Introduction
Building Information Modeling (BIM) is no longer just an innovative methodology for the design and management of construction, but a full-fledged regulatory and mandatory tool for the public sector in Italy.
Legislation has taken important steps in recent years, although not always in the time and manner we would have hoped. But the point is that we are there: today BIM is no longer an option, it is a regulatory, organizational and cultural reality.
Over the past decade, in fact, the Italian legislature has charted a clear path from the gradual introduction of BIM with DM 560/2017-known as the “Baratono Decree”-to its full integration within the New Public Contracts Code (Legislative Decree 36/2023), which came into force on July 1, 2023.
This regulatory development marks the transition from an experimental phase to an organic and binding framework designed to radically change public works management, with the goal of ensuring transparency, efficiency and sustainability.
From DM 560/2017 to Legislative Decree. 36/2023
DM 560/2017 had introduced a phased roadmap of BIM adoption in public procurement, mandating the use of the methodology for the most complex and highest-value economic works starting in 2019.
The progression envisaged the extension of the obligation in subsequent years, until, by 2025, it covered the generality of new public works.
With Legislative Decree 36/2023, this roadmap was absorbed into a broader and updated framework. Article 43 and Annex I.9 establish the conditions and modalities for the application of BIM in public procurement.
Specifically:
– As of January 1, 2025, BIM becomes mandatory for new construction and interventions on existing works with the amount of works exceeding 2 million euros.
– Different thresholds, defined in Article 14 of the Code, apply for cultural goods.
– Ordinary and extraordinary maintenance works are excluded, except in cases where they have already been carried out using BIM methodology.
– For amounts below the thresholds, the use of BIM remains optional, but can be encouraged as a reward criterion in calls for tenders.
In this way, BIM becomes a cornerstone of public works planning and implementation, with uniform and binding rules.
The obligations for contracting stations
The Public Contracts Code not only makes the use of BIM mandatory, but also defines the organizational and technical requirements that contracting stations and granting administrations must meet in order to require BIM in their tenders:
– Training: prepare a program to update staff skills, possibly with the support of external consultants.
– Tools: plan the acquisition of suitable hardware, software and platforms for information management.
– Organization: integrate digitized processes into the institution’s current practices, creating dedicated internal teams and procedures.
– Interoperability: ensure the use of open, non-proprietary formats (such as the IFC standard) and adopt a Common Data Environment (CDE) as the single environment for collecting, managing and sharing project information.
These requirements represent a real “digital infrastructure” that every contracting station must build to properly manage a BIM process.
Updated terminology and international standards
With the introduction and implementation of the UNI EN ISO 19650 series (parts 1-6), Italian terminology has aligned with international standards. Some significant changes:
– The traditional Information Specifications are now referred to as Exchange Information Requirements (EIR).
– The parties involved are identified as Appointing Party (principal) and Appointed Party (foster).
– Traditional LODs (Level of Development) have been superseded by the concept of Level of Information Need (LoIN), which was introduced to provide greater flexibility and adaptability to project information requirements.
This lexical and conceptual harmonization facilitates international collaboration and reduces operational ambiguities.
UNI standards and future prospects
Alongside ISO 19650, UNI 11337, which is the national annex and details the application aspects of BIM, remains central in Italy.
The different parts of the standard deal with information models, coding, workflows, requirements of professional figures and drafting of the information specification.
In particular, UNI 11337-7 defines the competence requirements of key figures in the BIM process:
– BIM Specialist
– BIM Coordinator
– BIM Manager
– CDE Manager
Certifications related to these figures, issued by ACCREDIA-accredited bodies, are now a basic requirement for operating in the public sector.
Other important normative references include UNI/PdR 74:2019, which governs information management systems for organizations, and new European standards in the pipeline, including:
– EN ISO 7817-1:2024 (Level of Information Need), which replaced the previous EN 17412-1:2020.
– prEN 17473, dedicated to data structure for construction products, still under development.
Future Perspectives
The future goal is to create a digital construction ecosystem that is fully integrated and transparent, where BIM will be seen no longer as a technical tool but as a genuine collaborative method used by all stakeholders-designers, contractors, government, and operators-as a fully utilized integrated methodology.
