BIM Demystified – An Architect’s Guide to BIM
Steve Race
RIBA Publishing, £19.95
When I first picked up this book I turned to the index to find the definition of IFC. As I understand it, Industry Foundation Classes refers to the interface through which different BIM software platforms talk to each other, facilitating cross-platform BIM communication among design teams. IFC’s omission from the index highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of this book. It is a good general introduction to BIM, covering first principles, the business case, setting up systems in the office, implementation and the legal framework of BIM in a collaborative context.
But it doesn’t cover the nitty gritty, which gives it a sense of academic abstraction. Issues such as the pros and cons of various systems, surely of interest to anyone about to spend significant capital on tech-up, are ignored. There is no reference to ‘AutoCad’, ‘ArchiCad’ or ‘Microstation’, let alone a comparative look at them. This is a good read for the novice, but for those seeking hard facts on things like software choice, perhaps too easy.