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Building Information Modeling (BIM) is changing the way projects are constructed. This emerging practice requires new
mind-sets and technological know-how in order to achieve significant improvements in building efficiency. Universities
must focus on the strategy of using BIM as an innovative technology to allow the acquisition of new skills by students and
prepare them for their future activity in a more competitive world. Based on this perspective, the text presents some
educational measures on offer at the Technical University of Lisbon. It focuses on the importance of teaching BIM: the
involvement of students in research projects, PhD theses and MSc dissertations, and the dissemination of BIM through
professional short courses and workshops addressed to the AEC community outside the school. Some of these have already
been carried out in the school; others are presently being proposed or currently in progress. It is clear from this paper that
school is an important driver for the growth of BIM knowledge and practice through the preparation of new and existing
professionals.
Keywords: education; BIM; concept; curriculum
It is evident, as Sabongi [6] says that the standard uous training, as an extra-curricular service pro-
of non-integrated, stand-alone courses no longer vided by the school and aimed at designers and
meets the needs of students who will be employed in architects who work in design offices. The final
the construction industry. The new project manage- section refers to recent proposals for of research
ment tools, such as BIM, are challenging for under- projects in the BIM field.
graduate construction education. Students’ post-
university employment increasingly depends upon 2. The importance of teaching BIM
their ability to integrate all facets of the curriculum
and to comprehend more than the more widespread BIM is one of the most recent acronyms to appear in
design-bid-build model of project management. the world of architecture and construction, the
Thus, the basic BIM technology must become one timing of its more formal appearance being difficult
of the essential tools in students’ training, in the to establish. However, neither the concept, nor the
future, to facilitate their integration in a demanding nomenclature of BIM, is new. The concept can be
and competitive work environment. Lecturers and dated back nearly thirty years and the nomencla-
academics must first concentrate on learning how ture, around fifteen, with America claiming its
and why usability of new digital tools can improve origin in 2002 as a means of describing virtual
the design of buildings in order to better offer design, construction and facilities management [5]
students, knowledge of diverse technological solu- while in 2008 the American Institute of Architects
tions that are beginning to be disseminated. IT play (AIA) issued its first contracts which specifically
a significant role in modern information-driven refer to BIM [9]. The term evolved from the expres-
societies, making a comprehensive understanding sions ‘‘Building Description System’’, ‘‘Building
of digital media a fundamental requisite to success; Product Models’’, and ‘‘Product Information
it is also of importance that young students are Models’’, finally merging them all to arrive at
today highly motivated to learn innovative digital ‘‘Building Information Modeling’’ [10]. However,
technologies [7]. as Kymmell expresses it, ‘‘architects have been using
The text describes how the BIM concept is being BIM from the very first time information was
introduced in the Department of Civil Engineering exchanged in order to get something built’’, so
and Architecture, at the Technical University of BIM should not be seen as something entirely new
Lisbon. It has been reported that there is, of and different. In fact, as mentioned below, some
course, a great resistance to introducing a new applications with a small degree of interoperability
paradigm in the design of the building and its have been in use since the late 20th century.
development throughout the different stages of the
evolution of a building and, later, of post-construc- 2.1 Implementation and research direction
tion monitoring of the building. Any curriculum- BIM is being used ever more frequently in private
wide change to a traditional course of study requires industry and in U.S. government projects as a
acceptance by the entire faculty. Today, this may be method of integrated project delivery [6]. Any
an obstacle standing in the way of more widespread BIM-based activity implies collaborative and inte-
use of the new BIM paradigm in construction grative use by the individual designer, the immedi-
education [8]. The acceptance of a new approach ate team in the individual design practice, the wider
in the presentation of issues, in particular those project team and supply chains, as well as users and
related to the structures, construction processes, maintenance personnel. BIM also covers informa-
construction planning, maintenance of buildings, tion creation, collection, updating, archiving collat-
project coordination and management of informa- ing, coordinating, validating and sharing. Since a
tion concerning the life cycle of a building, requires BIM model can include 2D graphics, 3D graphics,
an awareness, on the teachers’ part, of the benefits intelligent objects, parametric and all physical and
offered by the use of BIM. To achieve this, the electronic forms of non-graphic information, it
school itself should promote dissemination in could contain all types of information, from
school, involving credible designer offices which spaces and geometry, to costs, programming, spe-
already use, to a greater or lesser degree, this cifications and other information types [11].
