Content

• Class 1
  • The pioneering researchers among those who conceived what we now know as Building Information Modeling:
    • Engelbart, Shuterland (SketchPad) and Negroponte (URBAN5):
    • Eastman (BDS), Davison&Watts (RUCAPS), Mitchell (CAAD), Bjork (IDS).
  • 1970s: The first commercial applications for large companies: PRONTO, Intergraph, Dassault CATIA and others
  • 1980s: The first commercial solutions for small and medium-sized design firms: ArchiCad and DDS-CAD
    • See what designing in ArchiCad 3 was like in 1987, in a live demonstration!

• Class 2
  • 1990s:
    • The expansion of commercial BIM design applications through adaptations of traditional software: Microstation Triforma, AutoCAD Architectural Desktop and MiniCAD Vectorworks.
      • See what designing in MiniCAD Vectorworks was like in 1998, in a live demonstration!
    • The start of IFC development by the Industry Alliance for Interoperability, led by Autodesk.
    • The start of software development for model analysis: JetStream Navisworks and Solibri Model Checker.
  • 2000s:
    • The release of Revit by RTC introduces a new workflow for designers, and the company is acquired by Autodesk.
      • See what designing in Revit 2.0 was like in 2000, before its acquisition by Autodesk, in a live demonstration!
    • The first BIM advocates, or influencers, on the internet: how Jerry Laiserin and Lachimi Khemlani helped build the understanding of what we call “Building Information Modeling” to this day.

Who is this course for?

This course is for students, professionals, teachers, researchers and consultants wishing to understand BIM's origins and the evolution of digital design technologies. It is particularly relevant to those who teach, use or help implement BIM and want to understand how researchers, companies and technological transformations contributed, from the 1960s to 2000, to today's software and workflows.

Course technical details

• 6 hours of live online classes. Just 2 classes!
• Course materials are provided as BIM models in IFC and other formats, PowerPoint or PDF presentations and Excel tables, with extensive bibliographic references to further your studies.
• PLEASE NOTE: Copies of the ABNT standards mentioned in this course are not provided!
• Access all your classes, recorded live on video! You have three months from the start of the course to download your video classes.
• Our courses count as complementary activities in undergraduate architecture, engineering and design programs.
• At the end of the course, a completion certificate is issued to those who attended at least 75% of the live online classes.

About the instructor

• In education, Gaspar has spent 26 years researching BIM-related tools and processes and developing training under the EBBIM – Empresa Brasileira de BIM brand.
• In academia, Gaspar teaches BIM in postgraduate programs at FIA Business School, SENAI-SP/ISEP and Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie.
• Work on the development and editing of BIM guides and manuals:
  • Co-authorship of the teaching materials for the Democratizando BIM – Agentes Públicos course for the Brazilian Agency for Industrial Development (ABDI): 5 workbooks and instructional video scripts, in 2025;
  • Participation in a working group and content review of 3 BIM manuals for the Urban Infrastructure Department of São Paulo City Hall (SIURB), in 2025;
  • Co-writing and co-editing of the Good Practice Guide for BIM Procurement: Volume I – General Guidelines, for the National Union of Architecture and Consulting Engineering Companies (SINAENCO), in 2024;
• Since November 2022, Gaspar has coordinated ABNT Special Study Commission 134, responsible for creating, editing and publishing Brazilian BIM standards. Between 2018 and 2022, within CEE-134, Gaspar participated in the working group that developed parts of ABNT NBR 15965-4:2021. Construction Information Classification System:
  • ABNT NBR 15965-4:2021. Construction Information Classification System. Part 4. Construction Resources;
  • ABNT NBR 15965-5:202. Construction Information Classification System. Part 5. Construction Results
  • ABNT NBR 15965-6: Construction Information Classification System. Part 6. Construction Units and Spaces.
• Since February 2022, he has been a PhD candidate in the Graduate Program in Architecture and Urbanism at FAU-USP, researching the use of BIM in social housing projects under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Gil Garcia de Barros.
• In August 2019, Gaspar obtained a master's degree from the Graduate Program in Architecture, Technology and the City at the University of Campinas (Unicamp), supervised by Prof. Dr. Regina Ruschel.
• With ProBooks Editora, João Gaspar has authored several books, notably “Revit passo a passo – volume I” (co-authored), “ARCHICAD passo a passo”, volumes I and II (co-authored), “Vectorworks passo a passo” and “SketchUp Pro 2013 passo a passo”. With the same publisher, Gaspar edited “101 Conceitos em Arquitetura e Urbanismo na Era Digital”, “Arquitetura contemporânea e automação: prática e reflexão” and “Métricas Urbanas: abordagens paramétricas no planejamento de bairros e cidades sustentáveis”.
• As a researcher, his publications and presentations at major conferences include: Autodesk University (Las Vegas, 2023 and Nashville, 2025), SIGraDI 2024 (Barcelona, 2024), CIB W78 2018 (Chicago, USA), SIGraDI 2017 (Concepción, Chile), CIB W78 2015 (Eindhoven, Netherlands) and TIC 2015 (Recife).

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