The Government of Catalonia and the Barcelona City Council will implement BIM (Building Information Modeling) technology in 2018 for new public construction projects costing more than 2 million euros. The agreement was announced last Friday at the closing ceremony of the first European summit on these technological tools—which can reduce construction costs by 20% and ensure that project deadlines are met—an event organized by the Barcelona Association of Quantity Surveyors (CAATEEB) and the BIM Academy.
The Generalitat and the City Council will create a working group comprising all stakeholders in the building lifecycle to reach a consensus in 2017 on the standards and protocols for information sharing. Experts note that these collaborative tools can reduce building maintenance costs over their lifetime by up to 33%, lower overall risks by 40%, and improve the overall quality of projects by more than 50%.
According to María Rosa Remolà, president of the Barcelona Association of Quantity Surveyors (CAATEEB), «the construction sector must move beyond traditional methods and embrace collaborative projects and continuous improvement to become more efficient in our daily work.» «We must move toward the industrialization of construction,» Remolà stated at the closing ceremony.
Ignasi Pérez Arnal, director of BIM Academy, emphasized that «the integration of BIM systems into the building cycle will radically change work systems and methodologies,» noting that they are essential for «the practice of the profession both within and outside the country.» At the closing ceremony of the conference, which took place last week, Pérez Arnal announced that the next edition of the conference will be held in February 2016.
For his part, Xavier Torras, Corporate Brand Communication Director at Roca, highlighted that the event provided an opportunity to examine «the current state of BIM implementation in Europe» through presentations by high-level speakers, as well as examples of its use in pioneering projects such as the new Abu Dhabi airport and the new Crossrail line of the London Underground. Torras reaffirmed the company’s strategic commitment to this new collaborative work model, which has been realized through the adaptation of its product catalog and its sponsorship of this conference.
The two-day summit brought together more than 400 experts from the European and international construction sector at the World Trade Center Barcelona Auditorium. With this event, Barcelona’s construction sector joins the ranks of the Smart City Expo, Mobile World Congress, and Beyond Building Barcelona, Construmat’s new trade show.
A New Approach to the Construction Cycle
Building Information Modeling (BIM) represents a new approach to the construction lifecycle processes, as it encompasses project design and planning, analysis and documentation, construction, and subsequent management related to architecture, engineering, and management.
In January 2014, the European Parliament voted in favor of modernizing public procurement and tendering regulations, recommending the use of electronic tools such as BIM for projects and open design competitions.
