{"id":38208,"date":"2018-02-01T12:02:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-01T12:02:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=38208"},"modified":"2018-02-01T12:02:47","modified_gmt":"2018-02-01T12:02:47","slug":"virtual-design-and-construction-and-its-applications-in-bim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/digital-construction-news\/bim-news\/virtual-design-and-construction-and-its-applications-in-bim\/38208\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual design and construction and its applications in BIM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Virtual design and construction can greatly improve the efficiency of projects by allowing fine-tuning before work begins \u2013 and together with BIM, ensures finished buildings reflect their digital versions<\/h2>\n

The increasing sophistication of digital systems has revolutionised the way professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) are able to plan, deliver and manage buildings and infrastructure projects. Building Information Modelling (BIM) allows for a broader management process than CAD across the project lifecycle, with the generation of and access to a wider array of data associated with a structure.<\/p>\n

Virtual design and construction (VDC) is a process that utilises an integrated multidisciplinary approach to create models for design and production projects. Many AEC teams use a combination of the tools and processes made available by these disciplines in a holistic approach to building and infrastructure design and management.<\/p>\n

What is BIM?<\/h3>\n

BIM (Building Information Modelling) is a digital process that involves the generation and management of information. Despite the name, the usefulness of BIM is not restricted to traditional buildings such as commercial, public and domestic premises.<\/p>\n

Where traditional design methods were previously limited to 2D drawings and schematics, CAD was able to make this process fully 3D. BIM files can be information-rich models that pass from the design team to contractors and construction engineers, and then to the owners, with each professional adding their own layer to the shared model.<\/p>\n

\"VirtualWhat is VDC?<\/h3>\n

Virtual design and construction (VDC) is another process related to AEC. It is perhaps even more difficult to define than BIM, but a paper from Stanford University\u2019s Centre for Integrated Facility Engineering offers the following: \u201cVirtual design and construction (VDC) is the use of integrated multidisciplinary performance models of design-construction projects to support explicit and public business objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Applications for VDC<\/h3>\n

VDC is so broad that it covers an entire construction lifecycle. It applies direct ties between virtual design and construction, meaning it more readily ensures the physical construction of a project is tied to and reflective of its digital doppelganger. Much of VDC involves the transition from digital, to physical, and back to digital again.<\/p>\n

Some VDC services cover:<\/p>\n