Research Final
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BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING (BIM) FOR IMPROVED DESIGN
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ARCHITECTS AND CLIENTS
By: -Yohannes A. Tessema (Fall 2006)
In the next decade, architects and clients will find vast improvements in the
process of design communication. Conventional methods of design communication
through Computer Aided Design (CAD) and manually produced drawings are not
capable of providing sufficient information that can easily and effectively communicate a
building design. For clients, communication of a building design with the help of an
architect is getting accurate and sufficient information about the function, cost, and
aesthetics of the architecture. To improve a building design communication between
clients and architects, a new form of architecture communication technology has recently
been developed. This new system integrates three-dimensional (3D) models of the
architecture and text data (such as cost estimation) into one digital information system
called Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM help clients visualize, analyze, and
virtually live in their architecture before it is ever built (figure 1). This paper will explain
how BIM can effectively communicate the attributes of function, cost, and aesthetics of a
building design to the client throughout the design process.
Figure 1: model of a building
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Before BIM (Conventional method)
The conventional method of design production produces two-dimensional (2D)
drawings. The drawings are produced in such a way that each page has its own floor
plan, elevation, engineer’s structural plan, and so on. None of the pages contain lines that
are digitally connected. If at any time something is modified (as is always the case); one
must go through an assortment of drawings on various pages to keep the modifications in
synchronization. In a 2D design that involves any complexity; most objects are drawn
many times on multiple pages to represent the different views of the object. Worse yet,
since the 2D drawing objects are not connected until construction, it is hard to conclude if
they will work or match1.
Figure 2: - this is a typical example of the conventional method where all parts of drawings and pages are
separately done and do not have a link to each other than simple overlay to test alignment. Each drawing is
produced independently in autoCAD and the cost estimation in Microsoft excel.
Ruston Fuqua, “Building Information Modeling,” Available from http://www.timelessbuilder.com, Internet; accessed 22 October 2006.
1
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Using BIM
In addition to communicating drawings of a building in 2D, BIM allows objects to
be analyzed in multiple views after being drawn one time. When changes in the design
are made, the changes are automatically updated through out the entire set of drawings
because the drawings are a product of the 3D model (figure 3).
Figure 3: Drawings done in one view and analyzed in multiple views including schedules and quantities.
The software interface used here is Revit Building, one tool of BIM.
BIM allows the automatic generation of integrated 2D drawings; reports; design
analysis; schedules; cost estimation; aesthetics; fabrication information; and more in one
graphic digital database2. Moreover, BIM aims to customize its’ database to adjust the
context to the need of users. According to Branko Kolarevic, “BIM creates rich, semantic
information in a model that goes beyond form to also include function, performance, and
2
BIM, Build as one, Bentley Systems Incorporated, 2006. Available from
http://www.bentley.com/en-US/Promo/Build+As+One/; Internet; accessed October 23 2006.
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cost-all of the elements that truly define a real building”3. BIM can improve design
communication between architects and their clients because it deals with the activity of
compounding and understanding the information associated with three main concerns of
a client: cost, function, and aesthetics of a building. BIM’s improved design
communication creates a strong client-architect relationship.
Figure 4: -Each participant adds data to the model and one of the participants and beneficiaries is the client.
(This figure is directly taken from an online resource of Ruston Fuqua, “Building Information Modeling;”
Available from http://www.timeless-builder.com; Internet; accessed 22 October 2006).
Phases of Design Process
The design process passes through five phases before its completion. These are
schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding/negotiation, and
contract administration. Among these phases, the first three are essential for developing
an effective client-architect relationship. Biding/negotiation and contract administration
phases are beyond the actual design stage of a building. They focus at the construction
and realization of a building and so that they do not much affect the client-architect
3
Branko Kolarevic, Architecture in the digital age: Design and Manufacturing (New York: Taylor
& Francis, Spon Press, 2003), 257
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relationship of a building design. The schematic design phase establishes the general
scope, conceptual design, and relationships among components of the building. The
primary objective is to arrive at a clearly defined, feasible concept while exploring the
most promising alternative design solutions. The architect prepares a series of rough
plans, known as schematics, which show the general arrangement of rooms and of the
building. Models and/or illustrations are prepared to help visualize the project as
necessary (figure 4). Upon the owner’s approval of the schematic design, the project
proceeds to the design development phase. In this phase, the architect expands upon the
approved schematic design studies to develop more detailed drawings that illustrate other
aspects of the proposed design. For Example, floor plans show all the rooms in the
correct size and shape. Outline specifications are prepared listing the major materials and
room finishes (figure 4). The architect both verifies that the design complies with
building codes and works with engineers to design the structural, mechanical, and
electrical systems. The project proceeds to the next phase when the owner approves the
design development documents. Once the owner has approved the design development
phase, the architect then prepares detailed working drawings and specifications or
contract documents. The contractor will then use the architect’s drawings to establish
actual construction costs and build the project. These drawings and specifications become
part of the construction contract (figure 4)4.
4
Design Phases, Charles Levin Architects, 2006: Available from
http://www.charleslevinarchitects.com/whatwedo/biddingandnegotiation/biddingandnegotiation.html;Intern
et accessed 29 December 2006.
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Schematic Design Phase
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Design Development Phase
Construction Documents Phase
Figure 5: Design Phases
Clients’ Concern
As mentioned previously, clients will be concerned with the function, cost, and
aesthetics of a building. With regard to function, a client needs to know how rooms are
sequenced, if room to room movement is comfortable, how the interior of a building is
arranged with the exterior, types of materials that are going to be used for the building,
and how such materials can enrich the relationship of rooms. Regarding the cost of a
building, a client needs to know the cost of material and labor, which are helpful to keep
the architecture with the set budget. To the client, aesthetics specifically refers to the
appearance of a building that is directly affected by the construction materials, geometry
of the building, arrangement of rooms, and openings of rooms (windows, doors, etc.).
Lighting for instance, will affect the aesthetics of rooms (figure 6). The following
paragraphs will describe how function, cost, and aesthetics of a building are
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communicated by BIM to improve design communication between architects and clients
in these three phases of the design process.
Figure 6: -plan (relationship of rooms), geometry, lighting, finishing
Function of a Building Design
With regard to function, a client needs to know how rooms are sequenced, if room
to room movement is comfortable, how interior of a building is arranged with the
exterior, types of materials that are going to be used for the building, and the effect of
materials on the rooms. A client needs such information while the design is in progress.

