Prague (2 March) – The worldwide industry body driving the digital transformation of the building industry through the application of open Building Information Modelling (BIM) standards in the entire lifecycle of buildings and infrastructure, is coming to the Czech Republic. This makes Czechia one of more than 20 countries where buildingSMART operates. The chapter was established by the Czech BIM Council (czBIM).
As of 1 March 2021, the international buildingSMART organisation, consisting of chapters, members, partners and sponsors including architects, engineers, building contractors, construction material suppliers, investors, owners and facility managers, consultants, software and hardware manufacturers and government institutions, research laboratories and universities, has a branch in our own country. The Czech Republic thus joins its neighbours Austria, Germany and Poland, pioneers of BIM such as the United Kingdom and Scandinavia, or more remote regions including Australia, Canada and Japan.
Since its foundation in 1995, buildingSMART has been bringing together progressive countries in preparing and applying international standardisation, which facilitates communication and cooperation in the planning and construction of buildings, as well as their management and digitisation of the constructed environment. “At czBIM, we engage in the creation of open standards for the Czech market, among other things. buildingSMART also works on international openBIM standards. After more than 10 years of successful czBIM operation, the time has come to involve Czech experts and our members into the communication and preparation of standards on an international level,” said Petr Matyáš, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Czech BIM Council. “The idea itself of open cooperation popularised by buildingSMART around the world under the openBIM brand has been promoted in the Czech Republic through czBIM since the start of its existence, be it through lectures by key foreign speakers often active in the buildingSMART alliance, or the launch of the wwww.openBIM.cz website. Not least, the idea of openBIM and open cooperation was communicated at several yearly openBIM Cup tournaments in 5-on-5 football,” adds Petr Vaněk, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors about the first steps taken in recent days by czBIM to commence the official operation of buildingSMART in the Czech Republic.
buildingSMART participates in creating international standards, for instance ISO 16739:2013 – IFC, an open, neutral file format that supports the sharing of data based on building information modelling, which enables effective communication between all the parties involved in the construction process and their BIM software instruments. The society is headed by the British not-for-profit organisation buildingSMART International.
Leoš Svoboda, Member of the Board of Directors of czBIM appointed to establish and organise the buildingSMART Czech Republic chapter, adds: “Our nation’s innovation strategy and efforts must not overlook the digitisation of the building industry or its links to countless other sectors, including the efficacy of eGovernment. Our open economy demands an open attitude towards international trends, and the same applies to the export potential and competitiveness of the building sector, Czech enterprises and experts.”
The Government Concept for Implementation of the BIM Method in the Czech Republic has been deployed since 2017 and brings much that is new for investors and contractors, which they have to prepare for. This includes the use of a shared data ecosystem or data standards. The BIM concept supplements the strategy for the coordinated and comprehensive digitisation of the Czech Republic – Digital Czechia.
“With the establishment of the Czech chapter of buildingSMART, we have a unique opportunity to become involved in international standardisation and to gain experience from other countries, where BIM and digitisation are already in full swing. This will be of immense help not only to our members in migrating to project digitisation,” specified Libuše Kameníčková, Operations Director of czBIM.
About buildingSMART International
buildingSMART was established in 1995 in the USA to ensure the integrated development of applications for the building industry. It now includes architects, engineers, building contractors, suppliers of construction products, investors, owners and facility managers, consultants, software and hardware manufacturers, government institutions, research laboratories, universities and other members, and has chapters around the world. The mission of buildingSMART is to facilitate the active use and spreading of open data standards, which improve the efficiency of investments into projects and ease cooperation. buildingSMART promotes the idea of openBIM, the aim of which is to assist the digitisation of the building sector. Open BIM principles create an open and transparent environment for everybody involved in the building life cycle. buildingSMART also ensures the certification of experts and technologies.
