What Is BIM Content?

What is BIM Content?

Building Information Modelling (BIM) content has played a key part in revolutionising the Architectural, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, helping to transform traditional project design and delivery methodologies into more efficient, collaborative, and data-driven processes. The availability and utilisation of BIM content not only empowers design and construction professionals to design, document, visualise and coordinate projects with greater accuracy and efficiency, but also enhances decision-making and project management.

BIM content refers to the digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of building components, systems, and products within a BIM environment. These digital assets are more than just 3D models; they are information-rich objects that contain vital data about a product’s properties, performance, and specifications. For manufacturers and designers alike, the concept of BIM content as a form of data exchange is not just a technological advancement; it represents an important shift  in delivering more integrated, sustainable, and cost-effective project workflows.

Components of BIM Content

BIM content comprises several crucial elements that work together to provide a comprehensive digital representation of building products:

• Geometry
  The visual representation of the product, accurately depicting its geometry and physical characteristics. These assets, often in the form of 3D models, allow designers to visualise how the product will fit and function within the overall project design. The level of detail (LOD) in BIM content can vary depending on the project stage, context of the element in the project environment, and project delivery requirements. It’s important to note that while a certain level of visual accuracy may be necessary for particular building elements, excessive detail in BIM content can actually be counterproductive and make it unsuitable to use in a project model. It’s also important to note that BIM content can come in form of various asset types. For example, BIM content for building products like paints, coatings and surface treatments would more likely be in the form of what’s known as ‘Materials’ rather than 3D models. Materials-based BIM content allows the product to be seen in the model where it has an aesthetic impact on the model, and accounted for in quantity take-offs and procurement, despite not having a 3D geometric impact. The term BIM content can also extend to assets like 2D construction details that assist with detailing and documenting highly intricate elements in the building design like floor covings, window treatments, joints and junctions. Documenting parts of the building like these with a high degree of accuracy is critical, however they are not usually modelled in 3D, so the BIM content used in the design process for these parts of the building are most commonly 2D drawings or ‘typical details’ included in another section of the project dataset.
• Product Data
  BIM content may include various forms of data such as information about the product’s materials, specification, performance characteristics, and maintenance requirements. This data is crucial for accurate project coordination, planning, costing, and lifecycle management. The inclusion of this data allows for more precise budgeting and resource allocation throughout the project lifecycle.
• Metadata
  Classification information and manufacturer details are embedded within the BIM content. This metadata helps in organising and searching for specific products within the BIM environment, enhancing workflow efficiency. Properly structured metadata is essential for ensuring that product data is accessible within the BIM environment and can be easily found and integrated into projects by designers, engineers and other project stakeholders.

Types of BIM Content

BIM content comes in various formats to accommodate different software platforms, building product categories and project requirements:

• Manufacturer-specific content
  These are digital representations of real-world, procurable products from specific manufacturers, containing precise data and specifications. Manufacturer-specific BIM content is crucial when project designers and other stakeholders are seeking maximum certainty and accuracy in their specification, project coordination, constructability and procurement processes.
• Generic BIM Content
  These are objects or other forms of BIM content that represents general building elements rather than being based on a specific supplier or product. These are sometimes used as placeholders before a specific product has been selected. Because generic BIM content is usually very lightweight in both its geometry and embedded data, generic objects are especially suited to early project design phases as they provide the flexibility to make decisions later without compromising the integrity and performance of the model as broader changes are made.

Why is BIM Content Important?

The value of BIM content lies in the way it drives efficiency, collaboration, and accuracy when delivering building projects. Here are a few reasons why BIM content is so important as part of modern design and construction projects:

• Enhanced Collaboration
  BIM content brings all stakeholders—from designers and engineers to contractors and facility managers—onto the same page. Everyone has access to a shared model with detailed, up-to-date information, reducing misunderstandings and coordination errors.
• Greater Precision
  Since BIM content contains accurate data, the likelihood of miscalculations and design flaws decreases. This is especially the case when utilising manufacturer-specific BIM content, given the data is based on an actual product that can be procured and the manufacturer themselves is the origin of the data. Designers can make informed decisions based on the actual properties of the components, and the digital representation aligns closely with the final construction.
• Lifecycle Management
  BIM content doesn’t just help with designing a building; it provides value when managing the built asset over its entire lifecycle. The data embedded in BIM content can be utilised to optimise processes associated with maintenance, future renovations, and even demolition, making these processes far more sustainable and financially economic.

