BIM Made Lean: KUBUS360's Game-Changing Process

LeanBIM, a term used by Stuttgart-based architectural firm KUBUS360, stands for the integration of BIM structures into a Vectorworks Architect template file and a workflow with minimal effort. Using an administrative building in the Hohenlohe district as an example, KUBUS360 impressively demonstrates how existing specification documents can be easily converted into BIM specifications with minimal resources and optimal output.

Architect Bianca Hirner and BIM coordinator Freddy Hartmann shared their firm's measures that support their leanBIM philosophy. These include influencing specifications, adapting working methods to BIM, utilizing visualizations for data review, maintaining a database for changes, and ensuring successful communication within the model.

The administrative building, comprising three structures, was designed to significantly shape the new urban development. All three buildings were planned using a wood-concrete hybrid construction method. The ground floor will feature a range of public uses, including multiple customer contact points and meeting spaces. The upper floors primarily house office spaces for approximately 630 workstations.

Due to these project requirements, the firm decided to bring the expertise of an overall BIM coordinator into the planning team. This made it possible to clarify early on:

●      How should the BIM project be implemented?

●      Which workflows are ideal for the firm?

●      How can the entire process be integrated into Vectorworks Architect?

This enabled KUBUS360 to significantly adapt the BIM structure for the project to their template file in Vectorworks Architect. When implementing this new structure, it was particularly important to the firm that BIM not be viewed as a primary project goal, but rather as an operational tool, keeping the effort as minimal as possible.

CLIENT INFLUENCE & BIM EXECUTION PLAN

Since the client also had limited experience with BIM, KUBUS360 decided to proactively influence and, to a certain extent, control the content of the Employer's Information Requirements" (EIR) even before the actual planning process. This allowed them to avoid implementing irrelevant content while ensuring that they could implement the requirements and content in Vectorworks Architect with minimal effort.

In coordination with the client and the overall BIM coordinator, a proposal for the EIR was prepared, ensuring that precisely these two conditions could be met. The BIM Execution Plan (BEP) was then created based on the EIR. To best define the workflows and project implementation for all parties involved, all BIM specialist coordinators were involved in a planning workshop.

Important: Although requirements were defined at the beginning of the project, they were not set in stone. Adjustments were able to be made to both documents throughout the project. Together with the BIM manager, overall coordinators, and specialist coordinators, KUBUS360 and its overall BIM coordinator (SIIN GmbH) set up the structures and developed various documents. The most important next step was attribution using the LOIN (Level of Information Need), a type of attribution matrix. Here, each component is defined as an IFC entity, and the properties and the time when these properties were to be incorporated into the model were determined.

The entire process must be stored in Vectorworks Architect in a way that creates an IFC model that is compliant with the LOIN. KUBUS360 traditionally relied on native plug-ins, such as floors, ceilings, walls, and stairs, which account for approximately 95% of the subsequent work. However, this approach sometimes reaches its limits. If more detailed drawings and more data are required, Vectorworks Architect offers an ideal solution: modeling by classes. KUBUS360 calls this a class-based assignment. This means that components are no longer defined by the plug-ins they are drawn with, but by the classes they are based on.

Using the LOIN, KUBUS360 defined which properties the components would receive. This was then transferred one-to-one to the master classes. These later have their databases that reference the LOIN. Modeling classes, in turn, draw their data from the master classes. The modeling classes later evolved into what were once drawing classes. This has the advantage that less remodeling is required. All modeling classes have the correct properties, which are then correctly exported to the IFC model. In Vectorworks Architect, there is always both a Vectorworks dataset and an IFC dataset, which are linked to their own databases.

CLASS-BASED ASSIGNMENT & DATA VISUALIZATION

The significant advantage of class-based assignments is that, later on, custom components can be created from solid bodies or auto-hybrid objects, using symbols and all other means.

Existing components can be repurposed. For example, KUBUS360 uses roof surfaces for its parapets. In Vectorworks Architect, this is immediately exported in the IFC model with the correct cost group and the correct IFC identity. This process works because the component (here, the roof surface) was not defined as a roof via the plug-in, but rather lies on a parapet class. When custom databases are described from the LOIN, the model functions as a single source of truth, which is implicitly anchored in the BIM philosophy and refers to a universally valid and reliable data set.

