Estimate 4D/5D construction costs from Revit BIM models with DDC CWICR

A professional BIM-to-cost pipeline that extracts data from Revit models (2015–2026), classifies elements with AI, decomposes them into construction works, and generates detailed cost estimates using the open-source DDC CWICR database. Produces HTML reports and Excel exports with full resource breakdown.

Who's it for

- BIM Managers automating quantity takeoff and cost estimation - Cost Engineers integrating 5D workflows into design pipelines - Construction Companies standardizing estimates from Revit models - General Contractors doing rapid budget checks during design - MEP Engineers pricing mechanical/electrical/plumbing systems - Developers building custom BIM-to-cost integrations

What it does

1. Extracts BIM data from Revit model via converter (RvtExporter) 2. Classifies building vs non-building elements using AI 3. Detects project type (Residential/Commercial/Industrial) 4. Generates construction phases and assigns element types 5. Decomposes each BIM type into detailed work items 6. Searches DDC CWICR vector database for matching rates 7. Calculates costs with unit mapping and resource breakdown 8. Validates work completeness and checks for gaps 9. Generates professional HTML report + Excel file

How it works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ REVIT MODEL (.rvt) │ │ Revit 2015–2026 supported │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BLOCK 1: CONVERSION │ │ RvtExporter.exe → Excel with BIM element schedules │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BLOCK 2: DATA LOADING & CLASSIFICATION │ │ • Filter 3D View elements only │ │ • AI analyzes headers → aggregation rules (sum/mean/last) │ │ • AI classifies building vs non-building elements │ │ • Hard exclude: Grids, Levels, Annotations, Views, etc. │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BLOCK 3: PROJECT ANALYSIS (Stages 0–3) │ │ STAGE 0: Collect filtered BIM data │ │ STAGE 1: AI detects project type │ │ STAGE 2: AI generates construction phases │ │ STAGE 3: AI assigns element types to phases │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BLOCK 4: WORK DECOMPOSITION (Stage 4) │ │ Loop through each BIM type: │ │ • AI decomposes type into work items │ │ • Example: Window → Demolition, Installation, Sealing, Hardware │ │ • Prepares search queries for pricing │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BLOCK 5: PRICING & CALCULATION (Stages 5–7) │ │ STAGE 5: Vector search in Qdrant (text-embedding-3-large, 3072 dim) │ │ STAGE 6: Map BIM units → Rate units (m² → 100 m²) │ │ STAGE 7: Calculate costs (Qty × Unit Price) │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BLOCK 6: VALIDATION & AGGREGATION │ │ STAGE 7.5: AI validates work completeness │ │ STAGE 8: Aggregate costs by phases │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ↓ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BLOCK 7: REPORT GENERATION (Stage 9) │ │ • Professional HTML report with expandable rows │ │ • Excel-compatible XLS file │ │ • Auto-opens in browser │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Pipeline Stages