Beyond the BIM utopia: Approaches to the development and implementation of building information modeling

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: Building information modeling BIM promises BIM implementation Experimentation Cultural historical activity theory Evolutionary theory of innovation Building information modeling (BIM) refers to a combination or a set of technologies and organizational solutions that are expected to increase interorganizational and disciplinary collaboration in the construction industry and to improve the productivity and quality of the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings. In this paper we analyze first the rhetorical–promotional dimension of the BIM implementation sometimes characterized as a " BIM utopia. " Second, we analyze the views of the enhancement of BIM implementation. Although BIM visions and promises are needed for BIM implementation, they need to be complemented with a more realistic view of conditions of the implementation. For this we outline an activity–theoretical and evolutionary view by drawing conceptual tools from science and technology studies and other relevant social scientific literature. According to this view, in addition to standards and guidelines underlined by normative approaches, local experimentation and continuous learning play a central role in the implementation of BIM. There is no single satisfactory definition of what building information modeling (BIM) is. Rather, it needs to be analyzed as a multidimensional, historically evolving, complex phenomenon. BIM can first be defined as a digital representation of a building, an object-oriented three-dimensional model, or a repository of project information to facilitate interoperability and exchange of information with related software applications. BIM tools support parametric modeling and allow new levels of spatial visualization, simulation of the behavior of the building, as well as more efficient project management. BIM is also emphatically a tool of collaboration. When BIM is extended from design to construction, and facility management and maintenance of the building, new levels of inter-operability and collaboration can be achieved. The collaborative use of BIM reduces design mistakes and increases the productivity of the construction industry. BIM therefore, provides an emerging new paradigm for construction management or " an emerging technological and procedural shift in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry " (Succar [1], p. 357). The high expectations of the increased productivity and a new level of collaboration express the rhetorical dimension of BIM development and implementation. As a matter of fact the term BIM, introduced in 2002 by Jerry Laiserin, may be regarded as a new promotional umbrella concept [2]. Historically, the need and possibility for developing more integrated …