BIM For Architects and Engineers: Future Design

                Although it’s not the most commonly type of design used yet, I believe that BIM is the future of engineering and architectural design.  Since it’s a fairly new technology, many companies already use other design/drafting programs such as AutoCAD which causes problems when trying to implement BIM. Due to the large alteration to files among other deciding factors, BIM can be too expensive for many companies to make a full transition. Once BIM becomes a bit more competitive in its pricing, I am sure that it will become a sole monopoly in any type of design field. This is due to its ease of use, and productivity rate that one is allowed when using the program. 

                Five years from now, I believe that  BIM will be a major form of the design process used for any type of construction. A major reason for this improvement is because of the efficiency of the modeling that  Matthew and Maria also discussed. A big difference is that in former programs such as AutoCAD, a line command simply draws a line, while in a program such as Revit, a line can represent a whole wall. When drawing this wall, there is preset characteristics applied to it, that can be changed or updated upon the users liking. This simple change alone can greatly benefit architects who are trying to come up with a quick design that can be changed before a customer.

                In ten years, I feel that BIM will be close to becoming the sole form of design with regards to any type of construction. This new form of BIM will be commercially available anywhere and will replace AutoCAD from schools. With that being said, I agree with my teammate Rita that there might even be an actual degree in BIM.  BIM has a lot of advantages over current design and in 10 years there’s no doubt that it will take over the construction industry, thus schools will allow for degrees and specialties in the field. A mix of BIM and Computer Sciences might also be a possibility to further develop the program.

                Finally in 20 years, it’s hard to think about how  heavily we will rely on BIM. It’s similar to taking a look back 20 years ago, when the first drafting programs such as AutoCAD were released. Now those programs have exponentially improved and in some ways helped create this new Building Information Modeling. I feel that BIM, might have changed drastically in 20 years, into something more advanced that is easier to use, and perhaps even more productive.

BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors.  Chuck Eastman, Paul Teicholz, Rafael Sacks and Kathleen Liston  Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

 http://ascpro.ascweb.org/chair/paper/CPGT182002008.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_information_modeling