🔍 OpenBIM for All: A Conversation with Petru on the Future of Model-Based Projects

That’s the message from Petru Conduraru, OpenBIM consultant, trainer, and founder of BIMvoice. I spoke with Petr about his journey from traditional engineering to model-based delivery, the power of IFC, and why the future of construction needs to move past PDFs and proprietary tools.

👋 Who are you and what do you do?

I’m a civil engineer by training, but I’ve spent most of my career immersed in BIM. I now run BIMvoice, offering training and consulting to help teams adopt OpenBIM — particularly through tools like IFC and platforms like BonsaiBIM.

My goal is to make model-based delivery not just possible, but practical — and to share what I’ve learned from over 12 years in Norway’s advanced OpenBIM ecosystem.

🏗️ Why OpenBIM? What makes it work in Norway?

Norway was an early adopter. A public client published its first OpenBIM mandate back in 2008, and since then, the ecosystem has grown. I worked as a BIM Coordinator on a €1B infrastructure project where everything was model-based — no drawings.

OpenBIM shines when you have 5–10 stakeholders all using different tools. IFC becomes the common language. Without it, coordination would be chaos.

🌍 Is this just a Norway thing? Or can it scale globally?

It’s definitely not just Norway. My goal is to export these lessons. The EU is mandating OpenBIM for infrastructure. Countries like Singapore and Japan are exploring it. My clients are global — only one student in my training is from Norway!

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Norway has already tested and iterated for years. The value is clear — you get reusable data for construction, facility management, and more.

🎯 Who needs to care about OpenBIM?

Everyone in AEC.

Clients should drive adoption because they benefit the most — better information, smoother handovers, fewer reworks. But architects, BIM coordinators, contractors — they all need to learn how to contribute and use model-based processes.

It's not about drawings vs. models. It’s about data quality, reusability, and better project outcomes.

🌳 What’s BonsaiBIM, and why does it matter?

BonsaiBIM is a free, open-source, IFC-native authoring tool. That means it speaks IFC directly — no need for export workarounds.

I use Bonsai because it’s the only tool that shows you exactly how IFC data is structured. It removes confusion, empowers coordination, and democratizes access to powerful BIM workflows.

Even though it's still alpha, we’ve used it on large-scale infrastructure projects. More tools like this are emerging, and they’ll drive real change in AEC.

🤖 Can AI help speed adoption?

Yes — especially for newcomers. AI can explain schemas, audit models, and assist with tasks like cost estimating or scheduling. New tools like IFC Flow are integrating AI for real-time validation and modification.

But you still need to understand the fundamentals. AI helps — but it’s not a substitute for BIM literacy.

📐 What do you say to architects who claim IFC doesn’t work for design?

That’s just not true. Many Norwegian firms are delivering hospitals and infrastructure without drawings — fully model-based.

The issue isn’t IFC. It’s mindset. We need to stop thinking of models as something to export from Revit. Think of them as rich databases that everyone can use. That shift opens up entirely new ways of working.

💬 Final thoughts?

Start small, but start now. The earlier you build model-based skills, the more competitive you become.

Whether you're a contractor, client, or designer — OpenBIM isn’t the future. It’s already happening. Let’s stop redrawing the same lines and start designing the systems we actually need.