Functional Components Using Conventional Method
The conventional method of design communication produces 2D drawings and
other related documents such as approximate cost estimations and design reports (Figure
7). Unfortunately, it is not capable of linking and integrating the drawings and other
documents throughout the design phases. Moreover, the outputs are not arranged in a
digital database in order to be easily communicated to the client. Having a weak link
between the drawings makes customization difficult. The cause for such a weak link is
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the fact that conventional method doesn’t use a database system to create a link among
components. However BIM solves such problems and has other benefits that can improve
design communication between the client and the architect.
Figure 7: - examples of drawings produced by the conventional method

Functional Components Using BIM
Tools and techniques used by BIM are capable of producing a design that
provides meaningful outputs to the architect and client 5(Figure 8). By the help of such
tools and techniques, BIM enriches the design with components such as make, model,
color, size, texture, and scale throughout the design phases. Such components carry
unlimited information to make the design much easier to communicate function.
Figure 8: - BIM’s tools and techniques that make the drawing much informative
BIM: “A Key to Performance-Based Design, Autodesk Building Solutions,” Autodesk Press,
2006; Available from, http,www.autodesk.com/buildinginformation. Internet; Accessed 27 October 2006.
5
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During the design phases and especially in the schematic design phase, BIM helps
to link the functional components of the design so that the architect and client can easily
communicate by relating parts of the drawing (figure 9). BIM brings the information
contained in 2D drawings, 3D drawings, and cost estimation together in one database and
then creates a link between all components (figure 9). Once a link is established between
all the components, the information contained in the BIM database of one component will
have an effect on the other. In addition, the content of one component can be accessed
through the other. This allows for easily switching, navigating, and customizing the
whole database through a single component.
Figure 9: -a building design enriched with linked components that bring it to be virtually real
BIM creates models that can clearly display the functional flow of the building
(figure 10). Models provide the client with full information of the height, width, area, and
volume of a building design. Such dimensions generate a sense of scale, proportion, and
contrast through which the functional relationship of the design can be easily seen by the
client.
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Figure 10: -3d models (upper), functional spaces of a residential building (lower)
Using computer technology, BIM simplifies tasks that may require years and
considerable professional practice to produce the digital database for client-architect
design communication. In the book “Architecture in the digital age,” Branko Kolarevic
clearly stated BIM’s dependability to the digital technology to create digital assets –
digital information that is actionable6.
Figure 11: - In this image; Beams, Concrete, Fireplaces, Moldings, etc. can be analyzed for their correct
relationship to the other elements. All of the Line Drawings and Rendered Views to the left are produced
directly from the 3d Model. The correctness of the structure is easily checked by viewing the model from
all angles and perspectives. (BIM: Available from http://www.timeless-builder.com)
6
Branko Kolarevic, Architecture in the digital age: Design and Manufacturing (New York:
Taylor & Francis, Spon Press, 2003), 257
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Cost of Building Design
The cost information of a building design is most often revealed during the
construction documents phase of a design process. During this process, the client expects
sufficient information about the material and labor cost of the building. This step enables
the client to consider how to minimize material, labor, and time wastage so as to
construct the building within the budget.

