BIM (Building Information Modeling) integrates design, construction, and management to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Future architecture is becoming more precise and innovative through BIM, with adoption cases increasing globally.
The game ‘Minecraft’ gained popularity by allowing users to do virtually anything within a world composed entirely of cubes. Its originality and limitless possibilities extend beyond simple entertainment, making it an educational tool. For instance, many schools utilize ‘Minecraft’ for projects that help students develop creativity and problem-solving skills. Through this game, players can meet others and participate in ‘Hunger Games,’ wage wars, or engage in sieges. However, the game’s enduring appeal lies elsewhere: the ‘Creative’ mode for building structures or entire cities. The sheer joy of crafting one’s own world is what has made ‘Minecraft’ a beloved game for so many people over such a long time. Games and programs like ‘Minecraft,’ born from computer advancements, have enabled people to easily enjoy the pleasure of creating new worlds. Within these worlds, people become gods, building amusement parks, houses, cities, historical structures, and even entire nations. Thus, games transcend mere entertainment, expanding their role as tools that maximize human creativity and imagination. Among these countless programs and games, the one most closely resembling reality is ‘BIM’.
If given the assignment to draw a house, how would people approach it? A young child might sketch it with crayons in a sketchbook, while some students might design a house using a game like ‘Minecraft’. In the past, builders would draw multiple cross-sections of a house. Today’s builders use programs like CAD (Computer Aided Design) to model houses in 3D. Here, CAD serves as an innovative tool in architecture and engineering, making complex design work easier. So, how will future builders approach this? At first glance, the 3D houses they create might seem no different from those made by today’s builders. But upon closer inspection, their designs encompass how materials are managed, the associated costs, how the structure should be maintained after completion, and even how it should be demolished. In other words, it’s a program that encompasses not just the ‘present’ of building construction, but also the ‘past’ and ‘future’. This program that manages a building’s entire lifecycle is called ‘BIM (Building Information Modeling)’.
If you ask whether there was ever anything like ‘BIM’ that managed construction all at once before now, the answer would be ‘No’. However, this was something the ‘Master Builder’ – who handled both construction and building until the Renaissance era – could answer. After the Renaissance, as each trade became specialized, no single profession emerged that could encompass multiple trades simultaneously. The drawings served as the bridge between these various trades. However, drawings often came with distortions, and the damage caused by this was not only increased time but also the waste of 35% of the construction investment.
Moreover, the primary reason ‘BIM’ is overwhelmingly more useful than drawings lies in ‘3D modeling’. When using drawings, only a small number of people could truly grasp the form the completed building would take. However, utilizing BIM’s 3D modeling technology allows the appearance of the completed building to be intuitively verified via computer. This means that both builders and consumers can stand on equal footing when selecting a building. Crucially, this technology provides opportunities to predict and prevent errors that could occur during construction, thereby contributing to minimizing economic losses.
Thus, BIM possesses significant advantages over current technologies and is already being partially adopted in various sectors. However, its adoption in Korea is limited to individual private companies implementing it based on their own needs, leading to anticipated difficulties in institutional and technical aspects. In contrast, Japan is already preparing for BIM adoption through joint efforts between the government and private companies, minimizing problems through various pilot projects and proposing improvement directions. Japan’s case offers many insights for us, demonstrating the need for a systematic and integrated approach domestically as well.
Like this, numerous technologies, including ‘BIM’, have been introduced and are being used before we know it, unknowingly influencing our lives. In construction-related departments, computer drafting and ‘CAD’ education are becoming essential majors, and even in actual field sites, ‘3D modeling’ is no longer an unfamiliar technology. Even Seoul National University’s Kwanjeong Library underwent construction processes utilizing BIM-related technology, confirming that BIM is a technology we must embrace in the near future. Furthermore, the advancement of BIM technology is expected to drive innovation not only in architecture but also in diverse fields such as urban planning and infrastructure management. This will play a crucial role in making the environments we inhabit more efficient and sustainable.
