Informa BIM Summit, Sydney

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

The inaugural two day BIM Summit in Sydney defied the usual trend of consultants gathering to update each other on their BIM progress. Instead, the event attracted a large number of contractors as well as some clients and government bodies in addition to the ‘usual suspects’. The level of presentations was high with both top national as well as international speakers from architecture, engineering, contractor, PM and legal background.

BIM for Manufacturers and Suppliers

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

How should manufacturers and suppliers promote their products in a BIM context?

In my role as the newly appointed chair of the first BIM and IPD Steering Group of the Australian Institute of Architects and Consult Australia, I’ve been invited by the Institute to address their sponsor on how manufacturers can leverage BIM to promote the use of their products. I’ve put together a presentation with a strong focus on Product Lifecycle Data and its relation to BIM. My colleague Bruce Gow from BVN Architecture who is one of the leading BIM content experts in Australia has been pivotal in assisting me in preparing for this task.

Dominik Holzer confirmed as chair of the BIM and IPD IPD Steering Group of the AIA (Aus) & Consult Australia

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

The Australian Institute of Architects and Consult Australia have trusted me with the challenging task to chair their joint steering group with BIM experts nationally. The group will promote the use of BIM and IPD in the Australian AEC industry. We will provide guidance to practitioners and we will inform the position of those key industry bodies on BIM overall.

My first task is to guide the setup of four working groups that address the most prevailing issues we face in practice considering BIM. In order to do so, I intend to promote the sign-up of a broad spectrum of industry experts, including architects, engineers, contractors, QS, Facility Managers, lawyers, risk management/insurance and clients. Wish me luck! Dominik

Built Environment Industry Innovation Council (BEIIC), Industry Speaks Workshop

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

Australia’s Built Environment Industry Innovation Council (BEIIC) was established in September 2008. BEIIC acts as an advisory body to the Minister and as an innovation advocate for the Australian industry. The Council considers industry innovation challenges like climate change, sustainability and industry competitiveness as well as issues such as regulatory reform, workforce capability, skills needs and uptake new technologies.

buildingSmart MESH Seminar Series

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

Under the ‘Mesh’ logo, buildingSmart Australia organised a conference series in several Australian capital cities, weaving together multiple aspects of design technology, collaboration and product lifecycle data.

Some of the questions raised during Mesh were as follows: How do we collaborate with multi-disciplinary models; what opportunities are there for optimisation, improved environmental performance, sustainability, life cycle assessment? How is planning compliance, Local Government management, etc affected? How do modellers get access to life-cycle product data?

Design, analysis and the Cloud

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

In collaborative design practice, computational tools are becoming ever more utilised to help bridge the gaps between designers, consultants and contractors who search for streamlined exchange of information. Despite early promises of BIM software developers to provide us with tools that assist collaborative design practice, most BIM authoring tools facilitate tasks of individual professions such as architects, structural consultants, MEP consultants or quantity surveyors.

BIM in a Legal Context

Blog entry by: Dominik Holzer

In a recent meeting with construction lawyers it became apparent to me how important the legal profession is about to become in assisting the construction industry to escape from the impasse we witness in the adoption of BIM. Whereas technical issues related to the implementation of BIM undergo ever greater resolution, there are manifold contractual, IP and legal issues that are as yet little resolved.