technology. This can be achieved through short To allow that, relationships must be built between
training courses, workshops, seminars and techni- data to exploit the full benefit of BIM, and open
cal sessions. standard formats must be used to translate data
The next section, focuses on the current situation from one proprietary format to another. A digital
in teaching and reflection related to updating educa- exchange format COBie UK 2012 has already been
tion in BIM, and later sections present the recent prepared in order to provide a minimum level
research at MSc and PhD levels, explore the training playing field [12]. COBie is, essentially, a spread-
courses taught in the Department aimed at contin- sheet data format that contains digital information
304 Alcı́nia Z. Sampaio
about a building in as complete and as useful a form In order to introduce students of Auburn Uni-
as possible. So, real world construction must get to versity, U.S., to basic concepts of BIM, an intro-
grips with BIM. Open BIM technologies, such as ductory course in BIM has been integrated in a
building SMART International’s Industry Founda- construction management program [8]. Some
tion Classes (IFCs), have been developed over many prerequisites to BIM and the delivery of funda-
years (since 1994 in fact) and exist with the sole aim mental skills on digital visualization, CAD draft-
of enabling interoperability between BIM applica- ing and 3D modeling, were previously introduced
tions [11]. IFC is a suitable mechanism for the briefly, to the students. As a conclusion of the
creation of COBie data drops and there are tools experience, it was found that BIM acts as an
already in the market place that generate COBie integrative force within a construction curricu-
from IFC, but overall the support for COBie in BIM lum and a vehicle for delivering knowledge about
applications varies and needs improvement. This building.
requires a complete understanding of the practical- Construction Management Faculty at California
ities of BIM, and a greater knowledge of the role of State University organized a study to examine the
IFC and COBie in BIM practice. effectiveness of BIM, as a construction visualiza-
Engineering education always strives to follow tion tool that integrates estimation capacities
the interests of the construction industry and cur- [13]. The results showed that BIM as a construc-
rently BIM is a very attractive topic. In the 1990s, tion tool can improve estimating skills and make
teachers began to teach CAD package that worked an impact on the effectiveness of Civil Engineer-
with parametric building elements as opposed to ing students in their jobs.
traditional 2D line drawings [3]. In 2010, BIM made Clevenger et al. [14] discusses the faculty motiva-
significant leaps forward and is now very much part tion, summarizes student input, outlines aca-
of many construction professionals’ lives. By using demic material development, and presents
the geometry and spatial relationships, quantities preliminary student feedback for the strategy of
and properties of the building elements within a including BIM in the Civil Engineering curricu-
BIM, real efficiencies and improvements in accuracy lum. The main objective of the changes was to
are being made in the design, construction and introduce students to the techniques and capabil-
maintenance of buildings. Not only does BIM ities of a specific modeling program in building
show a building at every step of its development design, and to arm them with basic BIM modeling
and illustrate construction, design and materials in skills.
detail but the embedding capacities of BIM make it The conference Building Innovation 2013 [15],
a dynamic platform that allows multiple groups in held in Washington, looked at how BIM is being
different locations to work on projects. Increas- taught to the next generation of building industry
ingly, the technical information in a BIM concept professionals [16]. Professors from several differ-
is rich and highly structured. The students in an ent universities shared their educational curricu-
Engineering school and the team in a design office lum approaches and changes introduced in
must acquire adequate skills to be in a position to various program disciplines, namely, architec-
make use of this technical information, according to ture, engineering, construction, project manage-
the design phase data the users intend to get from ment, interior design and landscape architecture,
the model. facility operations and even communications.
Advice arising from the conference was that the
2.2 Introduction in engineering education partnership between industry and academia and
Drafters huddled over drawing tables are an image ways to integrate BIM should be improved. Arto
from the past [6] mainly because, today new struc- Kiviniemi, from the University of Salford, said
tures are being designed by architects and engineers ‘‘Last year (2012), we were the only University (in
who are well able to use a wide variety of software England) that had a graduate program in BIM.
programs, including BIM which is fast becoming This year, there are five or six’’;
part of the construction sector and, according to Ibrahim [17] states that myriad technologies are
Mordue [12], ‘‘tends to be seen as cutting edge promising innovative solutions to problems of
technology and processes’’. Even though, according coordination and delivering projects on time and
to Sabongi [6] ‘‘the academic community moves budget through integrated project delivery. How-
more deliberately and thoughtfully to incorporate ever, there is limited understanding of how these
new technology and to offer new courses’’, a number technologies are actually implemented and there
of undergraduate programs are now incorporating is a need to separate myth from reality. BIM
BIM in their curricula. The literature mentioned appears to be the emerging leading paradigm
below illustrates the efforts to introduce this mate- but the major identified challenges in using the
rial into higher education: new technologies are knowledge and training.
