Active building information modeling apparatus and method

A method for coordinating building design comprising:

• storing in a data memory of a central processor a three dimensional building model, the three dimensional building model having a plurality of elements, each element having a plurality of attributes;
• assigning ownership of each of the plurality of elements to one of a plurality of users, wherein each of the plurality of users has ownership of a subset of the plurality of elements;
• receiving the three dimensional building model at a remote processor and allowing a user to modify only elements that they have ownership of;
• assigning ownership of a plurality of element attributes for an element to a first user of the plurality of users;
• receiving a request from a second user of the plurality of users to access one of the plurality of element attributes for the element assigned to the first user;
• changing a predetermined data field associated with the one of the plurality of attributes to reflect that the second user has an exclusive right to modify the one of the plurality of attributes or is the current owner of the one of the plurality of attributes;
• and
• receiving only modified elements from the model modification processor at the central processor and updating the three dimensional building model to include the modified elements.

A computer apparatus for coordinating building design comprising:

• means for storing a three dimensional building model, the three dimensional building model having a plurality of elements, each element having a plurality of attributes;
• means for assigning ownership of each of the plurality of elements to one of a plurality of users, wherein each of the plurality of users has ownership of a subset of the plurality of elements;
• means for assigning ownership of a plurality of element attributes for an element to a first user of the plurality of users and receiving a request from a second user of the plurality of users to access one of the plurality of element attributes for the element assigned to the first user and changing a predetermined data field associated with the one of the plurality of attributes to reflect that the second user has an exclusive right to modify the one of the plurality of attributes or is the current owner of the one of the plurality of attributes;
• means for receiving the three dimensional building model and for allowing a user to modify only elements that they have ownership of;
• and
• means for receiving only modified elements from the model modification processor and updating the three dimensional building model to include the modified elements.