A novel workflow to combine BIM and linked data for existing buildings

Abstract

Combining conventional Building Information Modeling (BIM) tools and Linked Data technologies improves the options to connect building models to external datasets. Existing workflows in this regard expect a conventional BIM model - including object’s geometry - as a starting point. This paper presents a novel, alternative workflow oriented towards existing buildings, including an initial implementation. Modeling the building topology using the BOT ontology is done first, allowing a Linked Data modeler to enrich this initial graph from the start of a project without being dependent on a BIM with (detailed) geometry. Later, a conventional BIM - including objects’ geometry - of the existing building can be made, starting from the shared building topology. At the end of this more flexible workflow, both the initial RDF graph and the BIM-based RDF graph are directly connected to each other, combining both datasets.