Photo by SHUJA ZED on Unsplash
On December 1st of 2017, the Development Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong published the Technical Circular (Works) No. 7/2017 about the “Adoption of Building Information Modelling for Capital Works Projects in Hong Kong”. The circular was meant to take effect January the 1st 2018. The Development Bureau states that the Capital works projects with budget estimates more than $30 Million shall use BIM technology. Have a look here.
In simpler words what it means is that any company that aims to design and develop almost any kind of architecture project will have to do it using BIM. Following the steps of many other countries in the region such as Singapore or Japan where the use of this technology has been mandatory for a wide range of projects, Hong Kong finally is moving forward.
Recently Hong Kong has announced a fund to support the implementation of BIM technologies for professionals of the AEC industry in the region. This is very important since it will help all those companies and professionals to face the change. Implementation of BIM requires some investment in Software of course but also training and collaboration in some cases.
Small companies are most likely to learn the process faster and adapt easily to changes such as the adoption of new technologies and to change their working structures and methods. Big companies with larger teams have to make a bigger effort to change the way teams work together and the tools they use. The fund will support companies in this sense to invest in new software but also in training their team members to make the change to a new working set up.
From our company we have been cooperating with the CIC HK and also with the Building Department and Housing Authority assisting and advising them in how the use of BIM will benefit the control and authorisation process of the projects that will have to obtain their approval in Hong Kong.
Download here BIM Standards by the CIC HK
Building Information Modelling and Geographic Information System by Housing Authority
Believe it or not, this is the best for the industry, architecture and our planet. The use of BIM requires more precision, control and reliable processes for designing and building projects. I have never been proud of being part of an industry in which the margin of error, over-costs and delays in projects is huge compared to other industries. Being an architect and making good design doesn’t mean we have to be messy and imprecise.
More control in a project means also the possibility of making it more efficient not only from the financial point of view but also from the energetic point of view. And nowadays we need more than ever to be able to understand how our buildings behave from the sustainable point of view.
I encourage all my architecture colleagues but also engineers, contractors and consultants to embrace the improvements that technology is offering to our industry. Also encourage our clients, developers and responsible for building our cities to use a better process to build better and more efficiently.
At enzyme, we design our own projects but as you know we also help with the BIM implementation process and training professionals to use this technology. We are more than happy to collaborate and share the knowledge.
All major changes need from us to put a bit of extra energy in adapt and master the new technologies. We have been doing it during all our history, this is another small step toward a better society.