The Introduction of the BIM Concept in Civil Engineering Curriculum 305
More focus on actual BIM implementations in approach; the present perspective is aimed more at
projects, the challenges of integrating multiple giving students the opportunity to use BIM tools.
technologies across the whole project/asset life-
cycle, and closer attention to their use for addres- 3.1 Topics and objectives
sing sustainability issues, are needed. So, teaching Today, in carrying out research work within the
BIM in higher education institutions is urgent. studies leading to Bologna Master’s theses there has
been a wide acceptance and commitment demon-
Universities play a prominent role in the spread of strated to BIM by the students, so that there is a
technological change and, especially in the con- widespread recognition that this innovative tech-
struction field, by the process of dissemination in nology is strongly focused on their future. This
training students in BIM base tools. Higher educa- section presents some of these studies supervised
tion teachers are supposed to be the key actors in by the author. The proposals of topics of disserta-
education innovation and in the process of change tion are aimed at different areas in Architecture and
[18]. The effective training and teaching of the Engineering:
innovative technologies depends on the full exploi-
tation of the potential of these technologies. Com- BIM technology application in the architectural
petence, therefore, in the new technologies as a set of design of buildings;
knowledge, skills, and attitudes for using BIM tools 4D construction planning based on BIM technol-
must be first assimilated by the higher education ogy;
teacher; Universities, consequently, must focus on Coordination of building projects based on BIM
the strategy of using BIM as an innovative technol- technology;
ogy. In fact, as Mordue [12] observes, ‘‘BIM has Analysis of the BIM model implementation in
come a long way in a relatively short time’’. How- building structure projects;
ever, there is still a lot to be done even though the Contribution to the implementation of the BIM
academic body and newly trained professionals are model in construction project;
beginning to contribute to this field. Information management of the life cycle of the
model-based BIM building;
3. Bologna Master’s theses The proposed studies cover different areas focusing
on identifying information at each step and on how
BIM is changing the way projects are constructed. to perform data interoperability between the var-
This emerging practice requires new mind-sets and ious stages using a BIM model. An introduction to
technological know-how in order to achieve signifi- BIM paradigm is planned together with the super-
cant improvements in efficiency and cost control. At visor:
the Department of Civil Engineering and Architec-
ture, the preferred target of education is the student The student must make an initial literature search
as they are the future professionals. The student regarding the BIM concept: evolution, applic-
must acquire skills for using the advanced technol- ability, advantages and limitations;
ogy tools, as they will use BIM technology in their The student learns to handle the basic BIM soft-
future activity; they will be thus more competitive. ware most frequently used in design offices and to
Computer-aided drafting (Autodesk AutoCAD analyze the degree of interoperability that must
system) was for a time the most sophisticated be established in the transfer of data between
modeling technique available to construction man- computer applications;
agers [6] but this is now giving way to the more In order to create adequate BIM models and
complex technology of building information man- afterwards to allow the accurate transfer of
agement. A school of Engineering and Architecture information between the different design phases
can be expected to constantly update computational the Master’s student must acquire knowledge of
resources in frequent use in the professions and to the standardized file formats, in particular,
introduce innovative resources into the training of COBie, IFC and other open sources;
the student, leading to their adaptation for curricula The student must use his knowledge of this
in drawing and modeling disciplines. At the Lisbon application in a case study in order to learn how
Technical University, in Computer Assisted Draw- to create a model, and to analyze which informa-
ing included in the curricula program of the Inte- tion is required, how to classify and organize the
grated Master in Civil Engineering, the adaptation information used and to recognize what data
has been gradual, accompanying the development should be added and incorporated into the
of new graphics systems supporting plan drawing model in order to support the processes of con-
and modeling relevant to engineering activity. How- struction, maintenance or management;
ever, this strategy can be seen today as an old The student analyses the degree of interoperabil-
306 Alcı́nia Z. Sampaio
ity between the various steps for creating an indicate that BIM would be suited to small con-
effective BIM model and then must draw conclu- struction projects, particularly when visualization,
sions concerning the effectiveness of the model estimating and conceptual energy analysis are used.
