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←Expertise
BIM
A sensible balance between model detail and design speed
Excessive model detail is not a mark of quality but a hidden enemy of efficiency: files grow heavy and cannot be opened on site. STMK splits the project into zones with different levels of development: services are modelled at LOD 200—300, where overall size and position matter, while the frame and its reinforcement go to LOD 350—400, where detail produces an accurate estimate and a node the site manager can read on a tablet.
Liliya Baydak20 August 2026
Engineering has a dangerous belief: the more finely a 3D model is drawn, the better the project. In practice excessive detail is a hidden enemy of efficiency. When files grow heavy with small parts — bolts, flange connections — computers slow down and mobile devices on site simply will not open the document. So we take a differentiated approach and split the project into zones of responsibility with different levels of detail.
Engineering has a dangerous belief: the more finely a 3D model is drawn, the better the project. In practice excessive detail is a hidden enemy of efficiency. When files grow heavy with small parts — bolts, flange connections — computers slow down and mobile devices on site simply will not open the document. So we take a differentiated approach and split the project into zones of responsibility with different levels of detail.
Pragmatic minimalism for building services
For internal services we deliberately work at low or medium detail — LOD 200—300. The engineer's task here is different: to place the runs correctly in space, hold the falls and avoid intersections with the structure. Navisworks finds clashes from the exact outer dimensions of a pipe or duct and their position in space, and nothing more is needed for that.
For internal services we deliberately work at low or medium detail — LOD 200—300. The engineer's task here is different: to place the runs correctly in space, hold the falls and avoid intersections with the structure. Navisworks finds clashes from the exact outer dimensions of a pipe or duct and their position in space, and nothing more is needed for that.
Economically it makes no sense to spend expensive specialists' hours drawing clamps, brackets and small fittings. The internal rule is simple: it is cheaper and faster to buy small consumables for the site with a modest calculated surplus than to pay for weeks of meticulous digital accounting.
Economically it makes no sense to spend expensive specialists' hours drawing clamps, brackets and small fittings. The internal rule is simple: it is cheaper and faster to buy small consumables for the site with a modest calculated surplus than to pay for weeks of meticulous digital accounting.
Full focus on structural reinforcement
The load-bearing frame calls for the opposite approach. Here we work at medium and high detail — LOD 350—400. That is not a preference but a requirement of building codes, and every detail is drawn with maximum care.
The load-bearing frame calls for the opposite approach. Here we work at medium and high detail — LOD 350—400. That is not a preference but a requirement of building codes, and every detail is drawn with maximum care.
High detail in reinforced concrete makes estimates accurate. The software builds the schedules and steel take-offs itself: if the structural engineer changes a bar diameter or spacing, the total mass of steel is recalculated instantly. The client sees a transparent material cost with no surprises at procurement.
High detail in reinforced concrete makes estimates accurate. The software builds the schedules and steel take-offs itself: if the structural engineer changes a bar diameter or spacing, the total mass of steel is recalculated instantly. The client sees a transparent material cost with no surprises at procurement.
There is a second reason — clarity on site. Complex spatial nodes, such as the crossing of bars where a column meets a floor slab, are hard to read from flat drawings. When the site manager turns that node around on a tablet, the risk of error all but disappears.
There is a second reason — clarity on site. Complex spatial nodes, such as the crossing of bars where a column meets a floor slab, are hard to read from flat drawings. When the site manager turns that node around on a tablet, the risk of error all but disappears.
We deliberately simplify the model where that speeds up the documentation, and go deep into detail where it delivers real automation and saves resources on site.
We deliberately simplify the model where that speeds up the documentation, and go deep into detail where it delivers real automation and saves resources on site.
BIM design — the service →
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