The future of BIM methodology will, moreover, be characterized by integration with other emerging digital tools, such as:
– Digital Twin to monitor works in real time,
– Artificial Intelligence to support design and maintenance,
– Interoperable platforms that finally overcome the jungle of proprietary formats,
– Integrated GIS and IoT systems for intelligent infrastructure management.
One of the central issues will then be the standardization of skills and certification of BIM professionals to ensure skills, quality and reliability in all digital processes. The demand for certified professionals and companies is therefore expected to grow exponentially.
But the real challenge will be to grow people along with technology. It is not possible to think about digitizing the industry if we do not seriously invest in continuing education, especially in small and medium-sized businesses, which are the real backbone of our building system.
A change in mentality is needed, which goes beyond compliance with the standard. BIM is not (just) a constraint: it is a tool to work better, to design more consciously, to manage more efficiently. Those who have understood this are already a step ahead.
Conclusions
The transition from DM 560/2017 to Legislative Decree 36/2023 marked the final maturity of BIM in the Italian regulatory landscape.
No longer an experimental tool, BIM Methodology is now a mandatory requirement for the design and management of public works above certain economic thresholds.
This transformation aims to make the construction sector more efficient, sustainable and transparent, putting Italy in line with European and international best practices.
The challenge now is not just regulatory, but cultural: to spread skills, adopt interoperable tools and ensure that digitization becomes the rule and not the exception in public works management.
What we have learned over the years
Working in BIM means challenging yourself, every day. It means getting out of the logic of “closed competencies” and starting to think in processes, in relationships. No one is a monad anymore: the designer, the contractor, the client, the manager, must speak the same language. And the legislation, on this, has been crucial in forcing a collaboration that would otherwise have remained a dead letter.
But beware: the law alone is not enough. The real leap is made when BIM is no longer an obligation, but a conscious choice. When it becomes part of the way of thinking and not just the way of designing. This requires culture, time and – above all – training.
Schematic list of BIM regulations in Italy
1. Primary legislation
– Legislative Decree 36/2023 (New Public Contracts Code), Art. 43 and Annex I.9: regulates the obligation and conditions for adopting BIM.
– DM 560/2017 (Baratono Decree): outdated, but historically relevant as the first roadmap for the introduction of BIM.
2. UNI technical standards.
– UNI 11337 (2015-2018 series and later): national regulatory framework on BIM.
– UNI 11337-1: Models, elaborates and information objects for products and processes.
– UNI/TR 11337-2: Information flows and decision-making processes in the management of information by clients
– UNI/TS 11337-3: Models for collecting, organizing and storing technical information for construction products.
– UNI 11337-4: Informational evolution and development of models, elaborates and objects.
– UNI 11337-5: Information flows in digitized processes.
– UNI/TR 11337-6: guidelines for drafting information specification.
– UNI 11337-7: Knowledge, skill and competence requirements for those involved in information management and modeling (Specialist, Coordinator, Manager, CDE Manager).
– UNI 11337-12: Information flows, roles, and requirements for infrastructure works.
– Parts 8-11 (in development): exercise, workflow, blockchain, data security.
– UNI/PdR 74:2019: Information management systems of organizations.
3. Transposed international standards
– UNI EN ISO 19650 (parts 1-6): information management throughout the life cycle of works.
– ISO 16739-1 (IFC): open data exchange format.
– ISO 29481-1 (IDM): delivery manual.
– ISO 12006-2 (IFD): classification.
4. Evolving European legislation
– EN ISO 7817-1:2024 (Level of Information Need), which replaced the previous EN 17412-1:2020.
– prEN 17473: data structure for construction products (under development).
5. Professional certifications
– Accredited certifications according to UNI 11337-7 for BIM Specialist, Coordinator, Manager and CDE Manager.
– Certifications issued by ACCREDIA-accredited bodies.
6. Other references
– Public Contracts Code, Art. 35: Community thresholds for contracts.
– European Directive 2014/24/EU: basis of national transposition on procurement.
Edited by: Architect Luciana Bianchini, BIM Manager La SIA.
