Valued at approximately €49 million and spanning 30,000 square meters of premium office space across 12 floors, “The ARC” was a landmark project for STRABAG Romania. Beyond its scale and prestige, the project marked a turning point. As the pilot for STRABAG’s BIM strategy, it demonstrated how digital delivery could create real advantages on-site, in the office, and in the market.
Using Autodesk Construction Cloud as the common data environment, STRABAG reduced clashes, aligned quantities across teams, and streamlined document management. In a Romanian construction market where BIM is still the exception rather than the norm, this early adoption positioned STRABAG as a clear leader. The path to these results had already been set in 2024.
At the beginning of 2024, STRABAG developed a comprehensive BIM strategy covering all internal processes, including estimation, tender preparation, procurement, construction execution, and project completion. The team created detailed procedure schemas for each use case, showing exactly how BIM would replace existing workflows. Autodesk Construction Cloud played a pivotal role, providing the common data environment (CDE) that would serve as the single source of truth for all project stakeholders. With these comprehensive procedures in place, STRABAG needed a project where they could put theory into practice.
A strategic pilot for digital transformation
“The ARC” provided the ideal opportunity to put STRABAG’s BIM strategy into action. “This was the first major project for our current team,” explains Cătălin Andrei, Group Leader BIM Management. His department of 28 BIM experts was tasked with delivering a fully digital workflow, coordinating architecture, structure, and MEP disciplines while enabling seamless collaboration between STRABAG teams, subcontractors, external designers, and the client. Autodesk Construction Cloud supported this approach by enabling transparent coordination and consistent data sharing across all project stakeholders.
Leveraging Autodesk Construction Cloud as the project’s common data environment, STRABAG centralized internal model management, document management, and project collaboration on a single platform. This unified approach connected architectural, structural, and MEP designers, subcontractors, and the STRABAG site team in one shared environment, enabling coordinated workflows and consistent access to up-to-date information across all disciplines.
1. Internal model management
Building on its existing use of Autodesk Revit, STRABAG used Revit Cloud Worksharing within Autodesk Construction Cloud to enable simultaneous, real-time collaboration on shared models. This allowed architectural, structural, and MEP teams to work in parallel while maintaining full model integrity and version control.
“The model coordination module plays a pivotal role in seamlessly integrating MEP models with structural models. It also provides a comprehensive view of potential discrepancies between architectural and structural elements,” Andrei explains. By identifying and resolving clashes during the design phase, STRABAG prevented issues from reaching the construction site. “It was really life-changing on this project that we could coordinate directly in the model from the design phase,” Andrei emphasizes.
“Using model coordination in Autodesk Construction Cloud, we achieved an 80% reduction in clashes after each coordination session.” Catalin Andrei, Group Leader BIM Management, STRABAG
2. Clear document management
Before adopting Autodesk Construction Cloud, document storage and organization relied on manual processes. Teams spent considerable time searching for information, verifying document versions, and manually preparing file packages for client review. With ACC in place, STRABAG achieved a new level of structure and transparency in document management.
The platform enabled the implementation of a structured workflow aligned with ISO 19650 guidelines. Every drawing carried clear version information and submission dates, making invoice and approval processes more transparent. Andrei explains: “We always know what the latest version is and whether the correct documents are being used. This has improved communication with the client significantly.”
This clarity extended beyond STRABAG’s internal teams to all project stakeholders. Subcontractors gained controlled access to up-to-date drawings and models, allowing them to review and understand documentation before construction began. At the same time, the client could easily review both models and 2D drawings directly in the platform without the need for specialized software. “People who were new to the project immediately knew where to find the latest approved drawings,” adds Aniela Tipser, BIM Coordinator on the project.
3. Collaboration and coordination
Coordinating architectural, structural, and MEP disciplines is one of the biggest challenges on complex construction projects. On “The ARC,” STRABAG addressed this by working with a federated model: a coordinated 3D model that brings all disciplines together and serves as a shared basis for collaboration.