In the case of KUBUS360, it was defined so that only its databases contain the correct information. The Vectorworks Data Manager enables this mapping, which maps the properties from the plug-ins to a dedicated database. For example, in a fire resistance class, the data is mapped to a central database, from which it is later read, whether for visualization, the table, or, very importantly, the IFC model. By defining dedicated databases, KUBUS360 can achieve a certain level of leanness—their leanBIM approach.

Most elements (stairs, railings, structural elements, doors, etc.) can be easily implemented using the native plugins. Non-standard elements, such as the special façade that contained a custom curved pilaster, could be handled differently. However, since the components are not defined by their plug-ins, no post-and-beam façade or similar is necessary. Instead, the elements can be freely modeled using solid modeling techniques, then transformed into auto-hybrid objects.

It was determined that all data should always flow through a single source. In this case, a database is used to define the fire resistance class. This allows all components to be displayed simultaneously, from which the fire protection can be read. This way, you can see at a glance whether the relationships are correct without any special configuration. Advantageously, your components can be fed data, just like native plug-ins.

Polygonal components in the project create a large number of angles. To ensure that drawings are completed correctly, KUBUS360 has developed a data visualization tool called the "Angle Checker." Using the angle checker, you can see at a glance which walls have been drawn correctly and which have not. The entire database field is then marked either "true" or "false" in the Data Manager. This demonstrates how easy programming is in Vectorworks–all in real-time. "We're really happy with this tool," says Freddy Hartmann.

SUCCESSFUL TEAM COMMUNICATION WITH VECTORWORKS

Within a year, the KUBUS360 team has experienced significant growth. Every planning discussion now requires a well-established system, and this is what it looks like:

This process is closely based on the BCF Manager from the IFC model, and it also takes place within Vectorworks Architect. The revision cloud is located in a specific class. This class links it to a database and a dataset, making it easy to create issues. Here, the fields Category, Priority, Responsible, Date Created, Plan Note, Index, and Description can be managed.

KUBUS360 brings a table that lists all revision clouds and issues to planning meetings. If the revision cloud is set up properly, it allows the teams to quickly and easily jump back and forth between different issues during the meeting.

The KUBUS360 example demonstrates the value of familiarizing yourself with the data manager. The team were able to create truly smart tools and checks using the simplest tools, without having to delve too deeply into the subject matter.

LEANBIM IN ACTION: INSIGHTS FROM KUBUS360’S TEAM

What is the role of the overall BIM coordinator in the project, and what is their responsibility?

Bianca Hirner: Our project is structured as follows: There is a BIM manager, who is part of the project management team, and an overall external BIM coordinator who acts as a subcontractor for us, the building planners. Mr. Hartmann is our internal BIM coordinator. Typically, the client collaborates with the BIM manager to create the project specifications. In this specific case, the idea was for us to be proactive and develop the BIM Execution Plan (BEP) directly in the proposal for the Employer's Information Requirements" (EIR). This structure allowed us to proactively shape the project specifications to match our workflows and keep our BIM process lean.

How much effort was involved in entering BIM objects into your specification documents and programming the assignments in the data manager?

Freddy Hartmann: Actually, it was limited because we followed our lean BIM philosophy. We primarily aimed to incorporate only the information that would be evaluated later into the model. The process wasn't complex, as the LOIN had already specified all the data fields and databases for us.

How many databases are there within your Vectorworks documents, into which you map all the data according to the single source of truth, and then write it into the IFC model? What other advantages have resulted from this?

Freddy Hartmann: We only have four databases:

• A general database that stores which IFC reference is considered the type ID.
• A component database that applies to almost all components.
• A database for windows and doors, because they contain a relatively large number of data sets.
• A database that acts as a placeholder. Building services topics are incorporated here to provide the client with a meaningful CAFM (Computer-Added Facility Management) model.

Thanks to the small number of databases, we know relatively quickly where the data is being entered. The entire planning process is straightforward to manage, thanks to the use of tables and data visualizations.

ABOUT KUBUS360

KUBUS360 is an architectural firm based in Stuttgart. The "360" in its name stands for a holistic, 360-degree perspective in the planning, development, and management of projects. Their focus is not only on planning, but also on project management and sustainable, transparent consulting. To this end, they draw on a large pool of expertise, including not only architects but also engineers, project managers, and business economists. Their project focus is primarily on sports and school buildings, as well as administrative, residential, and commercial buildings.