Cost Components Using Conventional Method
In the conventional method of design communication, drawings and all
supporting documents lack precise quantity take offs during the construction documents
phase of the design process. The architect then relies on gross cost information, which is
available, but less accurate than detailed cost estimates done from actual quantity take off
of each building component. With this, as cost estimation is usually approximated,
getting reliable cost estimation of a building is difficult. In addition, when changes are
made on any of the drawings and accompanying documents, they are not reflected in the
remaining drawings and cost estimation. This is because all the documents and drawings
in the conventional method are not integrated while preparing the construction documents
including cost information (figure 12).
Figure 12: -bill of quantity produced separately from approximate take off calculations of drawings
(drawings are not digitally connected to the quantity)
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
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Cost Components Using BIM
In BIM, cost estimations can be very precise and they are as precise as the
drawings produced during the construction documents phase. This is because; material
specifications and cost estimations are produced automatically while the drawings are
created. Quantity take offs of each material and component in the building is an
automatic process inherent in the development of the BIM. Once accurate cost estimation
is produced, BIM creates a link among all the construction drawings and cost estimations.
This enables the client to allocate a proper budget for the building construction and he
will be safe from extra cost during construction (figure 13-left).
BIM prevents wastage of extra money by eliminating coordination mistakes
during the design and construction process. Sizes of different construction materials and
joints between adjacent materials are pre-calculated during the design process. Because
of this, building construction can be exclusively done with the help of machineries and
minimized labor (figure 13-right). Unlike the conventional method, when a change is
made to the design during design process, BIM allows for the automatic coordination of
changes throughout the design database. This minimizes extra costs coming as a result of
material wastage or design modification.
Figure 13: -Material specifications produced automatically from drawings by e-SPECS for Revit (left), Construction done exclusively
with machinery and much minimized labor (right)
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As long as BIM is a computer based approach, speed of delivery is increased
while working with BIM database. BIM computer interfaces such as Revit Building and
ArchiCAD are designed to display and integrate all the design information they contain
in a single computer interface. Working and editing multiple views and related
documents of the building design in a single interface helps to speed up production of
construction documents. Due to increased speed, much work can be done within a limited
period of time and this minimizes extra costs resulting from extended production time.
Aesthetics of Building Design
For a client, aesthetics specifically refers to the appearance of the building which
is directly affected by the construction materials, geometry of a building, arrangement of
rooms, and openings of rooms (windows, doors, etc). The light coming into the rooms
from openings or other artificial sources also affect the aesthetics of rooms. Aesthetics of
a building design is usually much obvious during the schematic design and design
development phases of a design process.

Aesthetic Components Using BIM
In the conventional method of design communication, since components of the
design are not well integrated to each other; it is difficult to clearly define the aesthetics
of the building. Drawings are represented by simple lines and 2D planes, and as a result
they lack realistic representation of the architecture (figure 14). Moreover, it is not
possible to switch among alternative of materials and light effects in order to get the best
material and light effect that addresses the client’s interest. This is because; the schematic
drawings are not digitally connected to each other and they are not readily customizable.
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Figure 14: -Drawings of a building represented by simple lines and planes