Tipser and her team continuously updated the federated model with IFC exports from MEP designers, ran clash detection in Autodesk Construction Cloud, and reviewed critical areas ahead of each construction phase. “All teams could check the same information simultaneously without having to look through emails,” Tipser explains.
“The 3D models were used extensively in design coordination meetings. People would detect coordination issues and make informed decisions.” Aniela Tipser, BIM Coordinator, STRABAG
By aligning all disciplines around the federated model, STRABAG also broke down internal silos. Departments such as procurement, cost control, and site management no longer relied on separate calculations and assumptions. “We don’t waste time with three teams doing the same thing,” Tipser explains. Instead, quantities were derived directly from Revit models developed by STRABAG’s BIM team, using standardized templates to ensure consistent data across all departments.
This coordinated, model-based approach had a direct impact on cost control and transparency. “Our teams get automatic quantities directly from the model,” Andrei notes. “For a building like “The ARC”, with many round edges and curved surfaces, it’s far more efficient and precise to extract surfaces from the model than to approximate them manually.” The cost control team gained real-time visibility. “They could compare the baseline and the actual situation in real time,” Andrei explains, “and immediately see how changes in quantities affected the construction process.”
While this collaborative workflow delivered significant efficiency gains, implementing new ways of working also introduced new challenges.
Wherever changes are required or processes are being redesigned, there is always the challenge of breaking with legacy routines. “It’s very hard to start learning a new process when you also have a construction site ongoing, you need to respect deadlines, and coordinate works and fix issues,” Andrei explains. Careful change management was indispensable.
STRABAG addressed this challenge through a multi-faceted approach. The team conducted training sessions, tested workflows before applying them to official project documents, and, most importantly, stationed a BIM expert permanently on site to provide immediate support. “If you provide strong support, they will eventually follow,” Andrei says.
Adoption was further supported by Autodesk Construction Cloud’s familiar and intuitive user experience. “ACC’s folder structure is similar to what our teams are accustomed to,” Andrei elaborates. This ease of use proved especially important for site teams without a design background, who nevertheless needed to interact with the digital environment daily.
Aniela Tipser, BIM Coordinator, STRABAG
Integration with existing systems also played a key role. Through an extension, ACC connected seamlessly with STRABAG’s GIS platform, enabling models and drawings to be accessed directly from ACC. This integration further reduced manual effort and saved valuable time across project teams.
Quantifiable impacts at a glance
Using ACC as their CDE enabled STRABAG to achieve measurable results:
80% reduction in clashes after each coordination session.
Faster error correction in 2D plans through early 3D coordination.
Transparent cost tracking with clear visualization of baseline versus actual quantities.
Reduced rework waste through proactive clash detection.
Cost savings through avoided post-construction modifications.
“The ARC” represents proof of concept for the future of Romanian construction. By systematically implementing BIM methodology with ACC as the enabling platform, STRABAG demonstrated that digital transformation delivers tangible benefits: reduced waste, improved coordination, unified workflows, and enhanced stakeholder transparency. “This project was a big milestone,” Tipser reflects. “We managed to get the whole team to work in a single CDE—STRABAG, client, subcontracted site teams, and designers. We unified the work of internal STRABAG departments.”
STRABAG’s experience offers insights for other construction companies considering digital transformation. “You cannot do it in one year,” Andrei cautions. “Define your strategy and know where you want to start. Build a business case with investigation costs and return on investment.”
Enhancing ACC through AI
While “The ARC” demonstrated ACC’s transformative potential, STRABAG already envisions AI as the next evolution. “AI’s biggest benefit will be in automating checks that we’re now doing manually,” Tipser predicts. Andrei highlights the importance of a solid data foundation when it comes to AI:
Catalin Andrei, Group Leader BIM Management, STRABAG
STRABAG has been active on the Romanian market since 1991, establishing its headquarters in Bucharest in 1994. Today, STRABAG Group has subsidiaries in all major regions of Romania and operates in all construction sectors, especially in the transport infrastructure, building construction and civil engineering segments, as well as in environmental construction projects.
