BIM is the Mandatory Language of Modern Projects
Construction material costs fluctuate rapidly, deadlines are increasingly tight, and standards for sustainability, efficiency, and transparency are now demanded by both clients and authorities.
For us and our clients at ADB, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become the baseline standard for any project.
The history of BIM begins with the pursuit of digital efficiency: in the 1960s and 1970s, experimental systems like BDS or research projects tried to connect geometric modeling with functional properties. But it was only with the rise of powerful computers, the development of specialized software such as Revit and ArchiCAD, and the adoption of open standards (IFC, ISO 19650) that the tools matured enough to allow real collaboration among all teams involved in a project—architects, structural engineers, MEP specialists, suppliers, and contractors.
ADB clients benefit from BIM because it provides visibility long before execution: from simulating natural light through digital models that show how sunlight will move through a room, to cost estimates that are accurate as early as the conceptual phase. Risks—from clashes between systems to structural incompatibilities or installation surprises—can be identified and resolved without draining time and money on-site. In a BIM system, any change in design, materials, or finishes is automatically updated throughout the model and technical plans, so nothing is left outdated.
Of course, implementing BIM requires significant upfront investment: software licenses, powerful hardware, team training, and a shift in workflows toward digital collaboration. Not all firms in Romania are ready to make this leap. There is a lack of uniform standardization in local regulations, and many projects, especially smaller ones, still fail to see clear returns on the additional costs or perceive the process as overly complex. In addition, the lack of comprehensive BIM libraries for materials, objects, and details, along with collaboration gaps with suppliers who do not yet operate digitally, can create bottlenecks.
International examples provide valuable lessons. In the UK, the government mandated BIM Level 2 for all publicly funded projects starting in 2016, which significantly boosted productivity and reduced costs by minimizing coordination errors and duplicate work. Comparative studies across Europe highlight that Nordic countries such as Norway, Denmark, and Finland have integrated BIM into national standards, not merely as an optional tool but as part of regulations, green building certifications, and public procurement criteria. Singapore goes even further, requiring BIM models for permitting and planning while integrating digital evaluation systems for construction approvals, accelerating review processes and improving predictability. Recent studies of BIM adoption in Europe show that legislative adoption and government support are the two decisive factors distinguishing projects that remain experimental from those that perform at scale.
A 2025 study, Analysis of the Adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) Across the EU, published by BUILD UP, offers an overview of how EU member states have advanced in adopting BIM for public projects. The report highlights significant disparities across countries but also a general trend toward steady digital maturity. Denmark and Finland are flagged as frontrunners, with clear national strategies, public policy mandates that require BIM for state-funded projects, standardized templates, and dedicated training programs. Other countries, such as Italy or Lithuania, have partial requirements—for certain project types or contract thresholds—but adoption is not yet universal or consistent. The report emphasizes that BIM adoption depends not only on technical factors but also on public procurement policies, regulations, government support, and education. Where authorities introduce mandatory BIM requirements (such as cost thresholds or project categories), adoption accelerates. Where these requirements are absent, firms often use BIM only partially or merely for visualization, not across design, project management, or lifecycle maintenance.
For ADB clients, this context is critical: projects carried out under stricter requirements or public funding frameworks typically include fully implemented BIM components, proving how client demand can drive the entire industry to raise its standards.
In Romania, a 2024 exploratory study titled Exploratory Study on Use of BIM in the Construction Sector in Romania by researchers Ioniță, Stoian, and Silvestru at the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest sheds light on the current state of BIM adoption. The study shows sharp contrasts between large companies and small ones, as well as between urban centers and peripheral regions. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods—surveys and interviews with specialists in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, and other major cities—the research concludes that large firms with complex projects are adopting BIM at a much higher rate, while smaller firms with lower digital capacity still tend to use it partially, often limited to design and visualization. The obstacles include lack of trained BIM personnel, software and training costs, resistance to change among teams accustomed to traditional methods, and frictions with suppliers who lack detailed digital workflows. Yet the same study highlights tangible benefits perceived by respondents: time savings in the design phase, fewer execution errors, improved coordination between trades, and greater clarity for clients regarding design and costs.
ADB clients demand projects that come with realistic cost and timeline simulations, energy performance evaluations at the concept stage, and visualizations that allow changes before construction begins. For us, client demand for BIM has become the driver of internal transformation. Every project now includes compatibility checks across models, materials, suppliers, and long-term maintenance capacity.
Increasingly, BIM is not just an expectation but a requirement—in public infrastructure projects, EU-funded programs, and private contracts where demanding clients understand that a project is not only what gets built but what remains: quality, efficiency, and coherence. BIM is both a standard and an investment in the details that matter, in the transparency of the process, and in the certainty that, at the end, the project delivered is exactly the one promised.
