Batman BIM

I'm Batman.


When I was a kid I always wanted to be Batman. I am sure many others had this dream as well. With the Batmobile, Batcable, Batcopter, Batboat..... If we had enough money we could buy or build the Batanything.


In the new BIM paradigm, it appears that software has become the new BatBIM set of tools. Prior to BIM we could buy CAD, spend weeks customizing it (while not getting work done) and have a very productive application that solved many problems and allowed us to produce quality drawings. However we then needed to add Rendering, so we purchased a rendering application, used it once and it sat on the harddrive for two years before using it again. Architects did this over and over with different applications that were promised to make our lives easier and firms more profitable. Most did not.


When firms began to adopt BIM they invested in the new applications under the same guise of saving money improving quality etc. And to many firms suprise it actually worked.



Now as we mover further into BIM we have run into another set of issues. How can a design firm actually use BIM if they cannot model the entire building? Can most architects create ductwork, custom trusses, pipes and conduit? Do we need to?

 The prevailing wisdom appears to be NO. None of the major BIM platoforms offers a swiss army knife of BIM, instead prefering to segregate the applications into architect, struct, mechanical and electrical. As designers start to become more BIMcentric they will need to have access to all of these elements and should have them available in one application. This is not to say software companies need to give away features, but the ability to create basice ductwork, structures or electrical devices is needed. Likewise many engineers may need the ability to create walls or add a door to the electrical closet they are upgrading.


What about owners and building managers? They may need to relocate a duct or pipe during a small internal remodel. do they need to get a $5k application to relocate a single pipe? Owners regularly upgrade and do small remodels that need to be documented but may not have a full design team. They need the ability to manipulate the elements the design team created for the next 75 years.



We have been getting a number or requests during our consulting to assist with selection of a BIM authoring platform. There are a number of pros and cons to each platform and many users have preferences based on past software purchases platforms and company loyality. All of those interests aside we did some research to determine which platforms had the most "Stuff" and how those applications worked together. The results were a little revealing and we found that to create all the stuff in some platforms you had to work in on flavor while others you needed to purchase all the modules or you could not create an entire building. Many users are single discipline in their focus and this is not really an issue. However we have recently begun to work with a number of users who need access to different areas of building design and have the need to access and edit all the components of the building. As well some multi disciplined offices may need to change how they purchase software based on what types of objects they will be creating.


BIM Element Matrix



Below is a table of common BIM elemtents and the ability of the various software packages to create those objects. Disclaimer: I do not count elements that are modeled using solid tools and basic assignment. Many people can extrude a circle and call it a duct. I am discussing real functionality of a duct tool with connectors transitions and the ability to analyze.

BIM Package Feature Matrix
	Revit			ArchiCAD		Bentley Building
Elements	A	ME	S	A	M	A	M	E	S
Architectural Components
Walls	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Openings	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Room	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Doors	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Windows	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Stand alone Components	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Columns (Architectural)	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Roof	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Ceiling	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Floor	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Railing	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Stair	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Ramp	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO
Structural Components
Column Grid	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES
Columns (Structural)	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES
Beam	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES
Brace	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES
Foundation	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES
Complex Truss	LIMITED	NO	YES	LIMITED	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES
HVAC Components
Space (MEP Spaces)	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO
Duct	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Duct Fitting	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Flex Duct	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Air Terminal	NO	YES	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Mech Equip. (Stand Alone)	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO
Plumbing Components
Pipe	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Pipe Fitting	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Flex Pipe	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Plumbing Fixt (Stand Alone)	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO
Sprinkler	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO	YES	NO	NO
Electrical Components
Wire	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Conduit	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO
Cable Trays	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	YES	NO
Hangers	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	YES	NO
Elec. Equip. (Stand Alone	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO
Elec. Device (Stand Alone)	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO
Light Fixture (Stand Alone)	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO