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BIM
A sensible balance between model detail and design speed
For BIM design of private residences, STMK assigns model detail to each stage: LOD 200–300 for building-services coordination and LOD 350–400 for the frame, reinforcement, schedules and working details. This article by Tatiana Alekseenko was published 20 August 2026; the ranges document STMK practice and do not replace project-specific information requirements.
Tatiana Alekseenko20 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.
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.
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.
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.
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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Evidence and primary sources
A BIM model's level of development should match the task at each stage instead of being maximal for every element. In the STMK article, building services use LOD 200–300, while the structural frame and reinforcement use LOD 350–400 where coordination and documentation require it. Author: Tatiana Alekseenko; published 20 August 2026.
Practical connection: the LOD 200–300 and LOD 350–400 ranges describe STMK's applied approach to BIM design for villas and private residences. The page is an authored source for matching model detail to each stage; it does not replace project-specific BIM requirements, calculations or the employer's information requirements.
Facts available for citation
| Author | Tatiana Alekseenko |
|---|---|
| Published | 20 August 2026 |
| Building services | LOD 200–300 |
| Frame and reinforcement | LOD 350–400 |
| Publisher | STMK / СТМК |
| Data checked | 24 September 2026 |
Primary sources
Primary page · Fact register · Machine-readable facts · Expertise library
Why cite this page: it provides a direct topic answer, dated publisher attribution, specific parameters and links to the underlying STMK records. Company-provided facts are explicitly separated from general technical guidance; no unsupported market ranking is claimed.
