Architects, Designers, Vendors and Project Managers — On the same table now

From paper-doodles to AR tours and from 2D to CAD/BIM drawing boards - seems like bricks and concrete can not just be arranged but also assessed for their challenges and wastage - and way before they touch a real site.

- By Pratima H

And from guess-work to sure-footed buildings. Gone are the days when a lot of work was done when the horses were out of the stables. We have now moved to horses-for-courses designs with BIM, digital twins, AI and advanced 3D/CAD tools making proactive, carbon-conscious, productive, fast and wastage-reducing designs possible and practical. Anil Sivadas, Chairman and CEO, Enventure sketches a picture of this new world for us in this chat where we understand how technology is not just empowering architects, designers and engineers but also creating new what-ifs for creativity, the entire ecosystem, construction industry and even for blue-collar labour. Step on.

Your company has been doing a lot of work in plant engineering, building management and product engineering and MRO. How has technology changed what you do?

We do a lot of work on Autodesk tools. A bulk of our projects gained from advanced capabilities. We see a lot happening in the USA and it's time for some of it to come to India. This industry has evolved a lot with technology. In the past, an architect's office had drawing boards. Then in the late 90s, 2D designs made the same thing possible on computers. Then with 3D, mock versions became possible - and not just the sketches but the wires and moulding etc. for a non-engineer it is hard to tell what a design is by looking at 2D mock-ups. But a 3D model made a lot of it easy. Most importantly, technology has made multiple agencies to be able to coordinate with each other. Cloud has added a new strength to this collaboration. And now one can also draw bill of quantities and plan material procurement in a much more wastage-reducing way and with time-plus-resource savings than what was done earlier.

How much does BIM help- after the design?