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The Virtual Builders Roundtable is an alliance of designers, engineers, fabricators, and builders active in the development of virtual building processes and technologies. Our mission is to educate building owners about the advantages of this new approach to real estate development. With virtual building, the entire development cycle is based a single building model, begun early in the development process and growing throughout the lifecycle of the building. This model generates the drawings needed for public approvals and initial calculation of pro-formas and extends to more accurate prediction of operating expenses, thereby reducing risk throughout the entire development cycle.

Why is this needed? The building industry—design, construction, and operations—is highly fragmented. Buildings are not built by tightly integrated companies but by temporary, project-based organizations of many small firms. Communication and the exchange of data between these firms is critical to the success of any project. Failures of communication lead to cost overruns, delays, quality lapses and disputes. Information technology has been applied in piecemeal fashion to individual tasks but not to the entire process. As a result, communication has actually gotten worse because each player in the value chain uses mutually incompatible tools that don’t readily exchange information with each other.

For example, an architect uses computer-aided design (CAD) to produce drawings, which are then printed on paper and given to a contractor for estimating and scheduling. The floor area of a building, which the architect’s program can easily calculate, will now be recalculated by an estimator simply because the CAD program couldn’t exchange data with the estimating program. Similarly, contractors’ project management software cannot exchange data with tools for energy analysis or facility management, so additional time and effort is needlessly spent in reentering data into new systems. As each handoff of information is made, the opportunity for error and delay is significant. It has been estimated that this process inefficiency inflates the cost of buildings by a staggering 25%.

Enovia - Product Lifecycle Management system built around a shared 3D model. The building industry could benefit from similar systems if coupled with process reform.

Building owners would be much better served if the entire chain of information from design and construction to operations, maintenance, and disposition could remain in one seamless digital format, accessible over the Internet. This is the core idea behind the virtual building model. Modeling and simulation technology for product life-cycle integration and management is already well advanced in manufacturing, shipbuilding and process-plant engineering, but it is still in its infancy in the commercial building industry. The advantages are many:

3D and 4D (3D + time) models enable much greater predictability and control over energy use, building performance, maintenance and repair costs and other building lifecycle issues. The virtual building model which begins in the feasibility stage becomes the platform for Web-enabled real estate management after completion. The advantages of virtual building can be applied to managing existing facilities as well, through the use of “as-built” models. Some large owners, such the Coast Guard's Shore Facility Capital Asset Management group, are already using 3D digital models to integrate all facility planning, investing, operating and divesting decisions.

The tools for implementing a virtual building process are available today, but it is up to the corporate and institutional building owners to demand it from their service providers. Early adopters of this process will gain a distinct competitive advantage and will have the opportunity to shape emerging standards and influence the direction of the real estate industry for years to come.

We would like the opportunity to present in person a more detailed case for virtual building to your organization.

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