NOVEMBER 2023CONSTRUCTIONTECHREVIEW.COM8IN MYOPINIONBy Syidah Arnold CQS MAIQS MRICS, Director, Rider Levett Bucknall5D BIM TRANSITIONING CONSTRUCTION DESIGNSThe future of 5D building information modelling (BIM) has been a long time coming. Way back in 1962, engineer and internet pioneer, Doug Engelbart, painted a clear picture. The architect of the future, Engelbart wrote: would begin each project by entering a series of specifi-cations and data ­ a six-inch slab floor, twelve-inch concrete walls eight feet high within the excava-tion, and so on. As the architect works, the revised scene appears on the screen, and the structure is taking shape. He examines it, adjusts it and these lists grow into an ever more-detailed, interlinked structure, representing the maturing thought be-hind the actual design.Engelbart's work sparked the invention of the mouse, the development of hypertext and networked computers. But his vision for a computer program that could spit out a fully-costed design remained elusive in his lifetime.The evolution of BIM has been more fits and starts than leaps and bounds. Designs moved from drawing boards to two-dimensional CAD in the late 1950s. 3D BIM arrived in the 1990s, and by the year 2000 the revolutionary Revit added the time dimension in 2000 to give us access to 4D and 5D ­ with financial costs ­ became the next natural step.Slow to EvolveBut construction remains among the least disrupted sectors. Despite the talk of digital twins, the next evolution of BIM, based on one recent report tracking technology uptake, is 37% of Australian construction companies already adopting BIM.When I started my career as a quantity surveyor, I came to the profession with an unusual perspective. I'd spent four years studying architecture and a few years drafting, and I could see the gaping chasm between the two disciplines.Syidah Arnold
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