Using BIM to Support Habitat for Humanity: A Case Study

This paper documents a graduate level research project intended to enable students to gain experience with Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the context of a “real-world” project. The project was structured to assist a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity with project estimating and scheduling by utilizing BIM in two primary ways. The first was to use the BIM model to generate cost estimates for projects using a pre-designed housing prototype. The second was to use the BIM model to assist in helping volunteer laborers to better visualize the construction sequence. This required the development of atypical modeling and cost estimating strategies. The paper documents the evolution of the project, modeling strategies that were employed, and the final project outcomes. It also identifies further refinements that can be made to scale the project to adapt to a wider range of Habitat projects.