Integration of structural designers’ workflows into BIM

BIM has revolutionized architectural design workflows. In this process, the work of structural engineers relies on the work of many other disciplines, and their decisions are input data for them. However, these data are not always provided in a structured form. Live load and composite load values are typically such data, that may frequently change during the design process. This research explores BIM-based tools for interdisciplinary collaboration between architectural and structural disciplines, with a focus on managing design changes and ensuring that load data is available as early as possible in the design process. In this article, automatic load definition possibilities were explored and adapted to the BIM methodology by using Archicad, Revit, and Allplan. The software options and their logic differ greatly, therefore the proposed methodology can be applied most seamlessly in Archicad. It was demonstrated that by linking the composite structure database to the model, the loads from the built-in materials and the room functions can be generated and updated semi-automatically in response to design changes. •Methods for implementing structural data into the architectural model were examined.•An Excel-based method was developed and tested in Archicad, Allplan, and Revit.•The automatic creation of structural models is possible in the examined tools.•The Excel-based automatic load creation can only be performed in Archicad.•In Revit/Allplan, additional tools must be applied for structural data integration.