Building information modeling (BIM) is an approach involving the generation and management of digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of buildings or other physical assets and facilities. BIM is supported by various tools, processes, technologies and contracts. Building information models (BIMs) are computer files (often but not always in proprietary formats and containing proprietary data) which can be extracted, exchanged or networked to support decision-making regarding a built asset. BIM software is used by individuals, businesses and government agencies who plan, design, construct, operate and maintain buildings and diverse physical infrastructures, such as water, refuse, electricity, gas, communication utilities, roads, railways, bridges, ports and tunnels.
The concept of BIM has been in development since the 1970s, but it only became an agreed term in the early 2000s. The development of standards and the adoption of BIM have progressed at different speeds in different countries. Developed by buildingSMART, Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) data structures for representing information – became an international standard, ISO 16739, in 2013, and BIM process standards developed in the United Kingdom from 2007 onwards formed the basis of an international standard, ISO 19650, launched in December 2018.
History The first software tools developed for modeling buildings emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and included workstation products such as Chuck Eastman's Building Description System and GLIDE, RUCAPS, Sonata, Reflex and Gable 4D Series. The early applications, and the hardware needed to run them, were expensive, which limited widespread adoption.
The pioneering role of applications such as RUCAPS, Sonata and Reflex has been recognized by LaiserinLaiserin, J. (2003) "LaiserinLetterLetters " (see Laiserin's comment to letter from John Mullan), The Laiserin Letter, 6 January 2003. as well as the UK's Royal Academy of Engineering; former GMW employee Jonathan Ingram worked on all three products. What became known as BIM products differed from architectural drafting tools such as AutoCAD by allowing the addition of further information (time, cost, manufacturers' details, sustainability, and maintenance information, etc.) to the building model.
As Graphisoft had been developing such solutions for longer than its competitors, Laiserin regarded its ArchiCAD application as then "one of the most mature BIM solutions on the market."Laiserin, J. (2003) "Graphisoft on BIM ", The Laiserin Letter, 20 January 2003. Following its launch in 1987, ArchiCAD became regarded by some as the first implementation of BIM,Lincoln H. Forbes, Syed M. Ahmed, (2010) Modern Construction: Lean Project Delivery and Integrated Practices, CRC Press.Cinti Luciani, S. Garagnani, R. Mingucci (2012) "BIM tools and design intent. Limitations and opportunities", in K. Kensek, J. Peng, Practical BIM 2012 – Management, Implementation, Coordination and Evaluation, Los Angeles as it was the first CAD product on a personal computer able to create both 2D and 3D geometry, as well as the first commercial BIM product for personal computers.M. Dobelis (2013), "Drawbacks of BIM concept adoption", in the 12th International Conference on Engineering Graphics, BALTGRAF 2013, 5–7 June 2013, Riga, Latvia However, Graphisoft founder Gábor Bojár has acknowledged to Jonathan Ingram in an open letter, that Sonata "was more advanced in 1986 than ArchiCAD at that time", adding that it "surpassed already the matured definition of 'BIM' specified only about one and a half decade later".In Appendix 6: Letter to the author, p. 281, .
The term 'building model' (in the sense of BIM as used today) was first used in papers in the mid-1980s: in a 1985 paper by Simon Ruffle eventually published in 1986,Ruffle S. (1986) "Architectural design exposed: from computer-aided-drawing to computer-aided-design" Environments and Planning B: Planning and Design 1986 March 7 pp 385-389. Abstract and later in a 1986 paper by Robert AishAish, R. (1986) "Building Modelling: The Key to Integrated Construction CAD" CIB 5th International Symposium on the Use of Computers for Environmental Engineering related to Building, 7–9 July. – then at GMW Computers Ltd, developer of RUCAPS software – referring to the software's use at London's Heathrow Airport.cited by Laiserin, Jerry (2008), Foreword to Eastman, C., et al (2008), op cit, p.xii The term 'Building Information Model' first appeared in a 1992 paper by G.A. van Nederveen and F. P. Tolman.
