Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland

What Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland does

Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland is a non-profit association founded in 2016 and headquartered in Zürich, operating as the Swiss chapter of buildingSMART International. It functions as the leading coordination platform for the digital transformation of the Swiss construction and real estate industry, serving clients, planners, architects, engineers, contractors, facility managers, and operators across the entire building lifecycle. The organization's stated mission is to standardize and accelerate BIM (Building Information Modeling) adoption in Switzerland, supported by Expert Groups, Domain Forums, and Working Groups that develop use cases and influence standards.

The organization delivers a portfolio of standards, publications, and digital services rather than a single unified software product. Core offerings include the cross-DACH Use Case Management (UCM) Service (with an AI-powered chatbot relaunched in May 2025), the BIM2FM methodology for connecting BIM data to facility management, Professional Certification programs aligned with buildingSMART International, and a substantial bilingual (DE/FR) and trilingual library of publications covering the National BIM Glossary, Stufenplan digital roadmap, Level of Information Need (LOIN) guidelines, the Digital Next Gen Trendmonitor, and whitepapers on Digital Product Passports and Nature-based Infrastructure. Underlying technology centers on the openBIM framework and alignment with SN EN ISO 19650 and SN EN 17412-1, with co-development partners including CRB, SBB, SIA, EMPA, and the DACH buildingSMART chapters.

The business model is membership-driven and subscription-recurring. Annual membership fees are tiered across company revenue bands (E0-E7, ranging from CHF 500 to CHF 15,000), plus categories for associations (CHF 1,500-3,000), government (free), students (CHF 50), and private individuals (CHF 500). Supplementary revenue is generated from paid webinars (CHF 30 for non-members), events, and printed publications. With roughly 24 employees and over 200 member organizations, the organization combines association-style governance with a content-and-convening flywheel that reinforces its role as the central node for BIM adoption in Switzerland.

Name

Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland

Legal name

Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland

Website

https://bauen-digital.ch

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland is a Zürich-based non-profit association serving as the Swiss chapter of buildingSMART International, providing BIM standards, publications, professional certification, and expert groups to Switzerland's construction and real estate industry.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Industry BIM Standards & Digital Transformation

NAICS

Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Architecture, Construction & Building Codes Reference (Design, BIM, Safety Codes) (EDAGAGAH)

Keywords

• Building information modeling
• BIM standards development
• OpenBIM certification
• Construction digitalization
• Facility management standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees based on company revenue tier, ranging from CHF 50 (students) to CHF 15,000 (large enterprises with revenue above CHF 250M). This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Events and Webinars: Revenue generated from event registrations and paid webinars. Non-members pay approximately CHF 30 per webinar while members attend free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland operates a non-profit member association serving as the Swiss chapter of buildingSMART International. It develops and publishes Swiss-specific BIM standards, guidelines, and frameworks (LOIN, BIM2FM, National BIM Glossary, Stufenplan), provides Professional Certification programs in openBIM Coordination and Management, and operates the Use Case Management (UCM) digital platform for collaborative BIM use case development. The organization also facilitates Expert Groups across domains such as Digital Next Gen, Healthcare, Landscape Architecture, and Circular Construction.

Product overview

Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland operates as a membership-based non-profit association serving as the Swiss chapter of buildingSMART International. Rather than a single unified software product, the organization offers a portfolio of standards documentation, digital tools, and collaborative services. The core offerings include the Use Case Management (UCM) Service for BIM use case development, BIM2FM methodology and guidelines for connecting BIM data to facility management, Professional Certification programs for BIM competency validation, and various Expert Groups focused on specific domains (Digital Next Gen, Healthcare, Landscape Architecture). Additionally, the organization publishes authoritative publications including the National BIM Glossary, Stufenplan (digital roadmap), Level of Information Need (LOIN) guidelines, whitepapers on topics like Digital Product Passports and Environmental Product Declarations, and the annual Digital Next Gen Trendmonitor. These products collectively serve to standardize and advance digital transformation in the Swiss construction and real estate industry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BIM2FM: Working Group addressing BIM and Facility Management from the perspective of investors, clients, operators, and users.
• UCM
• Digital Next Gen

Products and services

• Use Case Management (UCM) Service A collaborative digital platform developed jointly by buildingSMART chapters in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria that provides standardized BIM use cases for construction industry professionals to implement openBIM best practices across building lifecycle stages. Features AI-powered chatbot for intelligent retrieval of use cases.
• BIM2FM (Building Information Modeling to Facility Management) A methodology and toolkit connecting BIM data from planning and construction phases to facility management operations, including Asset Information Model (AIM) guidelines, data field catalogs, and Big Picture documentation aligned with SN EN ISO 19650-3. Targets investors, clients, operators, and users in facility management.
• Professional Certification BIM certification programs aligned with the buildingSMART Professional Certification Program covering Foundation and Practitioner levels (openBIM Coordination and openBIM Management), delivered in cooperation with buildingSMART Austria and buildingSMART Deutschland.
• Publications and Whitepapers Standards documentation portfolio including the National BIM Glossary (Glossar), Digital Roadmap (Stufenplan), Level of Information Need (LOIN) guidelines, digital room book guides, Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), Digital Product Passport (DPP) whitepapers, and the Landscape Architecture Position Paper. Available as free PDF downloads with some printed publications sold at CHF 35.
• Membership Program Annual membership program with tiered fees based on organization type and revenue, providing access to publications, expert groups, professional certification, member-exclusive events, webinars, networking opportunities, and influence over Swiss BIM standards development. Categories include Companies (E0–E7), Associations (ÖRU), Government (VW, free), Students (S, CHF 50), and Private Individuals (CHF 500).

