{"id":15161,"date":"2024-06-02T09:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-02T09:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/closed-bim-vs-open-bim\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T16:30:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T16:30:44","slug":"closed-bim-vs-open-bim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/closed-bim-vs-open-bim\/","title":{"rendered":"Closed BIM vs Open BIM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the difference between Closed BIM and Open BIM?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Building Information Modelling<\/a> (BIM) is one of the most important technological developments in the construction industry, enabling the digital design, construction and operation of buildings. Two main BIM methodologies can be distinguished: Closed BIM and Open BIM. Both methodologies have their own advantages and disadvantages and different approaches to data exchange and collaboration. <\/p>\n\n

Closed BIM<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Closed BIM is a closed system, usually managed by a single software platform. <\/p>\n\n

This method is based on software developed by manufacturers such as Autodesk Revit<\/strong><\/a> or Bentley Systems<\/strong><\/a>. Data is exchanged only in the original native file format specified by the manufacturer, which makes data exchange faster and with fewer errors, minimal data loss and faster file usage. <\/p>\n\n

The benefits of closed BIM include a single workflow and easier support and maintenance. The disadvantage is that it limits compatibility with third-party software, making it more difficult, time-consuming and more work-intensive or impossible to work with certain design disciplines. <\/p>\n\n

Open BIM<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Open BIM, on the other hand, is an open, standardised system that allows data exchange and collaboration between different software platforms.<\/p>\n\n

Open BIM is supported by international standards organizations such as buildingSMART. The main file formats of Open BIM are IFC<\/strong> (Industry Foundation Classes) and BCF<\/strong> (BIM Collaboration Format), which aim to standardize data exchange and ensure software compatibility. <\/p>\n\n

The main advantage of Open BIM is that it allows designers to work with their own, well-known and in many cases better-skilled, target software. The disadvantage, however, is that the data content is not consistent, and the export-import process not only makes data exchange more time-consuming but also means that data loss is a regular occurrence. <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
BuildEXT opted for the closed BIM methodology<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Which methodology is accepted?<\/h2>\n\n

In certain countries and regions it seems to be decided whether open or closed BIM will be the dominant methodology, but this is influenced by many external forces – some of which we might not even think about (see Artem Boiko’s articles <\/a> on this).<\/p>\n\n

There is a serious battle for dominance, and this has reshaped the market to a large extent with the spread of digitalisation and BIM<\/a> in the construction industry:<\/p>\n\n

\u2b95 Between 2000 and 2010<\/strong>, 3D CAD software in all countries was dominated by Hungarian Graphisoft<\/a><\/strong>, which developed AutoCAD, and US-based Vectorworks<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

\u2b95 Following Nemetschek’s<\/a><\/strong> takeover of ArchiCAD and Vectorworks, interest in Revit surged in all countries after the 2008 global crisis. The designers switched to Revit<\/strong> and within a few years it had displaced ArchiCAD in a good number of countries. <\/p>\n\n

\u2b95 Tekla<\/strong><\/a> and Allplan<\/strong><\/a>, which started out in the same direction as Revit, lagged behind – the reasons for this are fewer features than Revit and poorer marketing.<\/p>\n\n

\u2b95 Revit now has the lion’s share (more than 50-90%) of the BIM CAD market<\/strong> in almost every country in the world.<\/p>\n\n

\"Closed
Closed BIM vs Open BIM battle, or the rise of Revit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Both Closed BIM and Open BIM play important roles in modern construction projects. <\/p>\n\n

The choice depends on which methodology best meets the specific needs and requirements of the project, and which is recommended based on local practice. <\/p>\n\n

Another important factor is the future direction envisioned by the architectural firm. Whichever methodology is chosen, it will shape the company’s future for years. Establishing a well-functioning BIM workflow, training and integrating the team, and creating the necessary software and hardware environment requires significant resources. <\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
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<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
Topic<\/strong><\/td>Closed BIM<\/strong><\/td>Open BIM<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Definition<\/td>Closed, proprietary system controlled by a single software platform.<\/td>Open, standardized system compatible with multiple software platforms.<\/td><\/tr>
Essence<\/td>Workflow tied to a single manufacturer or software.<\/td>Standardized data exchange and collaboration between different software.<\/td><\/tr>
Data Exchange<\/td>Only in the manufacturer-specified format.<\/td>Using IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) and BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) formats.<\/td><\/tr>
Origin<\/td>Individual software developers, such as Autodesk.<\/td>International standards organizations, such as buildingSMART.<\/td><\/tr>
Supporters<\/td>Autodesk, Bentley Systems, and other major software manufacturers.<\/td>buildingSMART, Graphisoft, Nemetschek, and other industry players.<\/td><\/tr>
Benefits<\/td>Unified workflow, simpler support, better data quality, faster operation.<\/td>Wider software compatibility, use of familiar target software.<\/td><\/tr>
Disadvantages<\/td>Limited compatibility with other software, designers need to switch software.<\/td>Problematic data handling, more time-consuming, non-uniform data content.<\/td><\/tr>
File Formats<\/td>Native formats (e.g., .rvt, .dgn)<\/td>IFC, BCF<\/td><\/tr>
Commonly Used Software<\/td>Autodesk Revit, Bentley Systems (MicroStation), Nemetschek Allplan, Graphisoft ArchiCAD.<\/td>Tekla Structures (Trimble), Solibri Model Checker, Vectorworks, BricsCAD BIM.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
<\/div>\n\n
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We chose closed BIM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re interested in seeing how we put BIM into practice, come to one of our meetups \u261b if you haven’t already, sign up for our newsletter<\/strong><\/a> and we’ll let you know when the next one is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The benefits of closed BIM include a single workflow and easier support and maintenance. The disadvantage is that it limits compatibility with third-party software, making it more difficult, time-consuming and more work-intensive or impossible to work with specific design disciplines. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[46,192,47,230,434,272],"class_list":["post-15161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wiki-en","tag-bim-en","tag-closed-bim-en","tag-digitalization","tag-ifc-en","tag-open-bim-en","tag-revit-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15161"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16258,"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15161\/revisions\/16258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildext.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}