BIM is not Dying...

Two recent posts on LinkedIn have caused me to return to my blog.

Luke Johnson wrote about the changes we have all seen in the role of the BIM Manager, and the challenge presented by AI. Phil Bernstein cited a Harvard design Magazine article about overall change in the AEC industry.

As one of the dwindling numbers of BIM professionals who started their career “on the boards,” and also having some global experience, I offer these thoughts.

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I never wanted to be a BIM Manager. Never saw it coming. I am a BIM leader and champion. I have been called “guru” but will never claim to be an expert if there is something new to learn. I liked the title Provocateur, but it was taken. I settled on BIM Aficionado. There are thousands of us. Just not enough.

BIM arose out of necessity and from the desire of (mostly) architects and designers to improve drawings (collaboration) and remove errors (risk) from drawings. And to eliminate boredom, as the mindless repetition of tasks often leads to errors.

BIM did not magically appear to replace manual methods. BIM evolved.

BIM was preceded by Composite & Overlay drafting aka “Systems Drafting,” pioneered by a forgotten hero, Fred A. Stitt. 2D & 3D CAD evolved together. There were many choices for 2D drafting, and “friendly” competition among the vendors vying for a share of the growing industry. Autodesk had the best business model: free software. While Macintosh-based 3D systems sold for thousands of dollars, the entrée to CAD was significantly less expensive. And so, 3D adoption languished. 2D CAD did not eliminate hand drawing. The process was slow and painful.

A few firms adopted BIM by Executive Caveat, but for most it was a gradual process, led by a member of the design staff who somehow became engaged with the technology. Those were exciting times! BIM implementation typically began with hybrid projects. But the lack of continuity between 2D and 3D forced BIM advocates to fully commit.

The Cosmopolitan Resort + Casino was my first large Revit project (2007). And this one was by caveat. We modeled from scratch, tracking the design as it evolved. We created our own structural model for coordination purposes.

Back then, it was easy to recognize the obstacles to adoption; they were all the same: resistance to change. So, to find courage for the effort, we speculated that all resistance would be gone in a generation. These “old fogies” who couldn’t do CAD, and couldn’t even conceive of BIM, would be retired. And replaced by professionals who would be rewarded for their leadership in BIM’s adoption.

How naïve. It just didn’t happen that way.

The evolution of BIM drove the complexity of building design in a symbiotic relationship, with each feeding from the other. That complexity led to increased specialization.

Graduate architects do not aspire to become BIM Managers. They want to design. To create. The satisfaction we get from a smoothly run project (having experienced the opposite) really has no appeal. Experience builds appreciation. Even Gratitude.

When BIM finally took off, there were not enough leaders and visionaries to go around. Some of these (eventually) found permanent homes. You will find them at the largest and most innovative design firms. But even that does not guarantee consistency throughout the projects they produce.

BIM became a specialty. As many have noted, decreasing profit margins for design firms who were lucky enough to survive the economic recession and recent pandemic, have had a significant effect. When the industry began to recover from the last decade’s recession, industry partners, who originally sold hardware, software, and training, began to offer BIM Services, which could be anything BIM-related. The driver for BIM adoption changed from the intangible and unmeasurable “improvement” to the bottom line.

Many BIM service providers and BIM technology consultants have flourished! Project Management in AEC has also became a specialty, and attracted those with different skills and different goals into the mix. The anticipated increase in computing power and the decentralization to the cloud of models and data in a Common Data Environment, unheard of just a few years ago, have contributed to advancement. Any progress is good.

I know most will agree that while drawings have not been eliminated, and wasteful practices still exist, we have made substantial gains, most notably in sustainable design practices and healthier buildings.

On the design side, the potential uses of AI in AEC and BIM present us with an already overwhelming array of choices. There are a growing number of BIM enhancements and generative AI platforms, ensuring that agreement on a single concept is both impossible and undesirable.

However, I disagree that BIM is dying, nor the courage to find a better way. With the rapid development of AI BIM, we once again are all facing a common challenge. A common opportunity.

A champion must believe in his success. A leader must project the qualities of that role. Our thoughts about the future will shape our future.

(Part Two to follow)

Allen Jay Holland