Bradley BIM-Revit Resource Portal

Designers and constructors have used wood, clay, cardboard and styrofoam materirals to create scaled building models to help their clients understand their construction projects.

3-Dimensional CAD models and now Building Information Modeling (BIM) have proven effective to present the full scale construction project with design options to the facility owner. That said, owners may still feel like observers looking at 3D images of their buildings and not active participants inside their building.

This is where Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) gaming technologies become game-changing for both designers and owners. By using goggles and visors rather than projector screens; designers and owners are immersed into the project model. VR \ AR technologies place the Owner onto the "field of play" as a player and inside their construction models.

Project teams are incorporating the BIM project files from the design and construction process into their client Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) presentations.

Rather than explain with words; these videos demonstrate how firms are using Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to optimize their client experiences by,  "Taking a client ... to where no client has gone before."

Virtual Reality (VR) uses a digitally constructed environment; like a Revit (BIM) project file.

Virtual Reality for Healthcare

The Healthcare industry has been testing and using variations of VR, AR & holography to create virtual human organs and the human body for several years. They are used to train healtchcare professional while also being used for mock medical procedures.

Now Healthcare Design-Construction teams explore the use of VR\AR visors to "immerse" doctors, nurses & technicians into virtual healthcare rooms; like surgery, patient care & MRI suite designs layouts.

Turner Construction | MRS (Medical Research Solutions) uses this technology to obtain design input from medical professionals; that they will eventually use to design-construct these rooms.

Augmented Reality (AR) overlays the Virtual Model (BIM) into the actual 'real' space.

Augmented Reality Prefab Industrial MEP Skid

Augmented Reality for Project Architectural Master Planning

Greg Lynn FORM, Trimble, and Microsoft HoloLens are exploring opportunities to transform the architecture process. Mixed reality enables Lynn to immediately get a sense of scale, form, and space so he can easily visualize his ideas and make decisions more quickly.

Sketchup \ HoloLens Viewer | Stair & MEP Field Construction Review

 Augmented Reality for for Furniture, Fixture and Equipment Sales

Augmented Reality Toilet Room Pod Drywalling and Construction

StrXur interviews Martin Bros. BIM VDC Manager Cody Nowak for his creation of a proof of concept involving a bathroom pod frame being built using Microsoft HoloLens technology and no actual plans. A first in the AEC industry and an exciting innovation with great potential.

Augmented Reality Sandbox for Site Countour Modeling

Augmented Reality for Print Media

Imagine the possibilities of incorporating this Quadgraphics AR App into product specifications, tech data, installation and maintenance documentation for an Owners'  Operations & Maintenance Teams.

The 'Actable' app scans the printed page, that has a special QR code graphic embedded in the print image.

It then activates & displays a Virtual Product Model, Video, Installation or Maintenance Video on the mobile devices.

VR\AR technologies are transitioning from cool ideas; to being harnessed for valuable decision making processes. When that becomes valuable to the project, it creates billable services to improve the design-construction process.

Bradley BIM has more than 15 McGraw-Hill SmartMarket Reports (2007-2015) available for download; including 'Green BIM'.

The majority of these surveys demonstrate how BIM processes contribute as a core integration tool for sustainable design processes.

Download McGraw-Hill Report | Green BIM

BIM authoring software packages; like (Revit, AECOsim, ArchiCAD, Vectorworks) create the BIM facility project file. Third-party Add-On software applications provide niche design & analysis functionality; that is not typically included in the out-of-the box BIM software. 

So...how is this helpful?

The cost to design, build and maintain large, complex facilities is significant. Virtually simulating a building's energy performance; during the desing process is crucial to reducing its projected energy costs. Integrating BIM processes is reducing the construction time, product waste, labor & energy costs to buid it.

Download McGraw-Hill Report | Measuring BIM Impact On Complex Buildings

Architects, engineers, contractors and facility owners are adding design + engineering functionality to their BIM authoring software; via BIM Add-On applications. These apps provide BIM software with the ability to simulate the seasonal energy consumption of a facility over the building's lifecycle.

BIM Add-On software components integrate with the designers' whole building facility model. Thereby, helping them to evaluate, analyze, design and simulate specific facility performance factors --prior to construction and occupancy.

Examples of BIM \ BIM Add-On Apps Assisting w/Sustainable Design Process

1. Building Certification: BIM auto-collects & reports sustainable documentation

2. Green Product Selection: BIM Automated Specification Writing Systems

3. BIM MEP: Building Energy Performance Modeling Simulations

4. Visualization: Interior Daylighting and Shadow Studies

5. Green Material Volume Take-Off: New Construction, Demolition Construction Waste

6. BIM MEP: Water \ Waste Systems Consumption, Calculations & Flow Analysis

7. HVAC Load Analysis: Optimizing Heating and Cooling Loads & Zones

8. Lighting | Evaluate Electrical Consumption & Light Coverage Verification

9. Analyze & Simulate the Solar (Heat) Gain from a Building's Site Orientation

10. BIM for Prefabrication: Utilizes Lean & Green Construction (Manufacturing) Processes

11. Green BIM Site Design Studies calculate green space & drainage areas, parking lot design and inventory plantings for landscape maintenance.

Download McGraw-Hill BIM Report | Project Delivery Systems

Download 2015 60-page BIM Report:

McGraw-Hill BIM Report | Measuring the Impact of BIM on Complex Buildings

BIM Report Contributors: 391 owners, architects, engineers and contractors indicated they had a moderate to high level knowledge on the use of BIM within their organization.

1. 40 Owners

2. 183 Architects

3. 68 Engineers

4. 100 General Contractors

Excerpts:

However, by 2015, many companies have gained deep experience with the use of BIM. Therefore, we believe the time has come to take the critical next step in the research and to establish the specific level of impact BIM has on 10 types of design and construction activities.

To do so, we asked respondents to quantify the positive impact of BIM for six specific metricsthat could be measured in terms of percentage of improvement. The research focuses specifically on complex projects because they offer the best opportunity to experience the powerful benefits BIM provides.

These 10 Activities of Planning, Design and Construction defined the real Impact of BIM on Key Outcomes for Complex Projects:

1. BIM Impact on Owner Engagement and Understanding

2. BIM Impact on Design

3. BIM Impact on Documentation and Constructability

4. BIM Impact on Estimating and Bidding

5. BIM Impact on Construction Phasing and Logistics

6. BIM Impact on Contractors' Understanding of Design Intent

7. BIM Impact on Cost Control and Reduction

8. BIM Impact on Schedule and Project Duration

9. BIM Impact on Unplanned Changes, Rework and Out-of-Sequence Work

10. BIM Impact on Labor, Safety and Material Waste

6 Metrics for the Impact of BIM on Complex Projects