However, the terms 'Building Information Model' and 'Building Information Modeling' (including the acronym "BIM") did not become popularly used until some 10 years later. Facilitating exchange and interoperability of information in digital format was variously with differing terminology: by Graphisoft as "Virtual Building" or "Single Building Model", Bentley Systems as "Integrated Project Models", and by Autodesk or Vectorworks as "Building Information Modeling". In 2002, Autodesk released a white paper entitled "Building Information Modeling," and other software vendors also started to assert their involvement in the field.Laiserin, J. (2002) "Comparing Pommes and Naranjas ", The Laiserin Letter, 16 December 2002. By hosting contributions from Autodesk, Bentley Systems and Graphisoft, plus other industry observers, in 2003,Laiserin, J. (2003) "The BIM Page ", The Laiserin Letter. Jerry Laiserin helped popularize and standardize the term as a common name for the digital representation of the building process.Laiserin, in his foreword to Eastman, et al (2008, op cit) disclaimed he had coined the term, adding "it is my opinion that the historical record ... shows that Building Information Modeling was not an innovation attributable solely to any individual or entity." (p.xiii)
Interoperability and BIM standards As some BIM software developers have created proprietary data structures in their software, data and files created by one vendor's applications may not work in other vendor solutions. To achieve interoperability between applications, neutral, non-proprietary or open standards for sharing BIM data among different software applications have been developed.
Poor software interoperability has long been regarded as an obstacle to industry efficiency in general and to BIM adoption in particular. In August 2004 a US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report conservatively estimated that $15.8 billion was lost annually by the U.S. capital facilities industry due to inadequate interoperability arising from "the highly fragmented nature of the industry, the industry's continued paper-based business practices, a lack of standardization, and inconsistent technology adoption among stakeholders".
An early BIM standard was the CIMSteel Integration Standard, CIS/2, a product model and data exchange file format for structural steel project information (CIMsteel: Computer Integrated Manufacturing of Constructional Steelwork). CIS/2 enables seamless and integrated information exchange during the design and construction of steel framed structures. It was developed by the University of Leeds and the UK's Steel Construction Institute in the late 1990s, with inputs from Georgia Tech, and was approved by the American Institute of Steel Construction as its data exchange format for structural steel in 2000.
BIM is often associated with Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) and aecXML – data structures for representing information – developed by buildingSMART. IFC is recognised by the ISO and has been an international standard, ISO 16739, since 2013. OpenBIM is an initiative by buildingSMART that promotes open standards and interoperability. Based on the IFC standard, it allows vendor-neutral BIM data exchange. OpenBIM standards also include BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) for issue tracking and Information Delivery Specification (IDS) for defining model requirements.What is Open BIM and What Are Its Advantages Over Closed BIM?, ArchDaily 2 June 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie) is also associated with BIM. COBie was devised by Bill East of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 2007, and helps capture and record equipment lists, product data sheets, warranties, spare parts lists, and preventive maintenance schedules. This information is used to support operations, maintenance and asset management once a built asset is in service. In December 2011, it was approved by the US-based National Institute of Building Sciences as part of its National Building Information Model (NBIMS-US) standard. COBie has been incorporated into software, and may take several forms including spreadsheet, IFC, and ifcXML. In early 2013 BuildingSMART was working on a lightweight XML format, COBieLite, which became available for review in April 2013. In September 2014, a code of practice regarding COBie was issued as a British Standard: BS 1192-4.
In January 2019, ISO published the first two parts of ISO 19650, providing a framework for building information modelling, based on process standards developed in the United Kingdom. UK BS and PAS 1192 specifications formed the basis of further parts of the ISO 19650 series, with Part 3 (asset management) and Part 5 (security management) published in 2020; Part 4 (information exchange) followed in 2022 and Part 6 (health and safety) in 2025. Parts 1-3 were subject to review from 2024, and proposed amendments (a Draft Information Standard, DIS) for parts 1 and 2 were published in early March 2026, with amendments for part 3 following in June 2026.
The IEC/ISO 81346 series for reference designation has published 81346-12:2018, also known as RDS-CW (Reference Designation System for Construction Works). The use of RDS-CW offers the prospect of integrating BIM with complementary international standards based classification systems being developed for the Power Plant sector.
Definition ISO 19650-1:2018 defines BIM as:
use of a shared digital representation of a built asset ... to facilitate design, construction and operation processes to form a reliable basis for decisions.International Standards Organization (2018) Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) — Information management using building information modelling — Part 1: Concepts and principles. Retrieved 9 March 2026.
The US National Building Information Model Standard Project Committee has the following definition:
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. A BIM is a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life-cycle; defined as existing from earliest conception to demolition.
Traditional building design was largely reliant upon two-dimensional technical drawings (plans, elevations, sections, etc.). Building information modeling extends the three primary spatial dimensions (width, height and depth), incorporating information about time (so-called 4D BIM), cost (5D BIM), asset management, sustainability, etc. BIM therefore covers more than just geometry. It also covers spatial relationships, geospatial information, quantities and properties of building components (for example, manufacturers' details), and enables a wide range of collaborative processes relating to the built asset from initial planning through to construction and then throughout its operational life.