KUBUS360's "leanBIM" Cuts Data Fat From a 630-Workstation Project

A Stuttgart firm modeled a complex for roughly 630 workstations and kept it lean by putting only the data someone would actually evaluate into the BIM model. KUBUS360 calls the method leanBIM. BIM coordinator Freddy Hartmann puts the rule plainly: "We primarily aimed to incorporate only the information that would be evaluated later into the model."

The project is an administrative complex in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It consists of three wood-concrete hybrid buildings with public-facing ground floors and offices above. Architect Bianca Hirner and BIM coordinator Freddy Hartmann led the modeling work in Vectorworks Architect.

The problem leanBIM attacks is familiar. Building Information Modeling (BIM, a 3D design method where each element carries structured data) lets a wall hold its fire resistance class, cost group, and future maintenance records. That capacity creates temptation. Every added property means more work, more coordination, more maintenance. Data entered too early or without a purpose goes stale fast.

What does the client actually need?

KUBUS360 starts the BIM process before the first line is drawn. The client had limited BIM experience. So instead of waiting for a requirements list that would never arrive, the team helped write the Employer's Information Requirements (EIR, the client's formal specification of what data it wants) and built the BIM Execution Plan (BEP) from it.

That planning produced a Level of Information Need matrix (LOIN, a table defining which properties each element needs and at which project phase) covering every building component, each identified as an Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) entity — the open format for exchanging BIM data. Information entered the model as the design developed, not all at once.

The result: a lighter model, clearer responsibilities, and fewer useless data fields.

Four databases, one source of truth

Keeping a model lean is partly a question of where data lives. KUBUS360 ran nearly the whole project on four centralized databases inside Vectorworks Architect: a general IFC database, a component database, one for windows and doors, and a placeholder database for facility management.

Through the Vectorworks Data Manager, elements inherit fire resistance classes and other shared properties from these datasets. The same values feed visualizations, schedules, and IFC exports. "Thanks to the small number of databases, we know relatively quickly where the data is being entered," Hartmann said.

How do you model freely without losing the data?

Native Vectorworks tools cover roughly 95 percent of the project's modeling work — stairs, railings, structural elements, doors. Custom elements follow different logic. KUBUS360 uses class-based assignment, meaning an object's IFC identity and properties come from its class, not from the tool that drew it.

A parapet can be modeled as a roof surface and still export with the correct cost group. A curved facade pilaster can start as solid geometry, become an Auto Hybrid object, and carry the same data as any standard component. "The class-based approach is a key advantage for us in Vectorworks Architect, as it allows us to design shapes completely freely," says Hartmann.

Making data visible

Data becomes useful when architects can verify it on screen. KUBUS360 uses Data Visualization in Vectorworks Architect to color-code elements by stored information. Fire protection classes display instantly across the building. Inconsistencies surface without digging through schedules.

The team also built an internal quality-control tool, the Angle Checker. Polygonal geometries generate many irregular angles, so each element gets a true-or-false value through the Data Manager. Incorrect geometry becomes visible immediately.

Beyond the building

The "how much is enough" question grows sharper when BIM connects to geodata. A second Vectorworks example shows ArcGIS integration making geospatial information the foundation of a BIM workflow before modeling begins. Parcels, roads, and site features stream in through ArcGIS Feature Services, creating a geolocated site model from live GIS data instead of static imports.

Existing trees imported from GIS datasets can carry species and health information, color-coded to flag which trees to preserve, remove, or replace. At urban scale, geolocated building models can feed ArcGIS web scenes used by planners, engineers, and facility managers.

Not every project needs that depth. BIM information becomes valuable when it supports decisions across disciplines — not simply because it exists. KUBUS360's takeaway scales to any project: define information priorities before modeling starts, centralize data structures, and run visual checks as the design develops. As models grow richer, deciding what to leave out is becoming a design discipline of its own.