A multi-purpose house designed by students of the DIA Dessau Institut für Architektur

Best practice should start at the roots, i.e. already in the training. This requires students to become familiar with sustainable design methods. Our objective was to show them how the use of BIM affects the cooperation between the architect and fabrication in practice, and thus helps the construction industry advance in the future.

Our cooperation with the Dessau Institute for Architecture contributes to promoting the integration of BIM and sustainability in the training and research of the building sector.

From optimal design to finished object

The students’ task was to develop a multi-purpose building to study and analyse the individual aspects of a design program. In the process they had to consider the economic, ecological and human factors, elaborate and evaluate them ensuring a value enhancement by timely and future-oriented design.

The students were facing the challenge of optimizing their design. In the draft phase, we supported the students in finding optimal solutions for sustainability, productivity and feasibility amongst the various design options using BIM and other design tools. The core criteria included

•     Modularity
•     Flexibility
•     Adaptability
•     Transferability

Sustainable design methods

The 16 designs were presented under the motto “Sustainable Design Methods”, and the “winning entry” then realized in cooperation with the carpentry firm Sieveke in Lohne. The experienced staff of this firm guided the students and their own apprentices through the process: From the receipt of the 3D data until the building parts were finished. Afterwards, the result was exhibited at the Bauhaus University in Dessau for 3 months.

BIM as a technology and a form of cooperation

The students learnt in this seminar that the BIM process is not just a technology. It is also a cooperation process that makes their designs more efficient, sustainable, and more realizable in practice. They strategically integrated the BIM tools in their planning ensuring that the realization of their design could be simplified. Moreover, they used standard components and flexible modular components to reduce the installation periods, costs and construction effort.

Practical orientation

The project has brought training and practice closer together. This is where the BIM process will continue to gain in importance, accompanied by numerous other positive changes. We have been dedicating ourselves to the refinement and use of BIM for several years already.

Sustainable Design Methods is organized by us and Studio Peter Ruge at the DIA – Dessau Institute for Architecture, Anhalt University.