A few weeks ago, I flew cross-country to attend a major software company’s press day. Events like these are all pretty similar: near-breathless and usually over-caffeinated product managers run through demos, all the while extolling the earth-shattering capabilities of products that will “change the way buildings are designed, built and maintained forever!!!!!” No doubt you’ve heard spiels like these dozens of times, and while there is usually lots of useful information presented, it’s also tempting to let your eyes glaze over and mentally write off these “presentations” as blatantly over-promotional.

This software company’s press day was a bit different. Until you actually see what can be done with Building Information Modeling (BIM), it’s really hard to appreciate how cool (and ultimately useful) it is. One demo-er showed how an energy modeling program is integrated into the BIM, and with a few simple clicks, users would be instantly told which LEED credits the building would meet, as well as the building’s total carbon emissions and energy use from cooling, heating, lighting, etc. Another demonstration showed how floor-to-ceiling glass would affect heat gain at every point in a circular room. Not only would this information affect how the room was laid-out in terms of furniture, but also designers could experiment with different window tinting options, and know the cooling load requirements for that space. These are just a few examples. You’ve probably seen and heard plenty of others.

Of course, no one thinks the industry is going to make an all-or-nothing jump to BIM any time soon. CAD is still king. For most facility executives, BIM is still one of those things that falls under the “if money were no object, and we had all the time in the world” category. The software is expensive, and the perception is that the learning curve would be long.

The National Institute of Building Sciences is working on a BIM standard that could help BIM become more mainstream. There’s certainly no rush – obviously, most software companies, like the one whose press day I attended, emphasize that they will continue to develop and support their 2D CAD applications. But for pure “Wow” factor, it’s hard to a beat a BIM!