Towards building information modelling for existing structures

Abstract

The transformation of cities from the industrial age (unsustainable) to the knowledge age (sustainable) is essentially a 'whole life cycle' process consisting of; planning, development, operation, reuse and renewal. During this transformation, a multidisciplinary knowledge base, created from studies and research about the built environment aspects is fundamental: historical, architectural, archeologically, environmental, social, economic, etc is critical. Although there are a growing number of applications of 3D VR modelling applications, some built environment applications such as disaster management, environmental simulations, computer aided architectural design and planning require more sophisticated models beyond 3D graphical visualization such as multifunctional, interoperable, intelligent, and multirepresentational.Advanced digital mapping technologies such as 3D laser scanner technologies can be are enablers for effective e-planning, consultation and communication of users' views during the planning, design, construction and lifecycle process of the built environment. For example, the 3D laser scanner enables digital documentation of buildings, sites and physical objects for reconstruction and restoration. It also facilitates the creation of educational resources within the built environment, as well as the reconstruction of the built environment. These technologies can be used to drive the productivity gains by promoting a free-flow of information between departments, divisions, offices, and sites; and between themselves, their contractors and partners when the data captured via those technologies are processed and modelled into BIM (Building Information Modelling). The use of these technologies is key enablers to the creation of new approaches to the 'Whole Life Cycle' process within the built and human environment for the 21st century. The paper describes the research towards Building Information Modelling for existing structures via the point cloud data captured by the 3D laser scanner technology. A case study building is elaborated to demonstrate how to produce 3D CAD models and BIM models of existing structures based on designated techniques.

Creation of Parametric BIM Objects from Point Clouds Using Nurbs

“…A further important consideration must be pointed out before developing this topic: 3D models that contain only 3D (metric) data are not BIM models (Arayci, 2008). This means that a model generated from point clouds is not a BIM unless (1) parametric intelligence, (2) relationships and (3) attributes are added.…”

“…The analysis of complex shapes was a common major challenge, for which different strategies (such as implementation of new algorithms for object generation, creation of new families or excessive simplification) were adopted. It is important to underline that the use of a commercial BIM package is mandatory to fulfil basic BIM requirements, avoiding traditional 3D models generated in pure modelling packages (such as Maya, Rhinoceros and 3D Studio Max) that do not fulfil BIM requirements because of their lack of parametric modelling tools, spatial relationships and attributes (Arayci, 2008;Remondino, 2011). This paper presents a new procedure for the generation of accurate BIM of complicated objects, starting with dense point clouds generated with laser scanning or photogrammetric techniques.…”

BIM for heritage science: a review

“…Nowadays a key development is taking place under the name of Building Information Modelling (BIM). Using BIM technology, it is possible to condense all the information required during building works in one single file [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], creating what has been called "smart" models [1,3].…”

Integrating BIM into facility management

“…Other benefits concern the maintenance of warranty and service information, quality control, enhanced monitoring, emergency and retrofitting management, and occupancy planning (Volk et al, 2014, Gheisari andIrizarry, 2016). Furthermore, by integrating BIM with Augmented Reality (AR), members of the FMT are able to interact with buildings using tablets, smart glasses and phones to better visualize the scale and intricacy of O&M tasks (Arayici, 2008, Re Cecconi et al, 2017.…”