Sunday, February 13, 2011

BIM and modularity in buildings (MIB)


“This BIM thing is great... for the ones that design boxes, or at least buildings that are very modular... Unfortunately, or fortunately we are more the creative type...”
...brushes a client away your perfectly pitched presentation on how BIM benefits architects and the end-clients of construction projects.

Don’t despair, this is just another barrier that needs to be broken down – the perception of incompatibility between creative and modular, the free form and BIM, the designers and the ones that make buildings happen.
It is well known by now that BIM’s object based approach is a natural fit for the modular and this IS an advantage as opposed to an imposing, constraining characteristic.
So, what if we turned the argument around and claimed that ALL buildings are (or should be) modular to at least some degree? (see previous posts on ‘kit of parts buildings’ and separating what ‘matters’ from the ‘mundane’ – both are closely related to the subject of building modularity);

Historically, best architects have been the ones that created magic out using modular elements.
The best BIMmer Architects are those that interrelate BIM and MIB. They use BIM to find the best MIB, propose MIB based buildings and make the most of BIM by creating incredible structures not long ago unimaginable.

It is not a coincidence that Gehry Technologies spun out off Gehry’s design studio!





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