and the difficulties found; As a conclusion, the research work project con-
The difficulties encountered regarding the inter- firmed the overall positive trend within the AEC
operability aspect should constitute a positive industry regarding BIM adoption and its benefits.
contribution to the acceptance and implementa- As a case study, modeling the research project
tion strategies of the BIM concept in the AEC revolves around a small construction project near
industry. Lisbon, Portugal. This project forms the basis for
the comparison between work flow and procedures
As an expected result of the academic research the when adopting BIM as opposed to traditional 2D
students, will inevitably improve their skills in an CAD drawings or 3D models (3D Studio or
innovative technology of great relevance to the SketchUp). The first phase comprises the modeling
contemporary IT field applied to buildings. of the project in Autodesk Revit Architecture, based
upon AutoCAD drawings. BIM relies on precise
3.2 BIM applied on building projects placement of parametric objects along the auxiliary
In his recent dissertation ‘‘Application of BIM grids and levels to produce the 3D model (Fig. 1). In
technology in building design’’ [19] the author, Revit the user defines all parameters related to the
Paulo Neves, an MSc student, focuses on the differ- wall structure and properties (walls were made of
ences between what the BIM presents and tradi- concrete or bricks, varying only in their width).
tional 2D drawing and 3D modeling in the context The proposed exercise to the student consisted in
of a small construction project. The first part of the developing the architecture model of a small build-
work comprises a comprehensive literature review ing, from drawings defined in AutoCAD as a way to
relating to BIM and how this innovative technolo- train a new BIM-based tool, and explore the new
gical approach differs from what is commonly done tool in the perspective of realistic visualization, of
in Portugal. This part of the text presents a generic calculation of energetic characteristics and of
initial approach of BIM with relevance to: defini- obtaining the quantities of materials. Figure 2.
tion; history and chronology; discipline specific shows the 3D view of the project all modeled in
benefits, barriers and implementation strategies; Revit Architecture. The structure of the building is
software tools used in structural engineering, inter- also apparent, with four different levels (effectively 3
operability, future and gaps in current knowledge. usable floors), with the bottom floor being partially
Secondly, the focus of the work goes towards the underground. The 3D viewing environment allows
modeling effort (undertaken in Autodesk Revit). the user to turn the whole model in whichever
The dissertation reflects the differences between direction is intended and it is also possible to
traditional 2D/3D CAD drawings generally used obtain top view of different levels of the project.
and the BIM parametric approach: the modeling The BIM paradigm opens new perspectives on
procedure is greatly changed, producing a central how to deal with the life cycle of a building project,
3D model which can be used to obtain different data in which the whole process develops on the basis of a
(energy consumption, estimates and visualization 3D model and information about the whole project
for example) without the need to redo the model, is included in that model.
with the associated loss of productivity. As far as the The Revit capacities used in the case study
tools are concerned, all of them proved very useful, (visualization, conceptual energy analysis and esti-
providing very similar results to those obtainable mating) were applied and compared to the tradi-
with the normal approach, using only the 3D model tional 2D/3D CAD workflow. To improve the
and Revit software as a base. The results also visualization aspect Google SketchUp was used to
produce 3D renderings of the project (Fig. 3). The this purpose-made software producing even
energy analysis was conducted on a simpler mass higher quality renderings.
model (Fig. 3), using a sketch-like interface within The conceptual energy analysis tool is very help-
Revit, where only the general shape, materials, ful in the early stages of design when important
percentage of glass surface and other properties of choices are taken by the architect and client. This
the project are defined. Using Autodesk Revit tool uses a simplified mass model, comprising not
Architecture to produce a bill of quantities is a only the general shape and type of the building,
quick procedure that only depends on a well mod- but also general parameters such as location,
eled project in order to achieve great accuracy. orientation, HVAC systems, glass percentage
The discussion of the work focuses on the analysis and wall structure.
of the results developed with the three different The quantity and cost estimating is a fundamen-
tools, comparing the BIM processes, workflows tal phase of any construction project, being a
and results with results attainable with the tradi- responsibility of the general contractor. This
tional CAD approach: estimating procedure is based on the ability to
measure the quantity of different materials pre-
Modeling in Revit revealed itself to be both sent in the project. This tool is seen as a primary
intuitive and challenging. The fact that the user BIM tool by initial users that fail to understand
places representations of building elements in the the full scope of BIM, comprising design (visua-
model adds to the sense of progress and purpose lization), construction and post-construction
of the design process, because as the modeling benefits (facilities management).
