To BIM or not to BIM; that is the question

This week, I’m returning to blogging-as-usual, after 8 weeks of Facebook Live Q&As as part of my response to coronavirus.

I’m picking up where we left off before the mandated shutdown by revisiting the topic of #ClimateEmergency and architecture, and I’m pleased to bring you some new insights from architect and builder Clinton Cole. This article follows Clinton’s recommendation back in February of his preferred Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) tool (you can read that post here).

Clinton Cole, CplusC Architectural Workshop

Clinton believes that LCA tools – which measure and reduce embodied energy impacts during the design phase – should be integrated into all project types, over a certain value threshold. He says that two key changes will be necessary to achieve that goal, including that:  

• Statutory authorities should mandate the use of BIM for all new approval documents for projects over a certain value (which has been the case for up to 15+ years in some European countries, such as Demark, Norway and Finland, Clinton says); and 

• Government regulators should mandate minimum LCA standards.

 “How and what we build and what we design is highly codified and regulated,” Clinton asserts. “Why should our industry documentation be any different? The benefits of BIM at a micro level (costing, programming, clash detection, buildability, engineering and services integration, manufacturer file integration, thermal, solar, fly through, turntable, 3D render, VR, internal library growth etc) and macro level (regulatory assessment, code compliance, LCA, integration into local, regional and national models, infrastructure etc) are seemingly limitless. 

 “While there is software other than BIM which can layer information and capture data libraries, pure design software used for designs sake only (non-BIM or similar software) has severe limitations regarding the listed outputs above, often with zero interoperability. Why some tertiary educated professionals continue to use design software more suited to primary school children is another discussion altogether. BIM is undeniably the new Word or Excel software for the built world. It’s not a question of whether a firm or should or should not, it’s a question of how soon or how late the transition will be for the firm in my view. 

 “Local, state and federal governments should all mandate its use for approvals and for tenders,” he continues. “I understand that medium- to large-scale projects are already on board because medium- to large-scale design, architecture, engineering and construction companies already use BIM in some form.

“Clearly BIM software developers would need to come to the party with regard to entry level cost (its available for free to students) and solid support from our peak industry bodies in the area of education and re-training would be essential to transition those who currently do not employ BIM in their practices for financial reasons. I believe that with financial barriers lowered (if not removed completely for a certain period for new entrants) and education and support provided, the transition to BIM could be made a smooth one.

“For Universities one would think it’s a no brainer but intelligence with respect to core course curriculum at some universities is often lacking. Many continue to swim against the cold hard reality of the way the industry operates and where students trained in design-centric hyper theoretical courses are finding the only places of employment to utilise the knowledge gained from their degrees is in teaching at the very university that taught them.

“The fact is when BIM libraries and families are built with rigour from the ground up the software can produce all the 3D visualisations those Universities need to sell their degrees with the same seductive graphic Kool-Aid they’ve been drinking for many years now ”

This broadscale change may be closer than many people realise. In New South Wales, for example, the newly established Building Commission is awaiting legislative powers in the form of the Design and Building Practitioners Bill 2019, which is expected to be debated in the lower house next week, and is expected to be passed later this year.

The Act outlines Six Reform Pillars with the fifth aiming to: “Digitise the NSW Building Industry to move away from analogue record keeping”, to result in “Shared industry wide platforms that build confidence”. (Source: Plans unveiled for the future of building and construction.)

These reforms - that were conceived to restore public trust after a string of recent high-rise apartment block failures - will have the added benefit of improving knowledge around – and decisions related to – embodied energy in new projects. 

Kathlyn Loseby, NSW President, Institute of Architects

NSW Institute President Kathlyn Loseby called upon the government to fast-track this new legislation alongside fast-tracked economic stimulus projects, in mid May. (Source: Calls for building quality to be an urgent priority).

And last week the Institute published its response to the legislation; you can read that letter here.

CplusC Architectural Workshop has already adopted BIM and LCA tools, although Clinton admits he doesn’t personally use them.  

“I do all the high-level design work in my office myself. I do this on a drafting board, by hand,” he explains. “I have limited skills in digital design and documentation software, and I have done so very deliberately. This has allowed me to maintain an objective view of technological advances impacting the industry. It is a position that allows me to consider the experience and feedback of peers who have worked in all scales of practice and with all manner of software. Keeping abreast of technology and software without being chained to it personally is the reason CplusC have remained consistently ahead of the industry in this regard.”

“Using interoperable LCA software with BIM ultimately removes the need for star ratings, certification processes, assessment criteria, (and to an extent) expert consultants etc from the carbon calculation minefield,” he says. “The software allows for design decisions to be made on the basis of embodied energy and LCA in real-time and removes the vested interest greenwash many manufacturers now rely on to sell their products, some of which are facing a grim future when the truth about their embodied energy, calculated on a holistic independent basis, is more widely known. This is the future.

“We also use BIM for costing and programming construction, and it can also be used for post-occupation benefits such as maintenance and cleaning.”

Clinton acknowledges that there will be some professional resistance to these changes, with smaller firms citing entry costs as a barrier, and larger firms sometimes preferring to continue using existing tools.

“But the only way to meet any target is to accurately measure the impact,” he says. “Individual projects – be they infrastructure, commercial, high-rise, medium density or detached housing – are measurable right now; measurable before they are built; measurable before they are approved; measurable before the design is even finalised.

 “The gaping hole in our current system allows those with vested interests to spread self-interested misinformation, like the heavily government-subsidised aluminium smelting industry does in Australia,” he adds. “Draw an equivalent aluminium window and a timber window in BIM and measure the LCA of each using One Click LCA, and there is no longer any doubt about making a decision on an informed basis. This is a literally a two-minute exercise and clients can make their decision on a globally accepted evidence basis.”

Welcome to the Jungle House, Clinton Cole’s own home in Darlington, Sydney.

Clinton suggested that the Architects Declare movement could bring together the Australian Institute of Architects, the Association of Consulting Architects, ArchiTeam, the various Building Designers Association in Australia and the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia, to lobby government to mandate BIM and LCA in all projects over a certain threshold, perhaps $500k. He asserts that this threshold would exclude the bulk of the project home industry and the Housing Industry Association (who have significant influence) largely out of the ensuing debate with government. 

“This would need to be enforced by local and state governments,” Clinton says. “The LCA data is everyone’s business. Everyone has a right to know who is creating CO2e, and how much they are creating in their projects, so they can make informed decisions about the authors or the project itself. 

 “Local Government posts absolutely everything about projects submitted for development approval on their websites. Isn’t one of the most important pieces of data in this day and age the LCA and CO2 in a project? Allowing the public and the industry to access BIM models to interrogate the LCA is inevitable in my view.”

It’s a bold move; and one that is likely to be adopted in NSW as part of that state’s sweeping construction industry reforms.  

Are you aware of plans in other states and territories to digitise the construction industry or mandate the use of BIM in projects over a certain budget threshold? Feel free to comment below or email me at hello@soundslikedesign.com.au if you know more about this topic and would like to share your perspective. 

Also, if you have a topic you’d like me to write about in a future blog post, please get in touch. I’m especially interested in sharing viewpoints from across the profession, especially on topics related to #ClimateEmergency.

Lastly, GoPillar is offering a free basic course to learn Revit BIM until 30 June 2020, and you can find more details here.