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1. Introduction
Architecture is undergoing a profound
change due to the advent of information
technologies and the demands
of the building industry. Building Information
Modeling (BIM), which is a digital
design approach that enables a design
to be embodied in a digital, associative,
parametric, three-dimensional (3D)
environment, is one of the most influential
factors of this change. In BIM applications,
design information is stored
on a digital model that can be shared
among designers, consultants, contractors
and asset owners. Any two-dimensional
(2D) projection of a design can
be created from this model, and so, the
need to produce 2D drawings by hand
or by digital applications that allow 2D
drafting gradually disappears (Atkins &
Mendelson, 2016; Eastman et al., 2011;
Tan & Paker-Kahvecioğlu, 2019). In this
way, 3D information models replace
conventional orthogonal drawings and
become one of the central themes in the
computerization of architectural practice
(Andia, 2012).
This substantial change in architecture
is an important topic to study because
the profession is mainly built upon
the process of producing 2D design
documentation. Drawing sets such as
plan–section–elevation triplets and the
labor to prepare these representational
documents have been a determinant of
the design process, design approaches,
and the priorities of architects (Carpo,
2014, 2011, 2001; Evans, 2000; Pelletier
& Pérez-Gómez, 2000). The structure of
design offices and workflows, social image,
and the professional relationships
of architects and their clients and employers
have been based on the labor of
creating 2D projections. Therefore, the
replacement of drawings with digital 3D
information models changes many conventions
in the profession (Kalay, 2006;
Oxman, 2006).
Different stages of the design and
construction of a building strongly interrelate
with each other; and BIM has
minor or major impacts on all these
phases, as well as design processes.
However, this study only focuses on
the changes that BIM has made in architectural
design processes in practice,
associated with the end of the effort to
produce 2D technical documentation.
There is plenty of research that addresses
BIM from a technical point of
view, however, studies on how BIM can
alter the architectural design practice
are still rare. There is almost no study
that sees BIM as a method that ends the
production of manual two-dimensional
technical drawings and examines its effect
in this sense. Architectural theorists
have comments on the subject (Cardoso
Llach, 2012; Carpo, 2014; Scheer, 2014),
but there is no study examining these
theoretical approaches in the practical
field. In the literature, studies related to
BIM in architecture have either focused
novelties brought by BIM in various
topics such as collaboration in design
processes, object-oriented design, optimization
of design and construction
processes, etc.; or research has been
conducted on the integration of BIM
into design and engineering education
curricula. However, before considering
the integration of BIM into design
processes and design education curriculum,
it is critical to question how BIM
methods and processes differ from traditional
design methods and processes.
In accordance with this purpose, this
study both presents a theoretical approach
to possible transformation that
BIM, as a set of tools and methods that
eliminates the labor for the production
of 2D technical drawings, creates; and
investigates whether theoretical assumptions
have practical counterparts.
In this context, the paper is structured
in five chapters including the introduction.
In the second part following
the introduction, the research approach
and methods are explained. In the third
section, the background of the theory
revealed by the study is explained, and
in the fourth section, the inferences obtained
from the field research carried
out to reveal the counterparts of the theoretical
approach in architectural practice
are given. Finally, the fifth section is
the conclusion section.
2. Research approach and methods
In regard to construct a theory about
the transformation created by BIM and
to find the practical reflections of these
theoretical assumptions, a three-stage
methodology was adopted in this study.
First of all, BIM was considered as
the key to the transition from modern
ITU A|Z • Vol 19 No 2 • July 2022 • F. Tan, N. Paker Kahvecioğlu