Search results for vdc

BIM is not for Civil Engineers, so what is? VDC!

Autodesk has been making a lot of marketing noise lately, using the term “BIM” to refer to the entire AEC industry. BIM is short for Building Information Model(ing). Sorry, but civil engineers (with the exception of Structural engineers) don’t design buildings.

While I understand the need for a short, easy to say, easy to use term that conveys the essence of 3D Dynamic modeling and all the rest of what BIM implies, forcing an architectural term on civil engineers is not the way to go.

ENR recently ran an article and used the term Virtual Design and Construction or VDC for short. I had never heard this term before, but its perfect. It gets right to the same point as the term BIM, but is general enough to cover all disciplines, from architecture, to civil engineering, to mechanical.

I know in these economic times, squabbling over semantics might seem trivial, but perhaps a light-hearted diversion is what we all need. What are your thoughts in the terms? Do you have an alternate suggestion? Let’s hear it!