Quantifiable outcome

• National BIM Glossary provides unified terminology for digitalization across planning, building, operating, and deconstruction in Switzerland.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• buildingSMART InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland is the official Swiss chapter (Chapter) of buildingSMART International. This is a core structural partnership involving participation in international BIM standards development, use case management, professional certification programs, and the global buildingSMART community. The organization coordinates Mirror Events and knowledge transfer with buildingSMART International.
• CRB (Schweizerische Zentralstelle für Baurationalisierung)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCRB is a co-founder and key partner in developing the National BIM Glossary (Nationales Glossar zur Digitalisierung in der Bau- und Immobilienwirtschaft), which provides unified Swiss-specific terminology for digitalization in the construction and real estate industry.
• SBB (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBB is a co-founder and key partner in developing the National BIM Glossary, contributing infrastructure and operations expertise to the standardized Swiss BIM terminology initiative.
• SIA (Schweizerischer Ingenieur- und Architektenverein)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIA is a co-founder and key partner in developing the National BIM Glossary, contributing professional planning and architectural standards expertise to the unified Swiss BIM terminology.
• buildingSMART AustriasecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published the BIMcert Handbook (Grundlagenwissen openBIM, 2024 edition) along with buildingSMART Deutschland and buildingSMART Switzerland. This handbook covers buildingSMART Professional Certification Program topics for Foundation and Practitioner levels (openBIM Coordination and openBIM Management).
• buildingSMART DeutschlandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published the BIMcert Handbook (Grundlagenwissen openBIM, 2024 edition) along with buildingSMART Austria and buildingSMART Switzerland, covering buildingSMART Professional Certification Program topics for Foundation and Practitioner levels.
• EMPA (Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerEMPA provided the NEST (modular research and innovation building) as the reference model for BIM use case development. Bauen digital Schweiz coordinated the setup and provision of this reference model to support expert groups and working groups in collaboratively developing BIM use cases.
• the BranchesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly published the 'Integrierte Projekt­abwicklungsmodelle' (Integrated Project Delivery Models) position paper, which outlines how collaboration across the lifecycle of a building can be optimized. The paper serves as an orientation guide for clients seeking to systematically promote integrated collaboration in their projects.
• Landscale AGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Landscale AG and the 'BIM in der Landschaftsarchitektur' round table to produce the 'Landschaftsarchitektur Positionspapier' (Landscape Architecture Position Paper), providing an overview of BIM method applications in landscape architecture.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Broad incumbents

• Bentley Systems: Provider of infrastructure-focused digital engineering software including OpenBuildings, OpenRoads, and the iTwin platform, heavily used in Swiss infrastructure projects (including SBB-adjacent work). Operates broadly across BIM and infrastructure digital twins, representing the commercial software layer adjacent to the association's openBIM standards work.
• Autodesk: Global provider of BIM/AEC software including Revit and the Autodesk Construction Cloud, embedding openBIM-compatible workflows into integrated commercial platforms that increasingly compete with standards-association service offerings. A broad incumbent across the same digital construction value chain — relevant as the dominant commercial BIM tooling layer the association's openBIM standards interface with.
• Nemetschek Group: European-headquartered vendor group whose brands (Allplan, Graphisoft/Archicad, Solibri, dRofus) provide widely deployed BIM authoring and collaboration software for the AEC industry. Operates broadly in the same BIM ecosystem but as a commercial vendor rather than a non-profit standards body — a key competitive adjacent to Bauen digital Schweiz's platform strategy.

Others

• CRB (Schweizerische Zentralstelle für Baurationalisierung): Swiss center for building rationalization, co-founder and core partner of Bauen digital Schweiz in developing the National BIM Glossary. While primarily a building classification and standards publisher rather than a BIM association, it is a strategic partner serving overlapping construction-industry audiences in Switzerland.
• SIA (Schweizerischer Ingenieur- und Architektenverein): Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects, co-founder of the National BIM Glossary and a key partner providing professional planning and architectural standards expertise. Although primarily a professional member association for architects and engineers, SIA is adjacent in serving the same Swiss construction value chain and shaping construction standards.

Direct peers

• buildingSMART Deutschland: German chapter of buildingSMART International — directly comparable member-driven association model promoting openBIM adoption in Germany. Co-publisher of the BIMcert Handbook (2024 edition) and joint operator of the DACH-wide Use Case Management Service with the Swiss and Austrian chapters.
• buildingSMART International: Global parent organization of the buildingSMART chapter network, developing and promoting openBIM standards (IFC, BCF, bSDD). Bauen digital Schweiz is its official Swiss chapter, co-develops standards, and participates in mirror events and international certification programs.
• buildingSMART France: French chapter of buildingSMART International, pursuing a comparable national BIM adoption mandate in a different language/regulatory market. Operating with a similar member-driven, standards-promotion model, demonstrating both the international applicability and localization challenges of the Swiss chapter's model.
• buildingSMART Austria: Austrian chapter of buildingSMART International, with comparable member-based structure and BIM standards adoption mandate. Joint operator of the DACH Use Case Management Service and co-publisher of the BIMcert Handbook, making it one of the most directly analogous peer chapters.

Emerging players

• BIMobject: Operator of a BIM object/content marketplace connecting manufacturers' BIM components with designers and AEC professionals. Relevant as an emerging player in BIM content infrastructure serving overlapping audiences (architects, engineers, manufacturers) with partial overlap in the BIM ecosystem Bauen digital Schweiz helps standardize.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bauen-digital-schweiz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bauen digital Schweiz / buildingSMART Switzerland