BIM Content Formats

BIM content is available in various software-specific formats to ensure compatibility across different platforms:

• Revit families
  Specifically designed for use in Autodesk Revit, these are the most widely used BIM objects due to Revit’s popularity in the AEC industry. Revit is the most widely used design & documentation software by Architects and Engineers in most parts of the world. Therefore, supporting and maintaining a strong Revit content library is vital if you’re a building product manufacturer or supplier looking to have your products specified by the lion’s share of Architects and Engineers.
• Archicad objects
  Tailored for use in Graphisoft Archicad, another popular BIM software platform. BIM content in the Archicad format caters to a significant portion of the market that prefers to use Archicad for their BIM project workflows. Generally speaking, Archicad is mostly used by Architects, and far less so by Engineers. In certain markets, Archicad is more commonly used in the Residential project typology, whereas Revit is far more commonly used in Commercial projects.
• Other software-specific formats
  BIM content for platforms like Bentley Systems and Vectorworks, ensuring compatibility across a range of BIM tools. This diversity in formats is crucial for reaching the widest possible audience of AEC professionals.
• IFC / Open format BIM content 
  IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is an open, standardized file format used in BIM to enable data exchange across different software tools. It allows models and building data to be shared between various stakeholders, ensuring compatibility and collaboration throughout a project’s lifecycle.

The Importance of BIM Content for Manufacturers

Providing high-quality BIM content is no longer a ‘nice to have’ or seen as being overly ‘innovative’ – it has become an expectation among design professionals and an important component of staying relevant in a fast-evolving construction industry. With the rise of digital design workflows, providing BIM content allows manufacturers to engage more efficiently and effectively with architects, engineers, and contractors right from the initial stages of a project. This not only increases product visibility but also makes the manufacturer’s product offerings an essential part of the digital toolkit used by designers in producing their project deliverables.

For manufacturers, BIM content offers several strategic advantages:

• Increased product visibility and specification
  By providing BIM content for their products, manufacturers significantly increase their chances of being specified in projects. Designers are more likely to choose products that are readily available in their BIM software as it helps them do their job more efficiently and deliver their projects with greater confidence. Making BIM content available also provides manufacturers the ability to utilise various forms of specifier engagement and marketing opportunities, such as hosting their BIM content on the BIMcontent.com platform which is utilised by project designers as a free resource for project design assets.
• Improved communication with designers and contractors
  BIM content facilitates better communication between manufacturers and AEC professionals, ensuring accurate product representation and application. In the absence of manufacturer-specific BIM content, designers are often tasked with interpreting other forms of data provided by manufacturers such as PDF spec sheets, photos and 2D drawings, and recreating them as BIM content for their projects. This can be both inefficient and problematic. The improved communication facilitated by BIM content that comes from the actual product manufacturer can lead to fewer errors and misunderstandings throughout the project lifecycle.
• Competitive advantage in the market
  As utilisation of BIM workflows continues to grow, manufacturers who offer comprehensive, high-quality BIM content gain a significant edge over competitors who don’t. BIM content is not an optional component for manufacturers seeking to be seen as a preferred supplier. It is an essential tool for competing for your customers attention.
• Strengthening brand presence in digital workflows
  BIM content does more than increase product visibility; it embeds the brand into the digital workflows of AEC professionals. Manufacturers that provide data-rich, accurate BIM content are positioning their products as integral components of the design and construction process. This results in better brand recall and a strengthened presence throughout the project design and delivery process, effectively embedding their products in the minds of designers, contractors, and clients.

Benefits of BIM Content for Designers

Designers working with high-quality BIM content gain substantial benefits that go beyond efficiency gains. The availability of accurate, manufacturer-specific BIM models enhances both the design process and the overall project quality. It provides designers with the tools they need to make more informed decisions, ultimately leading to better-designed buildings that are aligned with the client’s vision and technical requirements.

