T h e A p p l i c a t i o n o f B I M i n V o l u m e t r i c C o n s t r u c t i o n
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various loading combinations. The reports are based on a variation of Enemetric’s own
conventional client report. Included in the reports, are conventional order files suitable for
the material supplier. Refined structural and architectural plane drawings are also output
in an AutoCAD format, as shown in Figure 5.a and 5.b; precise and detailed 3D model
are also constructed automatically in Sketchup, as shown in Figure 5.c and 5.d.
a) Building plan
b) Details in building plan
c) 3D model
d) Perspective view
e) Building on the exact location in Google map
Figure 5: Building plan and 3D model generated by the BIM
More than twenty practical modular buildings have been designed and estimated by the
BIM software, and demonstrates a high accuracy (98%) of cost estimation when
compared to conventional hand derived design procedures. The construction cost
estimation of the complete modular building includes the costs of the structural and
surface components, isolation materials, windows and doors, giving the designer a clear
idea of the total cost and investment margin of the building very early in the design
stage.
The lightweight steel structure is composed of a number of substructures in the modular
building, including the floor, roof, external and interior walls, which are required to be
prefabricated by CAM machine tools. One of the recently developed BIM functions
