From silo to symbiosis: How BIM and Geo finally speak the same language
- Future Insight
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
For years, it was the elephant in the room in every digitalization project: the divide between the 'BIM world' and the 'Geo world'. Two domains, each with its own experts, its own tools, and, most difficult of all, its own standards. Attempts to connect these worlds often ended in frustrating compromises: "Convert all your data to my format first."
The result? Duplicate datasets that lost their link to the source immediately after conversion, making them outdated. This is unworkable for organizations striving for a current, city-wide Digital Twin.
The vision: Modular and connected
At Future Insight, we believe things can be done differently. This aligns seamlessly with the vision developed by the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning and Geonovum for the National Digital Twin. They envision a twin not as one large, monolithic system, but as a flexible service: composed of separate entities for visualization, data, and computational models. To achieve this modular architecture, data shouldn't be copied to a central database, but should be connected live to the source .
The test: Realistic data
In 2025, Future Insight was invited to 'NLDT Testbed 2' to technically demonstrate this principle. For this demonstration, we used a realistic dataset: the detailed BIM model of the Aelbrechtskade complex by Woonstad Rotterdam. The question was: how do we integrate this rich, specific design data directly into a 3D city model, without duplicating or corrupting the data?
The solution: Live streaming from the source
To achieve this connection, we implemented our architecture where Clearly.BIM serves as the central, up-to-date source. As soon as an update is made to the BIM design, it is processed immediately.
The innovation lies in the delivery: instead of sending IFC files back and forth, Clearly.BIM automatically generates a 3D Tiles stream (an OGC open standard) from the database. To prevent the city model from getting bogged down in details, we implemented two optimization steps:
Levels of Detail (LOD): When zooming out, the stream shows a simplified model; details only appear when needed.
IFC queries: We tailor the stream to your specific needs. Do you only want to see the IfcSpaces ? Or all objects where i isExternal=true ? The stream filters this live, keeping the data light and relevant.
The Connection: Catalogs and APIs
Streaming data is one thing, but in a modular world, this data must also be discoverable. This is where we step up to the Open Urban Platform: Clearly.Hub .
After registration, the new dataset can be found immediately in the Clearly.Hub data catalog .
A preview is also available here.
With this data in Clearly.Hub, new possibilities immediately open up. You can easily combine it with any other dataset available through the platform. With literally a few mouse clicks, you can create a Digital Twin that not only contains the BIM model, but also:
The 3D buildings (with textures) and trees of 3drotterdam.nl ;
A high-resolution aerial photograph of the municipality of Rotterdam;
The CBS neighborhood boundaries;
A national dataset of cycling and walking routes.
View the combined result here in the viewer :
To ensure this interoperability beyond our own platform, we built a fully OGC API Records-compliant endpoint within this project (view the API here and the collections here ). This endpoint exposes all metadata from the data catalog strictly based on the DCAT-AP-NL 3.0 standard. This is crucial for the architecture: any application that can read an OGC API Records endpoint can now independently browse the available data in the Hub.
Data sharing under conditions: IAM and Security
Simply being able to share data technically isn't enough; you also need to maintain control over who has access. Therefore, the theme of Data Sharing Under Conditions , in line with the frameworks of European Dataspaces and the DMI program, was central.
Our implementation supports two flows through the new endpoint:
Anonymous use : Direct access to public datasets.
Authenticated use : Access to protected datasets is restricted to authorized users only.
This is where the true power of the integration comes into play: if an external application also supports Clearly.Hub IAM (Identity and Access Management) , it gains access to the full depth of the data sharing mechanisms. This means the owner of the data in Clearly.Hub determines who has access, and those permissions are seamlessly respected by the external application consuming the data.
The proof in practice
During the live demonstration for Geonovum, we saw the theory become reality. Imagem experts used the metadata from our OGC API Records endpoint to load the BIM model directly into their own application. Because their application understood the standards, no manual conversion was required.
"It was a very pleasant and professional collaboration, which immediately yielded results. We saw live how the data was loaded into various applications, without any conversion or loss of quality. Future Insight not only demonstrated a vision but also delivered a working, scalable solution that supports our ambitions."— Bart de Lathouwer, Geonovum.
Conclusion
This project proves that we can leave the era of "convert all your data to my standard" behind us. By strictly using open standards (IFC, OGC API Records, DCAT-AP-NL 3.0) and advanced IAM integrations, we connect the world of design (BIM) securely and seamlessly with the world of the environment (Geo).
Want to know more?
Is your organization facing the challenge of integrating BIM and Geospatial Information within a secure architecture? We'd be happy to help you with the technical implementation of your Digital Twin. Contact us for a technical deep-dive with our experts.
Contact Dominique Goes via:
