
Access to Design Data –What are the implications for Designers?
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The UK Government has pushed for Building Information Modelling (BIM).
“BIM is a process for creating and managing information on a construction project across the project lifecycle”.1
BIM creates a model that contains information assembled and updated collaboratively to enable end-users to optimise their actions and get greater whole life value of their asset.2 BIM is a departure from the earlier Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software that uses standalone two-dimensional drawings, produced independently by each building professional and/or designer.
In 2013, the Construction Industry Council (CIC) published its CIC-BIM Protocol, intended to be used for all UK construction contracts using BIM.3 This was following the publication of the UK Government Construction Strategy in 2011, which aimed to reduce costs by up to 20%.4 In 2013, the UK Government mandated the use of BIM for all centrally procured Government contracts from 2016.5 This forms part of the UK’s Construction 2025 Strategy. One of the visions was to reduce initial construction costs and the whole life cost of built assets by 33%…