The popularity of Building Information Modeling (BIM) as an integral concept in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industries has motivated its necessary inclusion in Construction Management (CM) education. Implementing BIM as a mainstream, elective or integrated subject within an established undergraduate curriculum is challenging due to limitations such as available teaching time, knowledge retention in students and the flexibility of the curriculum to adapt with a fast developing technology. Pedagogy must combine fundamental learning of theory, practical experience and the use of technology in a collaborative environment to effectively implement BIM. Vertical integration is one such method that was implemented and evaluated to promote BIM education in the undergraduate Construction Management program at Arizona State University. This article discusses the evolution of the BIM curriculum and focuses on the vertical integration of upper-division and lower-division students for aSite Logistics assignment to improve upon the BIM education continuum. Evaluation and surveys revealed that this methodology increased the appreciation for learning BIM, promoted the use of BIM tools for in-class projects and created an understanding of the importance of information management.

Executive SummaryTypical processes of whole Building Energy simulation Model (BEM) generation are subjective, labor intensive, time intensive and error prone. Essentially, these typical processes reproduce already existing data, i.e. building models already created by the architect. Accordingly, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) developed a semi-automated process that enables reproducible conversions of Building Information Model (BIM) representations of building geometry into a format required by building energy modeling (BEM) tools. This is a generic process that may be applied to all building energy modeling tools but to date has only been used for EnergyPlus.This report describes and demonstrates each stage in the semi-automated process for building geometry using the recently constructed NASA Ames Sustainability Base throughout. This example uses ArchiCAD (Graphisoft, 2012) as the originating CAD tool and EnergyPlus as the concluding whole building energy simulation tool. It is important to note that the process is also applicable for professionals that use other CAD tools such as Revit ("Revit Architecture," 2012) and DProfiler (Beck Technology, 2012) and can be extended to provide geometry definitions for BEM tools other than EnergyPlus. Geometry Simplification Tool (GST) was used during the NASA Ames project and was the enabling software that facilitated semi-automated data transformations. GST has now been superseded by Space Boundary Tool (SBT-1) and will be referred to as SBT-1 throughout this report.The benefits of this semi-automated process are fourfold: 1) reduce the amount of time and cost required to develop a whole building energy simulation model, 2) enable rapid generation of design alternatives, 3) improve the accuracy of BEMs and 4) result in significantly better performing buildings with significantly lower energy consumption than those created using the traditional design process, especially if the simulation model was used as a predictive benchmark during operation.Developing BIM based criteria to support the semi-automated process should result in significant reliable improvements and time savings in the development of BEMs. In order to define successful BIMS, CAD export of IFC based BIMs for BEM must adhere to a standard Model View Definition (MVD) for simulation as provided by the concept design BIM MVD (buildingSMART, 2011). In order to ensure wide scale adoption, companies would also need to develop their own material libraries to support automated activities and undertake a pilot project to improve understanding of modeling conventions and design tool features and limitations.3

Integrated project delivery (IPD) has proven an effective delivery system in the private sector as evidenced in recently completed case study projects. Despite this success, case study researchers assert IPD is not currently being used in the public sector due to state laws limiting the delivery systems available for public owners and the difficulty of changing these laws. This paper examines a set of building construction projects undertaken by one public owner over a 12-year period; specifically the change orders associated with these design-bid-build projects. The authors analyze these change orders to determine whether this owner could have realized the same benefit as private owners if IPD had been available as a delivery method. The authors hypothesize that (1) owners often use change owners to ensure their own satisfaction post-design because the design intent does not match their specific requirements (i.e., owner requested changes), and (2) the collaborative nature of IPD would significantly lower the need for such changes, providing added value to the owner due to a more complete project scope being determined earlier and with contractor input during the design phase. This paper presents data to support these hypotheses illustrating the benefits of IPD for public owners, in turn building a compelling case for adopting IPD in the public sector.

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With the advent of sustainable building ordinances in the USA and internationally, contractors are increasingly required to deliver sustainable projects; however, they have traditionally not been considered partners in developing the sustainability goals and objectives for projects. Moreover, as alternative project delivery methods become more popular, contractors have an opportunity and -in an increasing number of cases -a requirement, to take a larger role in sustainability efforts across the building life cycle. Understanding the contractor's self-perceived role, in addition to their incentives for participation, in the sustainable construction industry is imperative to providing insight into their future role within the industry. This paper presents data from and analysis of a survey of US-based general contractors. The survey asked general contractors for their opinions and viewpoints regarding sustainable construction; respondents provided feedback about corporate profitability, growth forecast and specific obstacles to sustainable building. The authors present a potential path from the current state of sustainable construction industry in the USA to a projected future state (both characterised by the survey responses). Finally, factors that will affect the transition to the future state of the sustainable construction industry are discussed.