Building Information Modeling: An Academic Perspective

The last decade has seen a tremendous rise in object oriented and parametric modeling technology. The rapid rise has spiked interest in the academic world and the architectural, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. Several construction firms, realizing the potential for growth using this technology, have already started their own building information modeling divisions. The academic world has also realized the need to capture this technology to further aid and enrich the learning process and, at the same time, cater to the needs of the industry of producing quality students ready to take on this new challenge from the word “go.” To address these needs, several departments at Purdue University have come up with their own attributes, infrastructure, and characteristics of a program designed to make students aware of the potential of building information modeling (BIM) and provide them with the tools needed to incorporate this technology in their own areas of work. This study outlines the needs of the departments with respect to visualization and modeling software and shows how the different building information modeling software could address these issues. The paper reports on the considerations that were made in the phased integration of BIM into the academic curriculum by three different departments: Computer Graphics, Industrial Technology, and Civil Engineering, respectively. The paper also explores the methods used for implementation of BIM. Furthermore, it compares and evaluates the effectiveness of the three different approaches adopted, using feedback from the students. The study also considers the obstacles presented and the future of this technology in the academic world.