Applications of Extended Reality (XR) in Building Information Modeling (BIM)

Dear Colleagues,

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become the cornerstone of digital transformation in the architecture, engineering, construction, and operation (AECO) industry by enabling the creation and management of information-rich digital models throughout the entire lifecycle of built assets. However, despite the increasing adoption of BIM, interacting with complex digital models often remains limited to desktop-based software, restricting intuitive access to project information during design, construction, inspection, operation, and maintenance.

Recent advances in Extended Reality (XR), encompassing Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), are transforming the way BIM models are visualized, explored, and manipulated. The emergence of next-generation immersive devices, such as HMDs, together with advances in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital twins, and real-time collaboration, has opened new opportunities for integrating BIM into immersive environments. These technologies facilitate enhanced spatial understanding, collaborative decision-making, construction monitoring, remote assistance, training, facility management, and human-centered interaction with digital infrastructure.

This Special Issue aims to gather original research and review papers presenting innovative methodologies, applications, and technological developments at the intersection of XR and BIM. Contributions addressing novel visualization techniques, intelligent interaction methods, AI-assisted workflows, collaborative platforms, and practical implementations across the AECO sector are particularly encouraged.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Virtual, Augmented, Mixed, and Extended Reality for BIM;
• Immersive visualization of BIM models;
• BIM-based Digital Twins;
• BIM and XR for engineering and architecture education;
• Artificial Intelligence for XR-BIM applications;
• Human–computer interaction in immersive BIM environments;
• Collaborative XR platforms for construction projects;
• XR-assisted construction monitoring and progress tracking;
• Inspection, maintenance, and facility management using XR and BIM;
• BIM visualization using wearable devices (e.g., Meta Quest, Apple Vision Pro);
• Indoor and outdoor localization for XR-BIM integration;
• Scan-to-BIM and reality capture in immersive environments;
• Remote collaboration and telepresence in BIM;
• Training and education using XR and BIM;
• Serious games and gamification for BIM learning;
• User experience, usability, and cognitive aspects of XR-BIM systems;
• Smart cities and infrastructure management using XR and BIM.

Original research articles, case studies and comprehensive review papers are welcome.

Dr. Valentin Gomez-Jauregui
Dr. Jose-Andres Diaz-Severiano
Dr. Noemí Barral-Ramón
Guest Editors

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• building information modeling (BIM)
• extended reality (XR)
• digital twins
• mixed reality
• artificial intelligence