Reader response - draft 1

In the article “3D building models help bring sustainability into construction”, Jenkins (2015) claims that Building information modelling (BIM) is capable of replacing traditional 2D drawings with advanced digital technology. BIM constructs a 3D model of the actual building and has the capability of running computer simulation, reducing the cost of construction and increase the energy efficiency of a building. However, with BIM’s advanced technology it is still not commonly used. Coventry University’s sustainability director, Elise Smithson, claims that even though one is able to convince others that BIM is better, it is hard for them to acknowledge its worth until they try it using it for themselves. Which is why Smithson and her team run one out of three immersive simulation centre in the world that has BIM technology to allow them to get a hands-on on BIM to prove its effectiveness. Even though there are still people who are stubborn and does not want to move on to BIM, it is important for a construction project to make use of BIM.

First of all, it is actually quite surprising that there are still people who work with the 2D drawing for construction. As 2D drawing does not give designer any leeway as compared to using BIM. Once there is a mistake in the drawing, the designer has to look for the mistake as if looking for a needle in the haystack. If the mistake cannot be found, the whole drawing has to be redrawn and time has been wasted. As compared to BIM, it is able to identify the error and correct it instantly, thus it is not surprising that it is regarded as important for construction.

Secondly, as sustainable building project becomes more and more complex, it is essential that the members of the group provide information to each other accurately. In the article, "Building Information Modeling: How the construction industry is getting 'smart'"(2015), the author mentioned that with the traditional way, group members are given individual task and will then be gathered after each individual has done their part. But this will lead to conflicts and problems later in the design process as each individual task will find itself unable to fit in with others. The author also mentioned that with BIM, the task will be uploaded to the cloud so that everyone in the group is able to view and edit it. By doing this, time used to fit all the individual task together will be eliminated and thus cut down the time for the whole project.

Lastly, When the client is being presented with the product, it is important that the client understand what is being presented to them and able to make changes to it when required. According to the article, "10 points and the benefits of the BIM", Calvert (2012) mentioned that BIM is able to show clients an accurately built 3D animated model and allows them to make changes to it. This goes to show that BIM is more than just a tool used for designing, it can be used to show important information accurately.

In overall, BIM will eventually fully replace the traditional way of doing construction project as nowadays sustainable building is becoming more complex. Without BIM, the time and cost to construct one of those building will be too much.

Reference:

http://www.indovance.com/importance-of-bim-modeling-services/

http://www.popsci.com/building-information-modeling-how-construction-industry-getting-smart#page-4

http://blog.synchroltd.com/10-points-and-the-benefits-of-bim