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BIM Maturity in the Nordics and Estonia

According to the country-specific interviews (see Appendix 2: BIM practices in the Nordics and Estonia), the various design disciplines in all Nordic countries and Estonia use BIM authoring tools, such as ArchiCAD and Revit, for architectural modelling and, e.g., Tekla Structures or Revit for modelling structures. These software allow the export of IFC (EN ISO 16739-1), an established way of exchanging information in construction projects. The use of IFC supports the BIM-based building LCA process in a software-independent way. This is important since the use of specific software for building modelling is rarely required by the customers.
In general, it is not technically necessary to use IFC as an intermediate format for the data transfer from BIM authoring tools to LCA calculation tools. The export can be done directly from the native format, or via plug-in.
 Currently, in some countries, IFC 2x3 is the most used IFC version, but countries are slowly adopting newer versions of the IFC, such as IFC 4.3
Standard to introduce a wide range of definitions to present a construction project in a harmonized way for the building and infrastructure industry (BuildingSMART, 2023). It is an open BIM standard for buildings and infrastructure.
 or IFC 4.0.2.1.
Many countries have BIM guidelines and requirements to support modelling in general, but they are rarely national or mandatory. Most often, BIM guidelines originate from certain customers, usually public organisations. Also, the guidelines rarely support BIM modelling specifically for normative building LCA. Finland is the first Nordic country that will adopt national BIM guidelines for building permitting. Project-specific BIM execution plans are becoming common in construction projects. They help various design and engineering disciplines in model coordination and role definitions.
The naming conventions and classifications for materials and structures vary by country. The classification systems are national, and the maturity and usage of those vary by country and, to some extent, by project. Currently, the naming conventions in BIM modelling and emission databases are not aligned. Table 5 provides more details on the country-specific BIM practices.
Table 5. Maturity of BIM practices in the Nordics and Estonia
Country
BIM tools used by various disciplines
BIM guidelines
Naming conventions for structures and materials
Regulatory data archival
Denmark
  • Architectural: Revit, Archicad
  • Structural: Tekla Structures
  • HVAC: Revit, MagiCAD
  • Electrical: Revit (PcSchematic)
  • Model coordination: Solibri, BIM Collab
pdf or excel version.
Voluntary standard (excel) format for LCA declaration from January 2024.
Working towards LCA declarations in a digital format such as json.
Estonia
  • Architectural: ArchiCad, Revit and Bently Microstation
  • Structural: Revit, Tekla Structures
  • HVAC: Revit and MagiCAD
  • Electricity: Cadmatic, Revit
  • Model coordination: BIMcollab Zoom, Solibri, Trimble Connect
  • Organisation-specific guidelines, such as ÜBN
  • No specific classification system is used in projects today.
  • CCI-EE is developed and covers, to some extent, materials as well (Construction Classification International Follows EN ISO 12006-2)
From the beginning of 2024, it will be possible to apply for the building permit by uploading the BIM model to EHR (Estonian Building Registry), open format (IFC) and meet ÜBN BIM requirements
Finland
  • Structural: Tekla Structures, Revit
  • HVAC: MagiCAD (Revit), Cadmatic
  • Model coordination: Solibri
  • National BIM guidelines for building permitting based on specific use cases, e.g., accessibility and operational safety
  • Structures: national project-specific conventions (e.g., external wall US1)
  • Materials/building parts: national classification system Talo 2000 for building parts and some materials
From 1.1.2025, architectural, structural and HVAC (excl. Electrical) will be archived in IFC 4.0.2.1. Also, the material declaration needs to be archived.
 
Iceland
  • Architectural: Revit and other Autodesk software
  • Structural: Tekla Structures
  • HVAC: Revit and MagiCad
  • Model coordination: Autodesk cloud service, Solibri Model Checker, Autodesk Navisworks
  • There is no national-level guidance for BIM usage, but large clients, especially public clients, have their own requirements and guides for BIM usage
There are no naming conventions, but some companies have created company-internal guidance for naming and storing BIM data
pdf version
Norway
  • Architectural: Revit
  • Structural: Revit, Tekla
  • HVAC: Revit, MagiCAD
  • SIMBA 2.1 is Statsbygg`s BIM requirements
  • Norwegian standard NS 8360 BIM objects for construction works
  • ISO 23386
    This standard is developed to make sure that all definitions that are needed in all BIM domains can be interoperable in tools and applications.
     standard for building information modelling and other digital processes used in construction.
  • ISO 23387
    This standard describes the principles and structure of data templates and is in alignment with ISO 23386.
     standard for building information modelling. Data templates for construction objects used in the life cycle of built assets – concept or principle.
  • EN 3457-3:2013
    This standard represents the initial phase in establishing a comprehensive Norwegian system for organizing information related to buildings, construction, and real estate.
     is the standard classification of buildings.
pdf version
Sweden
  • Architectural: Archicad, Revit
  • Structural: Revit, Tekla Structures
  • HVAC: MagiCAD for Revit, AutoCAD
  • Model coordination: Solibri, Navisworks
  • BIM data is classified using CoClass or BIP codes (developed within the BIM Alliance)
    Boverket is currently (Sep 2023–Feb 2024) working on a governmental BIM assignment to develop support for public actors on BIM for buildings. The aim is to digitalise construction processes. Proposals must be submitted regarding standards and guidelines to be used in the first place, i.e., specifications on format, deliverables for use in public law proceedings. For more information in Swedish: Uppdrag att ta fram ett stöd för offentliga aktörer avseende byggnadsinformationsmodellering - Regeringen.se.
pdf version
Nordic Innovation I www.norden.org/publications