Building Information Modeling (BIM) plays a crucial role in achieving comprehensive lifecycle management of buildings. It significantly supports various aspects of construction engineering, including information integration, data exchange, and collaborative workflows. Despite its importance, there is currently no universally agreed-upon definition of BIM among professionals. Drawing from a review of multiple studies, this article summarizes the concept of BIM from both narrow and broad perspectives:
From a narrow perspective, BIM is defined primarily as a data model based on three-dimensional digital technology, which seamlessly integrates various related information within engineering projects. Additionally, BIM provides a digital representation of the physical facilities and their functional characteristics. This definition aligns with that of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States.
Broadly speaking, industry experts view building information modeling as a comprehensive set of interconnected technologies, methodologies, and standards. Together, these elements form a management philosophy that unifies data and design throughout the entire project lifecycle. Moreover, professionals emphasize that BIM cannot be separated from the combination of technology, processes, and standards—it is the product of their joint development.
The US National BIM Standard (NBIMS) further details BIM’s technical characteristics across 11 key aspects, including information accuracy, interactivity, lifecycle focus, geometric data storage, network-based implementation, and rich semantic features. Notably, the interactivity component refers to the computability of information, which must be achieved under fully open industry standards.
Among these standards, the International Foundation Classes (IFC) standard, developed by the International Alliance for Interoperability, stands out as the widely adopted and recognized industry standard for building information modeling in the construction sector.
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