progresses, it resembles the finished building
more and more closely. Furthermore, all the Neves concluded that after modeling the project in
visualization, conceptual energy analysis and Revit and performing different analyses and tasks,
estimating tools are readily available and are there is an apparent difference from traditional
easy to use. CAD drawings, representing a step forward for
After producing the model all renderings and any design or construction company willing to
other viewing schemes are produced effortlessly, invest in training and software. The study case
as opposed to the traditional method where the showed that modeling in BIM is very straightfor-
designer produces a 2D drawing followed by a 3D ward, reflecting the material nature of building
model for visualization purposes only. Moreover, elements that was not present in 2D CAD. The use
even if the architect feels the need to use dedicated of information rich objects guarantees a more
visualization software, such as Autodesk 3D cohesive design and analysis process where different
Studio Msx to produce better renderings the 3D tools can be used to develop and study the project,
BIM model can be easily exported and edited in all based on a primary model initially developed by
308 Alcı́nia Z. Sampaio
the architect. The benefits from this are apparent 4. PhD lectures
not only in the design phase but also during con-
struction planning and facilities management. In addition to work carried out on the Master’s
Furthermore, modeling this small project showed program, the PhD program offered by the Depart-
that if the different stakeholders are aligned in the ment includes the tutorial module ‘‘Advanced
use of BIM technologies and behaviors, there are Course in Information Systems Aided Projects’’,
evident benefits to small projects that are often left coordinated by the author, this within the field of
out of the BIM discussion, given their simplicity. IT in Construction. The PhD candidate, António
Costa [20] developed a report under the title ‘‘BIM
applied to construction management’’, while
3.3 Dissertations in progress
another student, Hawreen Ahmed [21], has tutorial
The Master’s dissertations that are currently in research work in ‘‘Generating and analyzing a full
development concerning both fields of Structural project based on BIM technology’’.
Engineering and Construction activity are:
4.1 BIM applied to construction management
Luis Barreto ‘‘Interoperability analysis of BIM The construction case studied by Costa aims to
technology in the design of buildings’’ (Structural contribute to the assessment of the potential of the
Engineering). This study focuses on the analysis BIM software for 4D model simulation and its
of several existing technologies in order to be able interoperability with planning software, such as
to compare them with the BIM methodology: a Microsoft Project. The study case considered by
comparative analysis between the various meth- the student consisted in a two-storey building and
odologies and the main advantages and limita- the related structural solution. The structural
tions found in BIM must be devised. A study case model, defined in a BIM-based tool, the Revit
must be created as a basic parametric 3D model, Structure, was created based on drawings defined
coupled with diverse information (architectural, in AutoCAD. The planning of the construction
structural and construction). The relationships phases used was the same considered in the initial
between the data of different steps of the model project. This case study evolved from the work
must be analyzed to exploit the full benefit of developed by Santos [22], which had as its objective
BIM on building design. Open sources and stan- the development of a 4D simulation using virtual
dard formats must be studied and used with the reality software, EONreality. The result of the work
development of the research work. presents itself in the form of an application able to
Vitalino Azevedo ‘‘BIM model analysis from the simulate the construction, through 3D models
perspective of the project of structures’’ (Struc- defined for each constructive step, according to
tural Engineering). The period of analysis chosen the MsProject file, and was created on the basis of
for this research is the structural phase and for the plan established for the work. Costa’s study,
this, a case study, still to be developed, is required. then, emerges from this context, with the aim of
This will include an analysis of the data type exploring other solutions in developing 4D simula-
needed in the implementation of the structural tions, using BIM software, and analyzing their
model and how to obtain the required informa- advantages and disadvantages. The methodology
tion. Another important aspect is the exploration to support the implementation considered three
of methods of exporting information from the main components:
BIM model to structural calculation programs,
the research focusing on interoperability in great BIM model generation in Autodesk Revit. The
detail. building model considers only the structural part
Diogo Simões ‘‘Maintenance of buildings sup- of the building. Additionally, at the end of the
ported on BIM model: limitations and proposals process of modeling, an IFC format file was
for improvement’’ (Construction). The target created; this was required for the transfer of
period of the research proposal is the post-occu- information between the Revit software and
pation of a building. This study aims to identify Navisworks.
the necessary information regarding maintenance Construction planning established in MsProject.
activity that can be extracted from the BIM The schedule of construction work treats the
model, and how to use, transform and reuse it. whole construction process as two modules, for
The study should assess the information extracted the purpose of an optimizing construction phas-
from the model BIM and recognize the comple- ing. The period laid down for the completion of
mentary information required in the maintenance each task was obtained from a rough outline,
activity. The study must be applied in a case study whereas there are no specific limits on the con-
and conclusions must be carried out. struction of the building.
