BIM wasn't invented yesterday, and it wasn't invented in a day... The history of BIM is the result of a series of innovations all over the world: in the United States, Central Europe and Japan. Discover the innovations, and the people behind them, that have led to the creation of Building Information Modeling.
An (ever) necessary reminder
Building Information Modeling is an integrated approach that involves the creation of an intelligent 3D model containing geometric information, as well as data relating to the building's physical and functional properties (components, materials, energy performance, costs, deadlines, maintenance, etc.).
The beginnings of BIM date back to the early days of computing, in the 1960s.
History of BIM: the beginning in 5 dates
1957: the FAO
In 1957, Patrick J. Hanratty designed the first commercial computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software, called Pronto.
1962: BIM theorized
In 1962, in his article "Increasing the Human Intellect", engineer Douglas Englebart imagines the architect of tomorrow, suggesting object-based design, parametric manipulation and relational databases.
1963: Sketchpad
In 1963, at MIT Lincoln Labs, Ivan Sutherland developed the "Sketchpad Program", the first computer-aided design (CAD).
1975: BDS
In 1975, Charles Eastman introduced theBuilding Description System (BDS), based on the principles of BIM as we know it today.
1977: GLIDE
In 1977, in the CMU Lab, Charles Eastman created GLIDE (Graphic Language for Interactive Design), which had most of the features of today's BIM platform.
In the 1960s and 1970s, there were few developments in the field of
Building CAD
- the first software programs were "calculation" oriented, but not very "design" oriented. The first CAD programs were mechanically oriented, for automotive or aeronautical design.
Fun fact not so irrelevant
The first car to be designed in CAD was the Renault 14, in 1976. Design time was cut by 2 years compared with manual design (CAD: 3 years, manual design: 5 years).
Image source: Wikipedia Commons
In the 1970s, the SOMEL system was virtually the world's first 2D structural steel CAD software.
1980s: development of BIM
In the early 1980s, several programs were developed in England and the United States. The one that changed the course of BIM was Gábor Bojár's development of Archicad in 1982. But another essential milestone was set by Diehl Graphsoft in 1985. He developed Vectorworks:
one of the first CAD programs,
one of the first 3D modeling software packages,
the first cross-platform CAD application.
In 1987, Tekla perfected its drawings and relational databases for the first version of the BIM system.
The 2000s, SketchUp and the evolution of BIM
In the 2000s, programs such as Revit and SketchUp (in 1999, to be precise) saw the light of day. They use a parametric modification engine made possible by object-oriented programming, all within a time-allocation platform.
This is what BIM software is all about: building a digital model that takes into account all the parameters of a project to facilitate collaboration between the various trades.
In 2004, collaborative working from a dynamic model became a reality in all BIM programs. In 2008, the development of the parametric model was supported by the use of laser scanners and reality capture.
At the same time, the development and implementation of common data environments (CDEs) such as Trimble Connect further facilitate collaboration between the various parties involved in a construction project.
