Design, build, operate: Imagine if data could flow seamlessly through throughout the lifecycle of a facility, being shared with all project participants? This is the conversation we have been having at Constructech for decades.
Easily sharing data across the entire project and across various project team members opens up new opportunities for construction to improve project efficiency, heighten collaboration, and ultimately lead to a better bottomline. It is the conversation we have been having with BIM (building information modeling) for decades.
Now imagine the opportunities gen AI (artificial intelligence) could potentially unlock throughout the lifecycle. This is precisely what we are looking at in our summer “hot” technology series.
In the first phase of the series, we will focus on opportunities for AI in the lifecycle of a construction project—from design, to build, and to operate. Today, let’s start with design.
First a brief history. Many know designs and blueprints were drawn on paper for thousands of years. In the 1980s, systems began to become digitized, and computers could help draw faster. Around 2008, BIM became popular—something we have discussed in depth here—and the notion of sharing data throughout the lifecycle—from design, to build, to operate—became a lofty goal for many.
Now, we have a new digital tool in our arsenal that could completely shift how we design, build, and operate: artificial intelligence. While artificial intelligence has been around for decades as well, the rise of gen AI in the past few years has made AI more accessible for many.
Phillip Bernstein, deputy dean and professor, Yale School of Architecture, recently gave his thoughts to Yale News on how AI will ultimately impact architects, saying computers likely won’t design a safe, beautiful, and fully functioning building by themselves.
Some of you may remember him from his more than a decade of tenure at Autodesk, where he served as a VP strategic industry relations. He also has more than a decade of experience at an architecture firm as an associate principal. Bernstein acknowledges BIM enhances precision and efficiency, but it doesn’t remove the architect’s agency. A human still makes all the decisions.
As we enter a new era with AI, we must keep this fundamental principle in mind.
How can AI help in design? Bernstein says it can help write proposals, documents, analyze data, and it can help get you started on some of the easy stuff. He points to the example of AI-based software that analyzes compliance with building codes. Although, it is important to note AI does not do a complete job.
In his 2022 book, “Machine Learning: Architecture in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” he argues there is going to be a liminal period between BIM and useful AI that he calls the “data interstice.” The challenge is there are hundreds of pieces of software in the building industry spitting out data but there is no coherent theory of knowledge for organizing it or making it useful training data for AI.
Here at Constructech, we also recognize that integrating data into other aspects of the project is easier said than done. A fully integrated model where data is shared from design, to construction, to operations is bold and hard to achieve, even in 2025.
But there are still opportunities in each phase. In design, AI can help with design integration, exploring options, layouts, and more. Ultimately, technology can heighten efficiency and productivity and design complex projects faster, helping keep a project on time and on budget.
The reality is workers are turning to AI more readily across all industries. In April, AI Resume Builder surveyed 2,945 full-time U.S. workers and found one in three have used an AI tool in the past month for a work-related task.
AI is being widely adopted across many day-to-day workplace functions. About 58% of workers use it to write emails, while 56% use it to brainstorm ideas, and another 56% to generate general content. Additionally, 49% use AI to analyze data or create reports, and 38% to prepare meeting agendas or presentations.
In future weeks, we will look at the construction phase and then into operations. We’ll explore those phases in future weeks, and the opportunities AI brings.
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