Singapore – Surbana International Consultants Pte Ltd, a leading consultancy specialising in sustainable urban solutions, and Autodesk, Inc. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU enables Surbana to expand its use of Autodesk BIM technologies across its projects, from conceptual design to construction management. Surbana employs 1,900 employees in 13 cities across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Its noteworthy projects include CleanTech One in Singapore, Tianjin Eco City in China, Kigali City Masterplan in Rwanda and The Light in Malaysia.

A pioneer in adopting BIM, the MOU will advance Surbana’s BIM capabilities as a multi-disciplinary consultancy firm to rollout Autodesk BIM solutions across its operations in Singapore and worldwide, to benefit its customers. Using BIM's Integrated Design Process, architects, engineers and consultants are able to work together simultaneously throughout a project lifecycle, minimising risk and wastage of resources from design to built.

As part of the MOU, Autodesk and Surbana will collaborate on: BIM implementation and workflows for planning and design; joint research and development projects; and advisory services. To support BIM adoption within Surbana, Autodesk will co-develop course curriculum for training purposes. Autodesk also intends to conduct programs to promote design excellence in Sustainable Design and Universal Design within Surbana.

“Low Cher Ek, Surbana International Consultant’s Deputy CEO said, “BIM optimises the entire built process which facilitates a smooth workflow between planning and design to deliver projects that are of higher quality yet cost efficient. Our strengthened collaboration with Autodesk will boost Surbana’s in-house capabilities in delivering integrated consultancy expertise to our customers in Singapore and abroad.”

At Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority 2014 Awards, Surbana received the Built Environment Leadership Award (Gold Class). The award recognises outstanding firms and builders that have demonstrated excellence and leadership in Singapore’s built environment, by using processes like BIM to increase their competitiveness and productivity.

“BIM is rapidly transforming the global architecture, engineering and construction industry. We’re excited to collaborate with Surbana to advance the adoption of BIM and be at the forefront of Singapore’s next phase of urban planning and infrastructure design,” said V. R. Srivatsan, Managing Director, Autodesk – ASEAN. “We’re combining the strengths of leading BIM desktop software with new cloud and mobile technology to improve the future of building design and construction. It's an honour to partner with Surbana to help achieve their sustainable cities vision and transform the way they work through BIM.”