE OF CONTENTS A great building begins with the immeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed, and in the end must be immeasurable.
Louis Kahn
Building information modeling (BIM) is an emerging tool in the design industry that is used to design and document a project, but is also used as a vehicle to enhance communication among all the project stakeholders. This tool has already begun changing how designers work with their consultants and with builders, but it also has the ability to help guide the industry in a more sustainable direction by allowing easier access to the tools necessary to quantify a greener design approach.
In this chapter we will discuss what BIM can mean to the team as a whole and how it can help to inform the basis of a sustainable design workflow.
In the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, there is a misconception by some that BIM is only a piece of software. Although the software is a necessary part of this process, it is much more than an application (we ll explain all this in more detail throughout this chapter). When we refer to BIM, we are discussing the methodology or process that BIM creates.
A BIM model, on the other hand, is a grammatically incorrect term that has become somewhat commonplace to refer specifically to the digital model created by the software in a BIM-based process.
BIM is a relatively recent switch in design and documentation methodology in the design...
