In the practice of Building Information Management (BIM), arguably the most impactful standard is the Levels of Development (LOD). These are a set of guidelines that establish in detail how modeling of various elements should be completed as aligned with a set of “levels,” from 100 to 400 (LOD 500 is defined but is not typically used).

Initiated by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 2008, this framework has been effectively curated by BIMForum since 2013. Most projects on a global scale refer to BIMForum’s LOD Specification – typically published yearly – as the reference for LOD. This standard governs how every modeler involved in AEC/O projects performs their work.

As landscape architecture practitioners increasingly embrace BIM, there’s a need for standards specifically pertaining to our practice area.

To that end, ASLA’s BIM Working Group, which is part of ASLA’s Digital Technology Professional Practice Network,  has been working on definitions for LOD of items in our specific scope that have been conspicuously missing from the standard.

This year’s LOD Specification includes the ASLA BIM Working Group’s contribution. In fact, BIMForum is featuring the groundbreaking progress to the landscape section of its 2023 LOD Specification on its cover, which also constitutes its 10th anniversary publication.

Please see the public review version at www.bimforum.org/lod.

Please contribute your comments through the formby January 15.