The Introduction of the BIM Concept in Civil Engineering Curriculum 309
Fig. 4. Perspective of the structural BIM model and the construction schedule.
Autodesk Navisworks used to process simulation simulation, the information that was imported to
of construction. BIM model was imported to the Navisworks from the model BIM, was essen-
Navisworks based on the IFC format and the tially geometric (Fig. 4). The construction schedule,
importation of the construction schedule was developed using the software MsProject, presents a
carried out using the file generated in the MsPro- division of the building into two separate modules
ject. Later, the links between the model BIM (Fig. 4).
objects and the timeline were established. The Navisworks is used for integrating models from a
simulation was then performed automatically by variety of sources. It features excellent conflict
the Navisworks software. detection and resolution and animation capabilities
[8]. To generate the 4D simulation, the IFC model
Autodesk Revit, as a structural BIM modeler, offers and the timeline were imported to the Navisworks
great advantages since most of the elements are software, and then the necessary link between the
already predefined (for example, slabs and massive different components of the model and the steps of
pillars, etc.). Any amendment the designer wishes to the timeline were established (Fig. 5). The connec-
introduce is much simpler to make in BIM software tion between model elements and the schedule was
than on common 3D software such as AutoCAD, made directly in the software Navisworks.
since all elements are connected parametrically. In Each selected object is associated to the activity
addition, all 2D drawings are also automatically included in the timeline. The corresponding Gantt
corrected. As the case concerned only construction map was created automatically by the system Navis-
works, respecting all sequence and dates defined in who started her studies this current academic year.
the planning file (Fig. 5). The results obtained In accordance with the established PhD study plan,
through the application of the methodology pre- she must attend the lecture module ‘‘Advanced
sented made it possible to demonstrate that BIM Course in Information Systems Aided Projects’’ in
software supports the creation of the simulation of a order to acquire knowledge and skills relating to the
construction process (Fig. 6). When compared with use of BIM-base software. The evaluation of the
the work on 4D simulation developed by Santos [22] tutorial discipline is carried out on the basis of a final
the principal advantages of the applied methodol- report [21]. For that, the student must develop a full
ogy are: (1) the simulation does not require any project, using BIM software, within the engineering
programming; (2) the interactivity of the BIM soft- focus: architecture, structures, water supplies and
ware allows greater flexibility to adapt possible HVAC systems. The work involves calculations
changes in the timeline or in the geometric model; relating to budgets and conflict analysis between
(3) the simplicity of the software allows an applica- architecture and services. The example considered
tion more widespread use, contributing to a well- by the student consisted of a small one-storey single-
deserved appreciation of the importance of virtual family housing. The student created the architecture
simulation in construction. The main disadvantages model based on sketches. The definition of all the
of the applied methodology refers essentially to the elements of architecture was being elaborated and
lowest potential for future developments, taking changed using the BIM-based tool, the Revit Archi-
into account that the solutions considered feature tecture.
fewer programming capabilities.. There is already a wide range of BIM software
For Costa, this work, developed within a lecture available and in recent years there has been a
module of the PhD course, did contribute to growing availability of new solutions, diverse appli-
increase his knowledge and skills on BIM. Cur- cations with greater capacity for visualization,
rently, and as a consequence of these studies, he is simulation and calculation. In Portugal, the most
the co-coordinator of a training course: ‘‘Building widely used are the software of Autodesk (Revit
Information Modeling (BIM) in Construction Architecture, Revit Structure, Revit MEP, Navis-
Sector’’ to be held in April 2013 at the Technical works) and Graphisoft (ArchiCad, ArchiFM, MEP
University of Lisbon, and is to participate in the Modeler, Constructor). All of the products owned
organization of the first congress to be held in by Autodesk are offered, free, to students by Auto-
Portugal on BIM, ‘‘BIM 1st International Confer- desk. The hardware system requirements for this
ence’’ in June 2013, in Oporto [23]. BIM software are similar across the packages and
the software can be run on commonly available PCs
4.2 BIM applied on a full project with the addition of a high-end graphics card.
Another student, Hawreen Ahmed, has a tutorial Taylor et al. [8] defends the notion that students
research in progress. It concerns the use of BIM must work on a project of challenging scope and
technology to generate and analyze a full project. complexity in order to more fully understand the
Hawreen Ahmed from Iran is a PhD student and extent of developing a BIM model. However, to
cover the multi-steps of a building design, using This illustrates the notion that Revit is fairly easy to
BIM based tools, in a one semester, it would dictate manage without any formal instruction allowing the
that only a small sample building could be used. The student to develop the ability to create the model
project case must have a complete architectural and to better understand how to use it.
