Virtual design and construction (VDC) for double-storey residential building – Case study

Virtual design and construction (VDC) is a combination of building information modelling (BIM) technologies with adequate work and management scheme for product in supporting people working together in an integrated and simultaneous way. The use of VDC in construction project has positive effects in reducing risk related to design and multidisciplinary coordination. This enhanced the decision-making process by reducing miscommunication issue. This paper presents a case study to investigate the process of integrating different dimensions of information i.e., time (4D) and cost (5D) with a 3D model for doublestorey residential building construction considering the zoning conditions. Implementation of VDC with zoning plan leads to an efficient construction management in project feasibility study. It enabled comparison of a virtual model to evaluate the advantages and practicality of VDC for doublestorey residential building. The 3D architectural and structural models elements are prepared at level of detail (LOD300) using Autodesk Revit. The 3D models are then integrated to simulation software (i.e., Autodesk Navisworks Manage). Visualisation of the project (i.e., 4D and 5D) is achieved as the outcome of the simulation by implementation of VDC. The results revealed that the practicability of VDC was affected by LOD and software interoperability.