True. They say BIM is the solution for the problem. Is it?
Humm ā¦ youāve touched on a bit of a sore point with me there JQL.
To answer your rhetorical question. No, BIM is most definitely is not the solution to the problem. If anything, itās generating its own crop of issues ā¦
[rant mode off] 
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Weāre completely in the same page. Even on the BIM question. The more complex the tools involved and the less intuitive the processes required to achieve what we want, the less effective we are at the main job we have: create, communicate and manage.
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Regarding BIM, specifically an Autodesk āsolutionā - I was setting up for a presentation of how I use SketchUp in my workflow. An engineer that I know had done a presentation just before me and as I was getting hooked into the projector he commented to the folks in the room that he viewed āSketchUp is just a toyā¦ā
This of course required a response, and I responded with my usual:
āActually, its a pencil with some additional features built inā¦ design is part of the process, the goal being to design good buildings - in my view it doesnāt matter to me if I know instantly how many feet of drywall I need if the overall design is garbage to begin with.ā
This devolved into a discussion of the merits of BIM (and certainly information management and communication is a big part of a designerās job) - and then into how the tools we use shape our work. The engineer took offense at some of my commentary, and I argued that Iād rather have a pencil, even if its a ādumb oneā - than hiring an IT staff to make sure I can draw every foot of drain pipe in a model, and make sure that it magically translates into representations that the public, code officials, owners etc. understand.
The conversation ended up going nowhere, I severed a previous workable relationship with an associate (havenāt seen work from him sinceā¦) - but I did learn that some folks get really caught up in the tools they use more so than the buildings they help create.
But Iād take a sharp the pencil and a good designer, who is an efficient draughtsman over all the bells and whistles of BIM any day. SketchUp works like that for meā¦
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Arsh story! Could have happened to me.
Did I miss something? What is BIM?
The best is to simply forget you asked! 
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You are assuming that I am the only person on the SU Forum that isnāt in the architectural trades. I did find out that itās Building Information Modeling. In other words and integrated information system for construction that follows those in other industries.
Sorry but you are the one assuming that. I actually assumed you were the only architect that didnāt know about BIM.
BIM is a topic that leads to great discussions among us architects and AEC people in general. Thatās why I was advicing you to forget about it. It was probably a bad joke.
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Yes bmike, rather than just severing workable relationships, by expressing my opinion regarding the merits of the Autodesk āsolutionā I ended up having to leave an employer. Itās strange, but nobody seemed to appreciate me likening the product to the āEmperors New Clothesā.
However, going back to self employment means that my blood pressure is lower, and Iām free to choose the appropriate tool (software) for the job at hand.
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Iāve always taken the BIM acronym to stand for Building Information Management, but personally I wouldnāt get too excited about the semantics.
However, what some of the contributors, myself included, are āgetting excited aboutā is that with a lot of software the BIM functionality is pushed to the fore, rather than following on from, or flowing along side good design, and in the case of the Autodesk āsolutionā, populating the BIM database is fundamental to the functionality of the product, and the BIM tail ends up shaking the dog so hard that the dog falls over ā¦ but thatās just my opinion.
Therefore, Iāll apologise if any of my comments have side-tracked the thread, but it is unusual to find a forum (sic) where I can find individuals whoās opinion of BIM mirrors my own
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Absolutley! spend time with SketchUp and you find yourself producing what no one else can come near to.
An experienced Archicad user was blown away on seeing some
concept design work I had produced in SketchUp/Layout recently,
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There should be new acronym: DBBIM, standing out for, Design Before BIM
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I like it.
Think Before BIM! could be another.
ABIMD >> After BIM Dies
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Donāt let Friends Design while BIMd
BIM me up another project Scotty!
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John, the other advantage of being your own boss is you able to choose the clients you work withā¦
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Thanks gsharp, thatās a very interesting point ā¦ especially as Iāve reached something of a professional ācrossroadsā, and Iām currently weighing up the prosā and consā of the paths that lie ahead ā¦ humm ā¦