BIM Game – Ping Pong

Digital simulation game as an effective teaching method for BIM

19 March 2021 to 21 March 2021; IHJO in cooperation with the Department of Architecture at Jade University of Applied Sciences has designed a new teaching method for BIM as a digital simulation game and successfully tested it in a student workshop!

In order to find a way to teach students the networked and digital planning method Building Information Modelling (BIM) in times of the Corona pandemic, the Department of Architecture at Jade University of Applied Sciences and IHJO's Innovation Management have implemented the first decentralised and at the same time international simulation game at Jade University of Applied Sciences. The BIM simulation is a trial run for professional practice: 18 architecture students learned about the design and planning tools of the BIM method in a digital role play.

PingPong Fliesstext

This is how the test simulation worked

In groups of four to five people and under realistic competitive conditions, a campus café was to be planned. Responsibilities were distributed in each group and the players were assigned different roles. Cooperation within the group was decentralised and took place directly on the 3D model. The work took place in direct competition with the other groups and was structured by regular discussions with the client. Intermediate submissions as well as knowledge of partial results from other groups increased the pressure on the participants. The results had to be delivered precisely and, above all, on time. This was ensured by a work portal that controlled the entire game, structured the process steps and queried the respective deliverables. In this way, time flew by. Conference rooms were available for meetings and coordination. After three intensive days of work, four exciting designs were finally awarded prizes. The playful competition atmosphere motivated all participants. It reduced fear of contact with new technologies, trained digital communication and conveyed knowledge about the benefits and performance of various digital planning tools. The intensity of the game blurred the boundaries between virtual and real communication and led to an intensive group experience far beyond the country's borders, which is rare at this (Corona) time.

Provided basic equipment for all players

Modelling and visualisation software
web-based data management / cloud / CDE
software for cost estimation
Clash Detection software
BCF application
IFC Viewer

Why did we do this?

Learning through play is the most intuitive form of learning known to man. From an early age, new skills are learned through play and adaptation. The digital simulation game PING PONG makes use of this natural play instinct and thus ensures a higher motivation to deal with the topic of BIM. This is the initial idea and motivation for the European-funded research project "BIM Game", which was organised and developed in cooperation with various universities, colleges, training centres and software companies from five European countries. In a first test run, this three-day event Ping Pong was held to teach architecture students the digital planning methodology BIM, but also to test new measures and tools that raise the BIM Game to a higher level.

What are the advantages for professional practice of such a training format?

If Building Information Modelling is to become the planning standard for construction projects, academic education and training must teach the digital planning methodology. However, it is important that the teaching format is not limited to the mere application of the individual tools, but that it is understood that the introduction of the methodology creates new ways of working and processes that need to be mapped. This concerns in particular the cooperative, interdisciplinary and parallel nature of planning. These new challenges need to be experienced and tried out rather than described in theoretical treatises. Therefore, the BIM Game is an excellent way to gain initial experience in a playful way and under protected laboratory conditions.