Current BIM Practices in Hong Kong

In terms of implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM)), Hong Kong has been industry-driven for many years. However, governmental and professional bodies are now actively supporting the industry by providing BIM standards and guidelines, developing a BIM roadmap, and hosting a series of conferences with a focus on BIM implementation and its use in many disciplines, such as cost engineering, prefabrication, and interior design. We introduced the Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre Hong Kong project, which was designed by Frank Gehry. Although this project was small, BIM was utilized to represent a complex form, to eliminate disparities between the design and the construction, and to support multiple performance simulations. BIM was especially used to effectively visualize elements of the wooden structure, which is not very popular in Hong Kong. Gehry Technologies was used in the process. In an attempt to supply high-caliber talent to the construction industry and to be a leader in the marketplace, universities in Hong Kong are introducing BIM and actively integrating it into their curriculums. Google SketchUp, Revit, Digital Project, and Rhino’s 3D modeling tool, Grasshopper, are reported to be used in the educational settings. Moreover, 3D printers are used in a course at City University of Hong Kong.