Celebrating Style Over Substance in Smart Buildings
As the Academy Awards honor cinematic excellence, we examine how the allure of ‘Hollywood’ BIMs’ visual appeal frequently wins out over the functional performance of hard-working Digital Twins which contribute to truly smart building design.
*Following up on the article: *Why Are Smart Buildings and Cities Dumb?
The Illusion of ‘Smart’ Systems
Buildings and infrastructure are often labeled ‘smart,’ but crises like the recent Los Angeles wildfires expose the gap between marketing and reality. The Edison Smart Grid—promised as resilient—collapsed when it mattered most, leaving communities vulnerable.
This isn’t just a one-off failure. For decades, ‘smart’ buildings have failed at their core purpose—supporting operations, maintenance, and emergency response. The gap between Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Automation Systems (BAS) is a significant factor contributing to these failures. While Hollywood BIMs provide detailed digital representations of a building’s physical and functional characteristics, they often lack the capability to handle real-time updates essential for BAS operations.
The industry has been captivated by visually stunning models—as Hollywood BIM and Hollywood Digital Twins. These high-fidelity representations, while impressive and sometimes valuable in specific contexts, often mask underlying inefficiencies and fail to deliver tangible operational value. They prioritize flash over function, neglecting the critical need for integration with systems like BAS that rely on real-time data to optimize building performance.
Addressing these challenges is crucial for moving beyond the illusion of intelligence to achieve real, effective digital transformation, bridging the BIM and BAS gap. (Director’s note: There is a happy ending below in Act 3 starring the lead actors named the Linux Foundation and the Coalition for Smarter Buildings.)
Act 1: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood BIM
Reflecting on Industry Challenges
Over the years, many building owners have encountered significant challenges in implementing Building Information Modeling (BIM) and integrating it with complex operations tools.
Consequences of Over-Detailing
- Overcomplicated Models: Excessive detail can lead to bloated models that are cumbersome to manage and often become obsolete since they cannot be maintained as changes happen. Monolithic, vendor-locked models trap data, blocking integration and owner control.
- Disconnect from Operations: Models rich in design detail may lack the practical information necessary for facility management, rendering them ineffective post-construction. During operations, updating these detailed models as inevitable changes occur becomes time-consuming and impractical. The complexity that made them visually impressive during design often becomes a liability in the long-term management of the building.
- Case in Point: Numerous organizations have spent extensive periods (often over a decade) attempting to integrate asset data into Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS), often resulting in significant data loss and drain substantial financial resources.
Act 2: Hollywood Digital Twins – Repeating the Same Mistakes
The Illusion of Intelligence
Hollywood has perfected the art of creating dazzling illusions—convincing, immersive, yet ultimately disconnected from reality. AI is now amplifying this ability, generating synthetic worlds that look real but lack depth. In the building industry, we see the same trend: Hollywood BIMs and Digital Twins that prioritize visual spectacle over functional utility. These high-fidelity models impress in demos and marketing pitches, yet fail when it comes to real-world operations, emergency response, and long-term maintenance. The illusion of intelligence fades the moment these systems are needed most.
This obsession with appearances over function is leading the industry down a dangerous path, where the promise of Digital Twins is being undermined by three key pitfalls:
- Visually Impressive but Functionally Lacking Models: Vendors often showcase sleek 3D representations that lack real-time data integration and actionable insights.
- Proprietary Systems: Many Digital Twin solutions are closed ecosystems, limiting interoperability and locking owners into specific platforms.
- The “Single Pane of Glass” Myth: The notion that one system can manage all building operations is misleading, as no single solution can effectively handle the complexity of modern facilities. Many ‘all-in-one’ solutions are vendor-controlled, trapping data in proprietary ecosystems. Instead of enabling interoperability, they lock owners into costly dependencies. These closed systems inevitably collapse under their own weight.
Real-World Implications
Recent events, such as the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles, underscore the stark contrast between perceived intelligence and actual preparedness. Supposedly, ‘smart’ systems failed to deliver when they were needed most, leaving communities vulnerable. These so-called innovations turned out to be more about marketing than real-world resilience—offering all flash and no substance when it truly mattered.
Act 3: Breaking Free – What Digital Twins Should Actually Be
Lessons Learned
- Purpose-Driven Detail: It’s crucial to start with use cases first rather than assuming that a single model can solve everything. Highly detailed BIM and Digital Twins can be valuable—when used appropriately. Complex, high-resolution models may be necessary for engineering-intensive tasks, such as renovations in dense mechanical spaces or precise energy simulations. However, when it comes to operations and facility management, the need for rapid updates, ease of use, and real-time data outweighs the benefit of excessive visual fidelity. Digital Twins should be built as a system of systems—modular, flexible, and interconnected through open-source connection profiles. Owners must reject closed ecosystems and demand solutions that foster true interoperability, allowing data to flow freely across platforms and applications without being burdened by unnecessary complexity.
- Embracing Open Standards: Adopting interoperable frameworks and open-source solutions fosters collaboration and flexibility, allowing systems to evolve and integrate seamlessly. The Coalition for Smarter Buildings (C4SB) and the Linux Foundation are leading efforts to create open-source connection profiles that focus on connecting specific data streams across silos.
- Data-Centric Approach: No more Hollywood flash and false facades—Digital Twins must prioritize real usefulness over visual spectacle. Instead of focusing on highly detailed, visually impressive 3D models that fail in real-world applications, digital twins should be designed for actionable, operations-driven data.
- Demanding Accountability: Owners and stakeholders must advocate for solutions that offer transparency and usability and align with their operational needs. Don’t fall for another ‘smart’ system that fails when lives and property are at stake.
Final Scene: Bridging the Gap Between BIM and BAS
Integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Digital Twins with Building Automation Systems (BAS) and controls is essential for realizing truly smart buildings. However, this integration faces significant challenges, particularly due to the differing operational paradigms of these systems. BIM models often focus on detailed design and construction data, but they may lack the capability to handle real-time or specified frequency updates essential for BAS operations. This discrepancy can lead to interoperability issues, hindering the seamless integration of BIM with BAS and IoT-based systems.
Solving this means adopting open standards for real-time BIM-to-BAS connections—moving from Hollywood illusions to truly resilient buildings.
Call to Action
Have you encountered challenges in integrating BIM with BAS and controls in your projects? Owners, what do you need? Vendors, how are you solving it? Share your insights below.
