B8758 - GESTIONE DIGITALE DEL PROGETTO M

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student is able to develop technical and design solutions aimed at the digital management of the built environment.

Course contents

The course addresses the main topics related to the digitalization of architectural and construction design processes for building assets, with particular reference to the digital management of the built environment and the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for the production, organization, exchange, and analysis of project information.

To successfully engage with the course, students should have basic knowledge of building technology and architectural representation.

The course contents will be organized into the following thematic areas:

1. Fundamentals of project and building process digitalization
The theoretical and applied principles of digital project management will be introduced, with reference to the role of information models in design, documentation, coordination, and control processes. The current regulatory framework, international standards, and the main concepts related to BIM uses will also be discussed.

2. BIM modeling for construction design
Through laboratory activities, students will experiment with methods and tools for the digital modeling of a residential building, with particular attention to the construction aspects of architecture. The exercises will focus specifically on the modeling of structural and envelope components, the representation of structural framing, and the production of construction drawings and deliverables.

3. Management and coordination of discipline-specific models
The course will introduce different approaches to the multidisciplinary management of information models, with exercises on the federation of architectural and structural models and the detection of interferences between them (clash detection). The ways in which models can support design coordination and the verification of consistency across disciplines will be analyzed.

4. Information exchange, interoperability, and openBIM
The course will address data exchange methods between software applications, models, and stakeholders involved in the design process, both through files—with particular reference to the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) format—and through collaborative and cloud-based platforms, such as Speckle. Particular attention will be devoted to the concepts of interoperability, information quality, and information flow management.

5. Analysis, control, and management of project data
During the course, exercises will be proposed on quantity take-off, model checking, information enrichment of models, data visualization, and data management. The exercises will be carried out using different approaches to managing data within models—manual, semi-automatic, and automatic—including the use of visual programming tools such as Dynamo. These activities are intended to help students understand how the digital model can be used not only for project representation, but also for documentation, management analysis, and support for design decision-making.

The course will be developed in integration with the Rappresentazione Digital del Progetto (Digital Project Representation) module.

Readings/Bibliography

The teaching materials made available by the instructor through the University of Bologna’s Virtuale platform constitute the required reference materials for exam preparation.

Reference texts

Sacks, R., Lee, G., Burdi, L., & Bolpagni, M. (2025). BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Designers, Engineers, Contractors, and Facility Managers (4th ed.). Wiley. ISBN 978-1394222223.

Rizzarda, C., & Gallo, G. (2020). BIM Execution Plan. Strumenti per un piano di gestione informativa Agile. Tecniche Nuove. ISBN 978-88-481-4089-8.

Borin, P., & Zanchetta, C. (2020). IFC. Processi e modelli digitali openBIM per l’ambiente costruito. Maggioli Editore. ISBN 978-8891643094.

Pozzoli, S., & Bonazza, M. (2024). Autodesk Revit 2025 per l’architettura: Guida completa per la progettazione BIM. Tecniche Nuove. ISBN 978-8848147828.

Recommended readings and further study

Succar, B., & Poirier, E. (2020). Lifecycle information transformation and exchange for delivering and managing digital and physical assets. Automation in Construction, 112, 103090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2020.103090 .

Pauwels, P., & McGlinn, K. (2023). Buildings and Semantics. Data Models and Web Technologies for the Built Environment. CRC Press/Balkema. ISBN 978-1-032-02312-0.

Ozdemir, S. (2016). Data Science. Guida ai principi e alle tecniche base della scienza dei dati. Apogeo. ISBN 9781785887918.

Any additional materials, supplementary readings, tutorials, datasets, exercise models, and operational instructions will be made available during the course through Virtuale.

Teaching methods

The teaching activities include lectures, guided exercises, laboratory activities, and collective discussion sessions on the results produced by the students. The theoretical lectures will introduce the concepts, methods, and tools required to understand digital project management processes; the practical activities will allow students to apply this knowledge to a case study.

The laboratory will focus on the digital modeling of a small- to medium-scale building and will be carried out in synergy with the Digital Representation of the Project module. Within this course, particular attention will be devoted to the development of the construction design, the management of information models, data analysis, and coordination between discipline-specific models.

Learning will be supported by the use of software tools oriented toward BIM and digital project management, including Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Navisworks, and other digital tools, whether open source, educational, or trial versions, selected according to the planned teaching activities.

During lectures and exercises, students’ active participation will be encouraged through applied work, critical review of deliverables, discussion of the workflows adopted, and reflection on information-related and design choices.

Assessment methods

The assessment consists of the submission, presentation, and discussion of the materials produced during the laboratory activities. The required deliverables must be submitted before the exam according to the procedures and deadlines communicated by the instructor through Virtuale.

The deliverables to be assessed include:

• BIM models in Revit format;
• models or exports in IFC format;
• drawings and graphic deliverables extracted from the models;
• clash detection reports produced using Autodesk Navisworks;
• any additional documentation useful for describing workflows, modeling choices, checks, and results achieved.

The instructors will review the submitted materials before the exam. During the exam, the student will present the work carried out through a PowerPoint presentation and will take part in an oral discussion, including questions and answers on the course contents, the deliverables produced, the processes adopted, and the design, modeling, and information-related choices made.

No graded intermediate assessments are planned. Any reviews held during the course will have a formative purpose and will support the development of the deliverables.

The exam is assessed with a grade expressed on a thirty-point scale. The final grade jointly takes into account the quality of the submitted materials and the final presentation/oral discussion.

The assessment criteria are as follows:

• technical and design quality of the BIM products developed;
• accuracy, completeness, and consistency of the information contained in the models;
• correctness of the digital workflows adopted;
• quality of the export and management of IFC models;
• correctness and clarity of the drawings extracted from the models;
• quality and interpretation of the clash detection reports;
• ability to use models for project documentation, analysis, coordination, and management;
• clarity in communicating the deliverables and process choices;
• critical ability to relate the laboratory experience to the theoretical contents of the course;
• mastery of technical terminology and of the concepts related to digital project management.

With regard to generative Artificial Intelligence, the use of AI is permitted as a support tool for exam preparation, for example for summarizing, reorganizing notes, self-assessment, clarifying concepts, or preparing the presentation. The use of AI must be limited, declared, and must not replace the student’s own design and critical work. The use of generative AI tools is not permitted during the exam, which takes place orally.

Teaching tools

The course uses teaching materials distributed through Virtuale. These materials may include slides, handouts, digital models, datasets, examples of deliverables, tutorials, operational instructions for exercises, supplementary bibliographic references, and instructions for submitting the required deliverables.

The exercises will be supported by the use of software for BIM modeling, model management and checking, interoperability, data visualization, and data analysis. The applications may include open-source tools, as well as educational or trial versions of major BIM software, including Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Navisworks.

The digital tools used in the course will be introduced in relation to the planned activities and to the progressive acquisition of the required skills. Any use of cloud-based or collaborative platforms will be aimed at managing information flows, exchanging data, and coordinating models.

Generative AI may be used as a support tool for individual study, for activities such as summarizing, rephrasing, organizing notes, preparing for the oral presentation, and self-assessment, while learning, the production of deliverables, and critical thinking remain the responsibility of the student.

Office hours

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