Aesthetic Components Using BIM
Unlike the conventional method, BIM creates aesthetically rich and customizable
drawings during the schematic design and design development phases. The 3D
illustrations in BIM database can let the client walk through the spaces in the building
and test their aesthetics. Light and color information of rooms of a building contained in
BIM database can be customized and accurately presented to the client in the design
process so as to display the most aesthetically pleasant effect (figure 15). Moreover, as
the software platforms utilized by BIM have many alternative of finishing materials
saved in their folder; the design can be developed to reflect desired material effects. This
helps the client visualize and experience the quality of materials and light effect in the
rooms.
Figure 15: -high-quality image from Revit to communicate the merits of this reduced exterior light pollution design (left) lighting
used models from Revit to produce high quality realistic renderings for day lighting analysis (middle) and numerically quantifiable
pseudo-color intensity radiosity models right).
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Since the building design is produced as a three-dimensional model, BIM enables
it to be navigated in multiple views. The aesthetic information contained in the BIM
database allows the architect and the client to virtually navigate around the space and
exchange ideas to improve the aesthetics of the architecture. While the design is
developed, BIM integrates the form (geometry) of the building with its interiors and links
them so as to be easily navigated by the client.
Figure 16: -multiple views (perspective, interior views, form, courtyard view, finishing material detail)
All of the elements described by BIM can carry unlimited information about the
make, model, color, size, and texture of the design. As a result of this, the client will be
able to raise his comments to bring the quality of the architecture closer to his desire.
Unlike the conventional method, during the construction documents phase of the design
process, the client can add his thoughts regarding the manufacturers of the finishing
materials in the BIM database. As far as the design is produced in BIM, the architect can
easily include the client’s idea to bring the design closer to the client’s desire. This is
because of the fact that changes to the design database can be done easily to get the
desired outputs.
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Conclusion
It is evident BIM can more effectively and efficiently communicates the attributes
of function, cost, and aesthetics of a building design to the client throughout the design
process. Conventional methods of design communication such as autoCAD and manually
produced drawings are not capable of providing sufficient information to effectively
communicate the building design to clients during the design process.
Unlike the conventional method of design communication where design
documents are not integrated (hence too laborious, imperfect and expensive to perform),
BIM guarantees safe, secured, and sustainable design communication among architects
and clients. Using a digital database, BIM also allows the automatic integration and
generation of easy, reliable, high quality, and customizable drawings. With the help of
BIM, a client can easily get the design of his house on time - in budget, functionally
appropriate, and aesthetically pleasing. BIM undertakes the complex process and analysis
required to improve design communication better than the conventional method. Every
piece of information contained in BIM stands to reinforce the design with full
information and provides the client with more enhanced service7.
Though the contribution of BIM for improved design communication between
architects and clients is critical, most analysts predict that BIM will not be in full effect in
most architectural firms for at least 10 years8. At this point it seems very crucial to launch
a study on how to facilitate the development and application of BIM faster than in a ten
year time period.
AIA, Practice management Digest, “Preparing for Building Information Modeling,”
September 8, 2006
8
Tomislav Zigo, Technology Bulletin, “Beyond BIM,” Hagerman & Company Inc., 2006
Available from http: //newsletters.hagerman.com/newsletters/ebul34-AEC2.htm. Internet; Accessed 22
October 2006.
7
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BIBLIOGRAPHIES

Kolarevic, Branko: Architecture in the digital age: Design and Manufacturing. New
York:
Taylor & Francis, Spon Press, 2003.

William, Mitchell J.: City Of Bits: Space, Place, and the Infobahn.
London: University of Cambridge: MIT Press, 1995.

Building Solutions. U.S.A, Autodesk Press, 2006. Available from
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?id=4749500&siteID=123112. Internet;
Accessed 25 October 2006.

Zigo, Tomislav: Technology Bulletin: Beyond BIM. Hagerman & Company Inc.,
2006.
Available from http: //newsletters.hagerman.com/newsletters/ebul34-AEC2.htm.
Internet;
; Accessed 22 October 2006.

Design Phases, Minnesota, Charles Levin Architects, 2006. Available from
http://www.charleslevinarchitects.com/whatwedo/biddingandnegotiation/biddinga
ndnegotiation.html. Internet Accessed 29 December 2006.

BIM, Wekipedia, the free encyclopedia. Available from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia; Internet: accessed 23 October 1996.

Bernstein, Phillip G. (Vice President, Building Solutions). Barriers to the adoption of
Building Information Modeling in the Building Industry (November 2004),
Autodesk Press. Database on-line. BIM; accessed 26 October 2006.
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
Sunday, March 06, 2016
Rundell, Rick (Cadalyst). AIA, Building Information Modeling in Action (May 17,
2004),
Questex Media Group, Inc. Database on-line. BIM; accessed 26 October
2006.

AIA. Practice management Digest, “Preparing for Building Information Modeling,”
September 8, 2006.

Building Information Modeling: “A Key to Performance-Based Design, Autodesk
Building
Solutions.” Autodesk Press, 2006. Available from
http,www.autodesk.com/buildinginformation. Internet; accessed 27 October 2006.

Dianne Davis, president, BIM (Building Information Modeling) Update, AEC Info
systems, AIA, Available from
http://www.aia.org/tap_a_0903bim. Internet; Accessed 12 December 2006.

Fuqua, F. Ruston. “Where’s the BIM.” Available from http://www.timelessbuilder.com.
Internet; Accessed 22 October 2006.

Fuqua, F. Ruston. “Building Information Modeling.” Available from
http://www.timeless-builder.com. Internet; Accessed 22 October 2006.
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