plan, site, and MEP drawings. Taking this as a Developing the architectural model includes the
guideline, the student has been creating a BIM use of some parametric elements (Fig. 7): walls,
model of a typical familiar house; she is, in fact, slabs, roofs, ceilings, floor coverings and wall cover-
required to develop a full project using different ings, doors and windows, and specialty items (water
BIM tools. BIM is a geometric model and is also an equipment and furniture). When defining architec-
estimating and scheduling repository. As future tural elements in a BIM model some relationships
professionals must handle all information of the between components must be established. A door
multi-phased full project, Ahmed must learn not cannot be greater in size than the wall that contains
only how to use a model to develop the model as is it. If a wall is removed from the model, then the
required in the industry. After completing the doors and windows it contains are also removed.
research she will be able to use the software available More complex relationships can also be developed,
and to fully understand the concepts behind the for example, a rule that each door must have a light
technology, thus achieving the main aim both for switch within a defined distance [3]. This is a sort of
herself and for the field in general. functionality, it should be noted, and that is clearly
Today Revit, available as Revit Architecture, not possible within traditional 2D CAD.
Structure and MEP modules, is the most widely As a next step, Ahmed will develop a suitable
used tool for generating BIMs. It contains libraries structural model: foundations, columns, beams,
of standard components, which can easily be copied trusses and roof systems. Furthermore she will
and edited to create additional components. Door, develop a MEP model (mainly with HVAC), tem-
window and wall schedules are easily extracted to plates for estimating and for the project schedule.
spreadsheets, databases, and other estimating and Schedules could easily be created for other elements,
scheduling packages. When generating the model, such as walls or floors, showing lengths, areas, or
using Revit Architecture, as the class did not lend volumes. The student is being exposed to several
itself to regular lectures, or studio sessions, the products but does not have the time, in the curricu-
student was required to learn the software on her lum, to fully utilize or deeply understand all pro-
own without the benefit of formal instruction. She grams. However, by developing a simple case fully
was, therefore, required to use the self-paced tutor- she will obtain enough skill to easily pick up the
ial of the software and was able in this way to learn programs in the future and use them on a more
enough about it to create the architectural design. complex project.
Fig. 7. Architectural model with walls, slabs, roofs, doors and windows, and furniture.
312 Alcı́nia Z. Sampaio
10:45–11:00 coffee-break
12:45–14:00 lunch
15:45-16:00 coffee-break
In May, 2008, a workshop entitled: ‘‘Technology sub-issue for BIM is the integration of visual data
BIM-Building Information Model’’ was also given, among different construction sectors [2]. Using
with the participation of invited designers who visualization expands the usability of data/informa-
presented some projects coordinated and planned tion/knowledge. With respect to presentation of
with a BIM. This was attended by a considerable maintenance information, BIM framework will
number of participates composed of students of the include visualization of condition assessment data
final years of the civil engineering and architecture and visualization of 4D model simulating materials
courses. In general these kinds of activities, not evolution of coatings and other building compo-
included in the regular curricular program, are nents. The capacity of visualizing and simulating the
well accepted. degradation in 4D model will give a more under-
standable overview of the life cycle performance and
6. Research project on BIM will enable effective use of resources, increasing
better communication and supporting long-term
This final section describes, a research project which planning of maintenance, repair and rehabilitation.
has been submitted to the FCT (Foundation for Furthermore, visual knowledge representation and
Science and Technology), a national public organi- viewer interaction, supported on VR technology,
zation, under the coordination of the author and are topics to be developed in this project in order to
with the participation of an exterior designer. The archive important benefits to maintenance. The
proposed research concerns the BIM domain research work must incorporate VR-based interac-
‘‘Maintenance of buildings supported on BIM’’ to tive techniques and input devices to perform visual
be developed in the period 2013–2015 [24]. The exploration tasks.
