Can BIM technology truly add value? This is a question many are eager to answer. With the growing adoption of BIM in construction projects, the answer has become clear.
Value Analysis of BIM in the Planning Stage
The planning stage marks the initial phase of any construction project, involving detailed design and comprehensive decision-making. By leveraging BIM technology, project owners gain a clear, intuitive understanding of complex building shapes and internal layouts. BIM allows for simulation and analysis of crucial factors such as energy consumption, ventilation, and lighting throughout the building. This helps stakeholders evaluate construction costs from a full lifecycle perspective, thereby maximizing the plan’s overall benefits.
Take the Wuhan Center project as an example—the tallest building in the central and western regions (see Figure 1). This project employed BIM technology for parametric design to determine the building’s shape and develop its curtain wall system. The process began by using BIM software to slice the model vertically by floor, generating contour lines for each level. The curtain wall was then divided using parameterized concepts, allowing adjustments to panel sizes during partitioning to optimize each curtain wall panel’s dimensions.
These adjusted panels were integrated back into the 3D model, creating complex spatial surface shapes. The model was finally imported into Autodesk Revit for detailed rendering. Beyond design, the Wuhan Center project also utilized BIM to analyze building performance before construction, including fire safety, energy efficiency, and sunlight exposure.
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