BIM AND DATA ARCHITECTURE

Introduction: From the Rotring Line to the Line of Code

The tools used to practise architecture are constantly evolving. Over recent decades, we have seen our profession evolve from the delicacy of the wooden model and the ink line of the Rotring pen towards the vector-based precision of AutoCAD, arriving at the parametric dimension of the Digital Twin. Along this journey, the profession must transcend the traditional poetics of space, light and proportions to learn how to inhabit the architecture of data and automation as well. This change in thinking entails an inevitable transition: we no longer draw; we model. The gesture that defines the building is transferred from paper and on-site decisions to IFC files and the digital twin.

In this context, BIM methodology ceases to be merely a software tool and becomes the central meeting platform for all stakeholders involved in the construction process. However, this transition may generate a degree of reluctance among some members of the architectural profession, who may view it with suspicion or as a threat to creativity. The real risk, however, lies in passivity: if the profession relinquishes the digital model to large engineering firms and construction companies alone, architecture risks being relegated to a purely aesthetic or cosmetic function, with the consequent loss of technical influence in decision-making.

The response lies in embracing this digital evolution as an opportunity to lead the dialogue through the capacity for synthesis that has always characterised the profession, while embracing genuinely collaborative frameworks such as IPD (Integrated Project Delivery). This approach ensures that spatial vision and technical rigour engage on an equal footing with structural engineering, building services and construction from the very beginning.

It is fascinating to analyse how these changes take shape in each territory. Catalonia and the Netherlands share the same technological challenges, but BIM integration responds to very different realities: construction culture (with a strong emphasis on industrialisation in the Dutch context), the business landscape, the administrative framework, and the very definition of the professional profile all mean that the methodology is progressing along different paths. It is interesting to examine the two approaches to adapting to new tools and to learn from each other's diverse experiences.

Two Paths to Implementation: Private-Sector Momentum and Public-Sector Leverage

An analysis of BIM integration reveals an interesting divergence in its starting point. In the Netherlands, the transformation has developed through a bottom-up model emerging from the business sector itself. The private sector has taken the lead in the process in order to optimise operational complexity and improve project efficiency, establishing common standards for collaborative working before any legal imperative existed.

In Catalonia, by contrast, the main driving force continues to be a top-down strategy led by the Public Administration. Through initiatives such as the BIM 2030 Strategy of the Government of Catalonia, the public sector uses procurement as a catalyst to stimulate the professional sector and establish progressive requirements for both building construction and civil engineering. These two approaches reflect responses adapted to their respective environments: one emerging from operational and market needs, and the other aimed at driving and coordinating a traditionally fragmented sector.

Construction Culture and Context: From the Factory to the On-Site Workshop

The way buildings are constructed directly influences how digital technology is adopted. In the Netherlands, the harsh climate and a longstanding commitment to efficiency and sustainability have consolidated an industrialised approach to architecture, in which the building is conceived as an assembly of prefabricated timber or concrete components. In a model where components arrive from the factory fully finished for millimetre-precise assembly, the tolerance for error is minimal; in the Dutch context, BIM acts as an indispensable guarantee of coordination before reaching the construction site.

In Catalonia, traditional on-site construction continues to play a significant role. This more craft-based and adaptive construction culture interacts with the execution of works in a different way. BIM adoption does not stem from the urgency of a purely industrial assembly process, but rather from a clear desire to improve traceability, optimise costs, reduce waste, and raise the quality of construction.

Standards, Interoperability and Open Tools

For collaboration to be genuinely efficient, a common language is required to ensure information traceability. In the Netherlands, this standardisation is coordinated through BIM Locket, the organization that brings together tools such as BIM Basis ILS (minimum exchange requirements agreed upon by the sector itself), the NL-Sebu classification system, and the national Red BIM Standard. In Catalonia, the reference is Gubicza’s, a tool developed through local consensus to organize elements according to their function and construction sequence.

Although each territory has developed its own “dialects” (such as Gubicza’s in Catalonia and BIM Basis ILS in the Netherlands), both contexts operate within the same global framework of rules: the ISO 19650 series of standards. This international standard defines the common framework for the organization and digitization of information throughout the entire life cycle of an asset. Both the BIM 2030 Strategy of the Government of Catalonia and Dutch protocols are aligned with this standard to ensure that data management is reliable, traceable, and transparent.

Beyond classification systems, another key aspect of collaboration on which both countries converge is their commitment to open formats (OpenBIM / IFC), which avoid dependence on proprietary technologies and facilitate networked working. In this field, Catalonia stands out for reference initiatives such as BIMROCKET, an open-source platform developed by the Sant Feliu de Llobregat City Council. This case exemplifies how open digitalisation can be accessible and applicable at the local-government level itself, transparently connecting parametric modelling, automation, and data management towards the development of Digital Twins.

Conclusion: Building Alliances and Coordinating the Overall Vision

The transition towards BIM invites reflection on how working processes evolve and how multidisciplinary teams are organised within the construction sector. Architecture, understood as the art of building, is facing a new paradigm shift in which the processes of designing, constructing, and collaborating with clients, developers, public administrations, contractors, structural engineers, building-services engineers, building surveyors and architects are changing rapidly. Faced with this transformation, can architects continue to design and build as they have done until now?

Nowadays, the regulatory framework and the Official Institutional Certification, by the Professional Regulatory Board, provide architects with legal protection and clearly defined professional responsibilities. However, in a future in which these mechanisms may evolve, become more flexible, or even disappear, the competitiveness of the profession will require a redefinition of the architect's role in order to avoid being relegated to a secondary position. In this context, understanding and using the language of digital technology will be the way to ensure that architects remain present throughout the entire project, actively participating in technical decisions and safeguarding the sensitivity and quality of architectural design throughout the construction process.

Tools such as BIM and methodologies such as IPD are not a magic formula but working tools that acquire meaning when they are used to bring people and disciplines together. Understanding the language of data enables architects to become key members of multidisciplinary teams, designing alongside engineering firms and structural engineers, and managing construction together with contractors. In this way, by bringing together a holistic perspective and an ability to synthesise—from the initial sketch through to the maintenance of the digital twin—the architect can ensure that architectural sensitivity and project coherence are preserved throughout the entire architectural process.

Marta Companys, architect. COAC’s Correspondent in Gouda, Netherlands, September 2026