BIM-driven communication of design for residential building projects: enhancing cost transparency and buyer engagement in staged investment models : master thesis

Haque, Manzurul (author), Cerovšek, Tomo (mentor)

This thesis examines how Building Information Modelling (BIM) can improve communication with homebuyers in residential projects. It focuses on staged investment models, where instalment payments and trust rely on cost transparency & clear information about design choices and costs. Traditionally buyers rely on drawings, brochures and visualisations, while BIM platforms remain complex for nontechnical users. A gap persists: no system lets buyers view options, see cost impact, and connect choices to payment schedules dynamically. To address this gap, a prototype was developed and tested. A flat was extracted from a G+4 building, with a kitchen partition wall and floor finishes as tests. The system imported data from the BIM model, including quantities, classification codes and unit prices from a 5D cost sheet, establishing a baseline for cost. The model gets converted to GLTF so buyers could change architectural elements while structural remains locked. Each change triggered quantity recalculation applied the unit rate and updated the total price on screen. The changes were saved in an Excel file and uploaded to the Common Data Environment, enabling updates of staged instalments instantly. The prototype was limited to one unit, faced stability issues and lacked IFC regeneration. Even so, it showed that classification-based cost updates are feasible and can be tied to staged payment models, offering a proof of concept for cost transparency, fewer disputes and trust in residential construction.

• Language: English
• Keywords: master thesis, real time cost feedback, residential construction, staged investment models, cost transparency, buyer engagement, 5D BIM, classification system
• Work type: Master's thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.09 - Master's Thesis
• Organization: FGG - Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: [M. Haque]
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 1 spletni vir (1 datoteka PDF (XII, 75 str.))
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173782
• UDC: 004:336.532.1:69(043.2)
• COBISS.SI-ID: 250524163
• Publication date in RUL: 23.09.2025

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: BIM-podprta komunikacija projektne zasnove pri stanovanjskih gradbenih projektih: izboljšanje preglednosti stroškov in vključenosti kupcev v faznih naložbenih modelih : magistrsko delo

Abstract

Magistrsko delo obravnava vlogo informacijskega modeliranja gradenj (BIM) pri izboljšanju komunikacije s kupci v stanovanjskih projektih, ki temeljijo na faznih investicijskih modelih. Pri teh modelih sta zaupanje in transparentnost plačil odvisna od jasnega razumevanja stroškov in posledic projektnih odločitev. Kljub obstoju BIM-platform ostajajo te za laične uporabnike prezapletene, zato se kupci še vedno zanašajo na tradicionalne materiale, kot so risbe in vizualizacije. Glavni raziskovalni problem je odsotnost sistema, ki bi kupcem omogočal interaktivno raziskovanje možnosti, takojšen vpogled v stroškovne posledice in dinamično povezavo izbir z načrtom plačil. Za rešitev tega problema smo razvili in preizkusili prototip na primeru stanovanjske enote, izolirane iz večjega objekta (G+4), pri čemer sta bili kot testna elementa uporabljeni kuhinjska predelna stena in talne obloge. Prototip, ki temelji na podatkih iz BIM-modela (količine, klasifikacijske kode) in 5D-popisa stroškov, omogoča kupcem, da v spletnem vmesniku (format GLTF) spreminjajo izbrane arhitekturne elemente, medtem ko konstrukcijski elementi ostajajo nespremenjeni. Vsaka sprememba sproži samodejni preračun stroškov v realnem času. Spremembe se zabeležijo v strukturiran izvoz (datoteka Excel), ki omogoča posodobitev v skupnem podatkovnem okolju (CDE) in posledično prilagoditev obrokov v faznem plačilnem modelu. Kljub tehničnim omejitvam, kot sta nestabilnost delovanja in odsotnost regeneracije IFC-modela, je prototip uspešno dokazal, da je mogoče vzpostaviti delujoč koncept. Potrdil je, da so posodobitve stroškov, temelječe na klasifikacijskem sistemu, izvedljive in jih je mogoče učinkovito povezati s faznimi plačilnimi modeli. S tem delo ponuja osnovo za izboljšanje transparentnosti stroškov, zmanjšanje sporov in krepitev zaupanja v stanovanjski gradnji.

• Keywords: magistrska dela, BIM, sprotni stroškovni odziv, stanovanjska gradnja, stopenjski naložbeni modeli, preglednost stroškov, vključenost kupcev, 5D BIM, klasifikacijski sistem