Real Estate Construction Industry Moves to 4D Product Modeling

Stanford University's Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) and researchers at Finnish universities and IT companies have built a foundation for joint development of information and communication technology (ICT) tools for the construction and real estate industries.

“CIFE and Finland are two of the leading places with serious engagement in research and practice in ICT for real estate and construction,” said CIFE Director Martin Fisher.

Fisher has been collaborating with Finnish researchers for almost 25 years and was instrumental in establishing a partnership between CIFE, Tekes and VTT in 1998. Since that time, technologies developed in Finland have been tested by CIFE, which helped the Finns understand the impact of these products in the global marketplace.

Fisher also has served as guest lecturer at Helsinki University of Technology (HUT), where he worked with Ph.D. students and provided guidance on appropriate approaches to developing ICT tools.

The CIFE-Finland partnership has resulted in a number of real-world projects as well. The collaboration led to the first use of virtual, 4D product modeling for the whole lifecycle of a construction product. The result: a new auditorium at the HUT.