BIM for 4IR: The Challenges in Malaysian Architecture Practice From a Designer's Perspective

Introduction

Following six centuries of illustration passing on lines and content on paper, computers were first received as a guide for automating some forms of design development in the Computer-Aided Design Process (CAD) system that generates digital lines (Tessema, 2019). As CAD frameworks became increasingly intelligent and more clients needed information related to a design, the technology moved from drawings and 3D pictures to the information alone. The wide-scale acceptance of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is at the core of this architectural shift. Over the last 15 years, both technologies have co-existed. BIM is software by which a computerised portrayal of a building's physical and functional qualities is created and shared by professionals to be efficient and sustainable (Briscoe, 2017). Based on Tessema and Briscoe's findings, BIM technology is gradually replacing CAD.

BIM is an acronym coined at the beginning of 2002 to describe the virtual design, construction, and management of facilities. The use of information modelling in the design process is not a new development in terms of technology. Building information modelling is a data-driven digital representation of the functional and physical characteristics of a building at every stage of its life cycle, from the time it is first conceived to the time it is demolished. BIM is an association of different consultants at different stages of the building course to analyse, embed, derive, amend, or adjust building data in the BIM directory to support and reflect the responsibility of that consultant (Tessema, 2019). The author also states that database advancements administer excellent freedom to explore design information because it can hold a significant amount of data associated with design. BIM transforms a design model consisting of three-dimensional building geometry and non-graphic properties into a parametric building model. The term “parametric” refers to the information within the model that differentiates one component from another that is comparable. With the help of BIM technology, a precise digital model of a building's structure can be developed. When it is finished, the computer-generated model contains the precise geometry of the structure and other important information that should assist in the development, manufacturing, and acquisition activities expected to understand the structure.

The model's components are so intelligent that they “know” what role they are supposed to play in the model. For example, suppose a wall is modelled as a particular object in the model. In that case, that object will have all the parameters representing the real-world physical characteristics of a wall (material, texture, colour, thickness, size, and others). The BIM processes revolve around these types of virtual models, making sharing of information possible throughout the entire history of the building. BIM technologies are causing a revolution in the practice of architecture and the construction of buildings, and they will significantly impact the architectural industry. BIM has the potential to be revolutionary in the way that it alters the way people think about architecture by displacing drawings with another device for representing design and for assisting communication with correspondence on a facility (Tessema, 2019). Architects and other professionals can now collaborate on the same models and add various information bases and design elements to the task depending on the scope of the venture.