Why we work in full BIM

Clients ask, early on, whether we work in BIM. The short answer is yes: every project, at every scale, is modelled in ArchiCAD. The longer answer is what that changes for the person paying for the building.

BIM is not a pretty 3D drawing

BIM (Building Information Modelling) is not a rendering laid over a 2D set. It is a model in which each element — wall, window, beam, duct — carries data: material, size, thermal performance, an identifier, a manufacturer.

Change a wall in the model and the plan, section, elevation, quantity schedule and cost estimate update together. In classic 2D CAD the same change means redrawing several sheets by hand.

What the client gains

The drawings come from one model, so a dimension on the furniture plan cannot drift from the section. Quantity schedules are exported from the model: areas of board, number of doors, lengths of pipe. Contractors price from the same figures.

A change halfway through — moving a wall, swapping a heating system — is made in the model. The sheets regenerate. The time spent redrawing falls.

Why not every office does this

Full BIM asks for licences, training and a shared filing discipline. Many small offices stay in 2D because that step is heavy before it pays back. We made it in 2020. Since then every project, from an institutional building to the 130,000 m² mixed-use on Barbu Văcărescu, is in ArchiCAD.

Questions worth asking

“Do you work in BIM?” A useful answer is yes or no. “We also do 3D renderings” or “it depends” usually means 2D.

“Can I have the ArchiCAD or Revit model at the end?” A BIM office says yes. The model stays with you, for later alterations, operation or a sale.

“How do you handle changes?” The useful answer is: we change the model and the drawings regenerate.

For the client, full BIM means fewer surprises on site, tighter contractor prices and a digital record of the building. At ARTATELIERS it is principle 02: full BIM, not only when someone asks for it.