Designers benefit significantly from high-quality BIM content in the following ways:

• Enhanced design accuracy and efficiency
  Pre-built BIM content allows designers to work more efficiently, reducing the time spent on modelling and data input. This efficiency gain is particularly valuable in the early stages of design when rapid iteration is crucial. For products that are highly customisable or include a large range of variations, having access to BIM content that is parametric and incorporates various rules and constraints helps them select, configure and place the elements with greater efficiency and certainty.
• Improved collaboration and coordination
  The data-rich nature of BIM content facilitates better coordination between architectural, structural, and MEP disciplines. This improved collaboration helps identify potential coordination issues like ‘clashes’ between discipline-specific design models, reduce costly reworks and promotes a more streamlined project execution.
• Access to up-to-date product information
  BIM content provides designers with reliable, manufacturer-verified information, reducing the need for time-consuming research and ensuring accuracy in specifications.

Creating High-Quality BIM Content

Developing high-quality, fit-for-purpose BIM content requires various forms of technical expertise and an understanding of evolving best practices. This includes optimising BIM content performance in a project model environment, creating appropriate geometry and materiality assets, generating appropriate parametric flexibility, and incorporating suitable levels of detail for varied project model usage. Perhaps the most important thing for manufacturers to understand about BIM content is that quality matters.

For ANY of the strategic and commercial benefits mentioned above to apply, the standard of BIM content needs to be high-quality and built to benefit designers. On the opposite end of the spectrum, BIM content that hasn’t been built in line with best practices and knowledge of the specific software it will be interfacing with can cause significant issues and be detrimental to project delivery processes.

Expert BIM content creators, like IGS Group, combine deep industry knowledge with technical expertise to create content that meets the needs of both manufacturers and designers. Creating BIM content is difficult & more complex than might be expected.

BIM content is inherently complex, and shouldn’t be thought of as simply ‘another form of CAD’ or 3D model where the primary focus is to simply draw or model the geometry with the highest possible degree of accuracy. Whilst the most commonly depicted form of BIM content is 3D objects, their behaviours within a project environment, their ability to generate the required project deliverables and the way they interface with the given software is actually what defines good from bad BIM content. It’s another misconception that anyone with an Industrial Design or Drafting background can quickly translate those same skills into building BIM content such as Revit families.

Managing BIM Content

Effective management of a manufacturer-based BIM content library is crucial for its successful implementation and ongoing engagement. Platforms like BIMcontent.com offer a growing collection of high-quality, curated BIM content, making it easier for designers to find and use manufacturer-specific objects at no cost. Platforms like BIMcontent.com serve as a centralised, trusted resource, streamlining the discovery process for A&D professionals seeking high-quality BIM content to use in their project designs.

Proper organisation of BIM content libraries is essential for efficient workflows and easy access to required information. For example, programs like Revit are updated annually and Revit files are version-specific, meaning Revit families can potentially be provided in various versions to maximise compatibility. BIM content can also be made accessible in various download options such as individual files, as product-based ‘collections’, or even in what’s known as ‘Virtual Showrooms’. These ‘Virtual Showrooms’, as seen on the BIMcontent.com platform, are sometimes also known as ‘Container Files’. They include BIM content for a given range of products in a project environment that allows designers to efficiently download, browse and test the content. They also provide an opportunity for manufacturers to display their BIM content in a contextualised project setting, such as applying the content to elements like walls or floors where appropriate, or setting up specific design configurations.

BIM content should be easily accessible and user-friendly, allowing designers to quickly incorporate it into their projects. Designers want purpose-built, quality-controlled BIM content. Accessibility and compatibility of BIM content is also vitally important.

Summary

BIM content has become an important part of modern design and construction, offering benefits to manufacturers, designers, and the entire AEC industry. As the demand for high-quality, accurate, and fit-for-purpose BIM content continues to grow among designers, it’s vital manufacturers have a technically and commercially sound BIM content strategy.

For manufacturers, investing in high-quality BIM content is vital to generating project specifications and sales. It’s a strategic necessity to remain competitive and relevant in an increasingly digital industry. For designers, leveraging expert-created BIM content is key to enhancing efficiency, accuracy, and creativity in their projects.

We invite manufacturers to explore how IGS Group’s BIM content creation services can enhance their digital presence and increase product specifications.

For designers and BIM managers, we encourage you to visit BIMcontent.com to discover the extensive library of free, high-quality, manufacturer-specific BIM content. Experience first-hand how accessing this fast-growing library of BIM content can streamline your design process and enhance project outcomes.