Cover story
BIG-style BIM Jens Majdal Kaarsholm, BIM Manager at Danish ‘starchitect’ firm BIG, talks Revit skills, industry standards and leadership styles and offers his advice for firms just starting out on their own BIM journeys
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IG (Bjarke Ingels Group) is a world-renowned Danish architectural practice, internationally recognised for its pioneering, bold and innovative exploration of architectural boundaries. The company’s exclusive status as an international ‘starchitect’ practice attracts clients from across the world, who are willing to entrust the company with a great level of creative freedom and significant budgets, in return for state-of-the-art architecture. With such great expectations, there follows a massive commitment to ensure that each and every building becomes a defining landmark for both the client and the environment it inhabits. It is exactly this creative and complex variation between projects that make starchitect practices like BIG so intriguing to study. Every unique design demands a unique approach and strategy, which also translates into BIM development. When we talk about automation and optimisation in a BIM-related context, the typical idea is that the more we can repeat and standardise across projects, the more we can take advantage of BIM. But what about firms like BIG that work on projects that are not remotely similar or repetitive in nature? What strategies do they have for BIM? There is probably no better person to ask than Jens Majdal Kaarsholm, who has built an impressive career around establishing such systems in his current role as BIM Manager at BIG and his previous 12
November / December 2021
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role as BIM Manager at Foster + Partners. Throughout his career, Kaarsholm has led the digital design of some of the most prestigious and complex building projects built in modern times. Today, Kaarsholm oversees all BIM projects on a day-to-day level at the BIG headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, while also supporting the offices in London & Barcelona. He has left his modelling days behind him, as is the case for many BIM managers in larger practices, where the role is strictly confined to managing company standards, training staff, and providing project consultation and support. Since returning to Denmark in 2018, Kaarsholm has taken a great personal interest in enabling the overall industry advancement of BIM domestically. Through his active engagement as a group user of MOLIO (Danish Building Research Establishment & buildingSMART) and the Digital Task Force at Danske ARK (Danish Association of Architectural Firms), he has become an essential voice of the industry and a trusted BIM advisor to both the private and public sector. Danish newspaper Berlingske recently shortlisted him as one of the Top 100 Young Talents in Denmark, in recognition of both his career achievements and volunteering efforts. Kaarsholm’s wide engagement with the industry, both domestically and internationally has won him a strong international reputation that comes with its own responsibilities. “There is not a day where
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30/11/2021 15:44