purpose of this research project is to establish a
BIM framework focusing on the issues of mainte-
nance and visualization supported on VR technol- 7. Conclusions
ogy for new or existing buildings. This research
proposal aims to improve the solution of integrating BIM is currently being introduced into the construc-
maintenance information and system interfaces tion sector at a very fast pace and tends to be seen as
using advanced visual performances. The use of cutting edge technology and processes. However,
knowledge visualization, on the representation of the academic community acts more conservatively
performance-over-time data in 4D (3D + time) to incorporate new technology and to offer new
models, and the incorporation of interactive capa- courses, while recent studies in university reveal that
cities to represent the BIM framework will increase some undergraduate programs are making the jump
the communication and collaboration between to incorporate BIM in their curricula. In this con-
partners and then support decision-making in the text, the education work developed in the Depart-
planning of construction maintenance. The knowl- ment of Civil Engineering and Architecture, at the
edge related to VR technology and maintenance Technical University of Lisbon aims to improve the
planning, acquired in previous research projects [25] knowledge concerning BIM aimed at the future
and educational research will be explored within the AEC professionals.
context of a BIM strategy. The project aims to The author as a teacher is committed to imple-
explore the most recent investigation sub-issues menting this pioneer subject in academic programs
for BIM: models supporting maintenance informa- motivating students to adopt this new technology.
tion and incorporation of visual representation of The author has supervised several MSc theses and
knowledge. tutorial PhD lectures concerning the field of BIM
BIM allows the integration of corporate strategy, design and believes that in the future other students
management, and IT throughout the project’s entire will be engaged in research developing BIM. Today,
life cycle. However, the reuse of BIM models in in carrying out research work within the studies
post-construction and post-occupancy phases is still concerning Bologna Master’s theses, there has been
in a very early stage [12]. Fully-integrated and a wide acceptance and commitment demonstrated
sophisticated BIM implementation may effectively by the students, so that there is widespread recogni-
support some projects, but, the overall and practical tion that the innovative BIM technology is a strong
effectiveness of BIM utilization is difficult to focal point for their future. Following this strategy
achieve. BIM implies mechanisms for optimization the author has organized short professional courses
of data and issues for its efficiency. In this context, and workshops, which have been very well accepted
this project intends to provide guidelines for this within the AEC community, the participants show-
optimization. File and data systems will be explored ing interest in the topic presented and identifying
and organized with a focus on BIMmaintenance. solutions and modes of action which in the future
Besides the effectiveness, an actual investigation will use in their activity, thus helping the spread of
314 Alcı́nia Z. Sampaio
this innovative technology in their particular pro- 11. I. Chapman, What does Building Information Modeling
(BIM) mean for specifications?, Building Information Model-
fessional areas. ing article from NBS, March 2011, http://www.thenbs.com/
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can be an important driver of BIM knowledge March 18, 2013.
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urgency, focus on the strategy of using innovative Modeling have on teaching estimating to construction man-
technologies to allow students to acquire new skills agement students?, 44th Annual ASC International Confer-
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chair/paper/CEUE179002008.pdf, accessed April 18, 2013.
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competitive. EcoBuild Proceedings of the BIM-Related Academic Work-
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Alcı́nia Zita Sampaio, PhD in Civil Engineering from the Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal, Assistant Professor in
the Department of Civil Engineering at the TU Lisbon, since 1999. Teacher and supervisor of Technical Drawing for Civil
Engineering students since 1984 as Assistant and since 1999 as Assistant Professor and of Computer Aided Drawing for
Civil Engineering students since 2001. Coordination of short courses, Introduction to Virtual Reality Technology applied on
architecture and Engineering, (2010) and Automatic generation of drawing using DXF files (2009). The main research fields
are Geometric modelling and Virtual Reality applied to construction, and the principal researcher in projects are Virtual
The Introduction of the BIM Concept in Civil Engineering Curriculum 315
Reality Technology applied as a support tool to the planning of construction maintenance (2008–2010) and Automatically
generating model of bridges graphic representation, (2001–2004). Proposal for research project in evaluation: Maintenance
of Buildings supported on BIM (Building Information Modelling) Technology (2013–2014). Most recent publication of
articles in journals: Automation in Construction, IRECE, JCIT, ITcon, JSEA and chapter in books: Virtual Reality —
Human Computer Interaction (2012), Virtual Reality (2011). Reviewer of technical papers for journals: Automation in
Construction, Advanced Engineering Informatics and Advances in Civil Engineering. https://fenix.ist.utl.pt/homepage/
ist12448