Mapping of BIM and GIS for interoperable geospatial data management and analysis for the built environment

Deng, Y (2015) Mapping of BIM and GIS for interoperable geospatial data management and analysis for the built environment. Unpublished PhD thesis, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.

Abstract

The Building Information Modeling (BIM) domain and the Geographic Information System (GIS)domain share a mutual need for information from each other. Information from GIS can facilitateBIM applications such as site selection and onsite material layout, while models from BIM helpgenerate detailed models in GIS and achieve better utility management. The mapping between thekey schemas in the BIM domain and the GIS domain is the most critical step towardsinteroperability between the two domains. In this research, Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) andCity Geography Markup Language (CityGML) were chosen as the key schemas due to their wideapplications in the BIM domain and the GIS domain, respectively. A review of previous studies onthe integration between BIM and GIS reveals that so far there is no bi-directional mappingconsidering both geometric and semantic information between IFC and CityGML. Moreover, thetransformation between different Levels of Detail (LoDs) in 3D GIS models has not been fullystudied. The objective of this research is to develop techniques and tools to allow bi-directionalmapping between key schemas in the BIM domain and the GIS domain considering transformationof geometry, semantic information and LoDs. Three use cases based on the integration betweenBIM and GIS are presented to show how the integration can facilitate problem solving in thearchitecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. First, the sufficiency of the IFC schema for storing GIS data was evaluated using textanalysis techniques and version different analysis. An extension for IFC 4 was developed to storedata from CityGML. Then a linguistic-based semi-automatic mapping framework for IFC andCityGML was developed and evaluated, which showed promising results. The bi-directionalmapping between IFC and CityGML was developed using instance-based mapping with referenceontology. The mapping framework was compared to previous studies to show its effectiveness. Second, the transformation between LoDs in 3D GIS models was developed based on theLoD definitions in CityGML. This is a critical step for mapping between BIM and GIS as 3D GISmodels are usually represented in different LoDs. An exterior shell extraction algorithm wasproposed to facilitate the transformation between LoDs in CityGML. The algorithms oftransformation from higher LoDs to lower LoDs were developed and validated using complex andlarge-scale 3D GIS models. Finally, three use cases were developed to show how BIM and GIS can facilitate problemsolving in the AEC industry. The first use case aimed to build 3D noise maps for urbanenvironments using data from BIM and GIS. The Italian C. N. R. model was used for noiseprediction. The highlight of this use case study is that by using BIM and GIS integration, the noisemapping can be performed at room level and the design models can be flexibly updated. The second use case considered construction supply chain management (CSCM) using BIM and GISintegration. The allocation of consolidation centers for multiple construction sites, which is aproblem seldom studied by previous literature, is formulated and solved by integrating BIM andGIS. The third case aimed to develop a 3D underground utility management system for urbanenvironments. The system uses modeling functions in BIM as data sources for utility management. Moreover, an algorithm was developed to allow transforming 2D CAD drawings into 3D utilitylines.

Item Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Thesis advisor: Cheng, J C P
Uncontrolled Keywords: construction supply chain; effectiveness; geographic information system; construction site; noise; building information model; building information modeling; information system; integration; interoperability; problem solving; supply chain management; industry foundation classes; case study
Date Deposited: 16 Apr 2025 19:32
Last Modified: 16 Apr 2025 19:32