A Systematic Review of Information Visualization in Building Information Modeling

This dataset contains the results of a systematic literature review of information visualization in Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM employs 3D CAD models as a central knowledge base for large-scale facility design, construction, and operation. For many years now, the construction industry has researched how to best take advantage of this integrated environment. Its growing information complexity calls upon innovative techniques for effective visual analysis and exploration. An important question remains: how to best display relevant information for different use cases throughout a facility’s life cycle? This article seeks to bridge this gap through a systematic review of information visualization techniques in practical applications of BIM. We first propose a conceptual framework to classify the main application areas of visualization across previous BIM research. Afterwards, we conduct a critical analysis of the techniques employed in 5 main use cases. Based on this discussion, we highlight design guidelines and future research directions for visualization in BIM. We hope this work raises awareness to interesting new challenges for the visualization community and encourages greater cooperation with BIM practictioners.