More than 250 participants are expected between 4 and 6 May, in Braga, and registrations are open.

The 4th Portuguese Congress on Building Information Modelling (ptBIM) takes place from 4 to 6 May, at Espaço Vita, in Braga, with more than 250 participants and 99 papers. The local organisation is the responsibility of the Schools of Engineering and Architecture, Art and Design of the University of Minho, with the support of the Universities of Porto and Lisbon. The goal is to discuss, disseminate and adjust guidelines on virtual construction, especially in Portuguese-speaking countries, which will be well represented at the event.

The opening session takes place on the 4th, at 9 am, with interventions from the rector of UMinho, Rui Vieira de Castro, the councillor for Urbanism of Braga, João Rodrigues, the directors of the Northern Region of the Orders of Architects and Engineers, respectively Conceição Melo and Bento Aires, and the congress coordinator, Miguel Azenha.

The programme includes plenary and parallel sessions, seminars, meetings and an award for the best master’s thesis in the field, among others. The main speakers are the North-American Patrick MacLeamy (BuildingSMART International), the Canadian Susan Keenliside (House of Commons), the French Christophe Castaign (European Federation of Consulting Associations), the Slovenian Veljko Janjic (Bexel Consulting) and the Portuguese Décio Ferreira (Foster+Partners). Registration is open at www.ptbim.org. On this site you can also see, for curiosity, the 3D or BIM representation of the spaces of the congress.

Seeing beyond the walls

“Until now we used to make drawings to build houses, bridges and other buildings, but the international trend is to do it through models, navigable by virtual reality, where you can see far beyond the walls, such as hydraulic networks and even the properties of materials. These benefits will reduce a lot of bad planning costs, bring together the various parties involved in the work and allow more sustainable buildings in terms of energy certification, comfort and safety”, summarizes Professor Miguel Azenha, who is connected to the Department of Civil Engineering of UMinho and the research centre ISISE.

“The BIM method is collaborative, based on a digital model that integrates information in ways that were unthinkable until a few years ago and its usefulness in architecture/construction is expressed in many ways,” he stresses. However, he adds, “there are important challenges for professionals, as it requires new ways of working and collaborating, forcing a learning process; and there is also a set of new standards, such as ISO19650, to which the sector’s business fabric is adapting”.

More information and event registration here: https://ptbim.org/