Design & BIM
What is LOD (Level of Development)?
Level of Development (LOD) describes how reliable and detailed a BIM element is, on a scale from LOD 100 (conceptual placeholder) to LOD 500 (field-verified as built). It tells downstream users what they can safely do with the model — estimate from it, fabricate from it, or treat it as approximate.
In practice
Contracts and BIM execution plans specify LOD per element and phase so everyone knows what the model promises. Estimating from a LOD 200 model gives budget numbers; fabrication requires LOD 400.
Tools for LOD
Revit
Industry-standard BIM authoring for architecture and engineering
BidLight
ML classifiers read BIM geometry and metadata to predict cost, labor and equipment needs directly from your model.
Related terms
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