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The rapid movement from Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) to Building Information Modeling (BIM) by professional architects and engineers creates several challenges and opportunities for Architecture and Architectural Engineering programs. The BIM methodology offers dramatic new benefits to students that university programs have just begun to explore, but it also will likely trigger trade-off considerations for traditional skills that might be lost. Some educators worry that new BIM activities pose a threat to design thinking. This paper surveys some of the major challenges and opportunities that BIM presents in educational settings, with several suggestions for future directions for exploration. These findings are discussed in the context of several key conclusions that have been developed based on six semesters using BIM in junior- and senior-level architectural design studios in an undergraduate program in Architectural Engineering. The paper remarks on accreditation issues, and it seeks to develop potential `best practice' hallmarks with the goal of stimulating future discussion.
Denzer et al. (Thu,) studied this question.