News

Dubai, represented by Dubai Municipality, has been selected to house the first local branch of BuildingSMART International in the Middle East and Africa region. The organization aims to promote digital transformation in the construction sector and assets, including infrastructure, by adopting unified international digital standards for the design of buildings, facilities, and project phases. This is set to help owners, consultants, contractors, and operators, in the field to work with more synergy and effectively.

This move emphasizes the pioneering position of Dubai internationally in digital transformation and innovation in the construction sector. It further consolidates the UAE’s position among international contributors in this field, and with its extensive experience, it ranks among the best countries in global competitiveness reports in several areas, including the construction sector.

Partnership

BuildingSMART International has chosen Dubai Municipality to establish its new branch, which will join 21 other branches across the world as the Municipality is the entity that is responsible to oversee the construction sector, issuing building permits, and monitoring and regulating facilities. The organization consists of members from international companies, governmental entities, and universities, collaborating to develop international unified standards for Building information modeling (BIM).

The BuildingSMART’s branches are local institutions which are also members of the organization. These members share the vision and objectives to support digital transformation in construction, adopt unified BIM standards, and contribute to developing these standards and spreading awareness.

Responsibilities

Dubai’s branch will focus on supporting the digital transformation of the construction sector in the country in cooperation with government agencies, private companies, and specialized educational institutions in the UAE, whose work is related to the design, construction and management of building and infrastructure assets, enabling information sharing and improving work methods in general. It will also promote effective participation in various working groups of BuildingSMART International, especially regarding development of building permit procedures, automated verification of building regulations, and digital twinning regulations. In addition, it will make key contributions to the development and application of global open-source standards to enhance integration between Building information modeling and Geographic Information System (GIS).

Furthermore, the UAE branch will raise awareness about the importance of using unified global standards for modeling building information by organizing workshops and conferences for industry professionals in the UAE, GCC, and the other parts of the region. In addition, it will oversee training programs, issue internationally accredited certificates, and contribute to the translation of BIM standards into Arabic. For more details, visit the link: https://www.buildingsmartuae.ae.