ITcon Vol. 31, pg. 380-393, http://www.itcon.org/2026/16

A critical analysis of the direction of BIM development: From CAD through file-based approaches and SaaS to granular data

DOI:10.36680/j.itcon.2026.016
submitted:June 2025
published:March 2026
editor(s):Turk Z
authors:Andrzej Szymon Borkowski, DSc PhD Eng.
Department of Spatial Planning and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw, Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7013-670X
andrzej.borkowski@pw.edu.pl
summary:Data exchange in the AECOO industry remains constrained by the closed architectures of BIM tools and the hidden dependency of open standards such as IFC on incompatible geometric kernels. This paper asks whether kernel-independent, mesh-based formats specifically glTF and USD can address the interoperability, scalability and data-access limitations inherent in current kernel-dependent BIM paradigms. A qualitative, review-critical analysis was conducted, combining a comparative assessment of data standards (IFC, glTF, USD), technical documentation of geometric kernels and platforms, and case-based evidence from commercial and R&D projects. The analysis shows that mesh-based formats, combined with structured non-geometric data stored in formats such as JSON, CSV or SQL, offer a plausible and increasingly practical alternative to kernel-dependent workflows for a significant range of AECOO use cases, particularly those involving visualisation, simulation, robotics and AI. These findings are relevant to BIM researchers, software developers, and AECOO practitioners seeking to reduce vendor dependency and build scalable, AI-compatible data environments. Future research should empirically validate the performance of granular, mesh-based data systems across diverse project scales and disciplines, and investigate standardised methods for converting parametric data to mesh representations without critical loss of fidelity.
keywords:BIM (Building Information Modeling), new approach, critical analysis, openBIM, granular data, IFC (Industry Foundation Classes)
full text: (PDF file, 0.586 MB)
citation:Borkowski, A. S. (2026). A critical analysis of the direction of BIM development: From CAD through file-based approaches and SaaS to granular data. Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon), 31, 380-393. https://doi.org/10.36680/j.itcon.2026.016
statistics: