Published on: 2026-04-27
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –
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Signing of the cooperation agreement between SPBGASU and the Committee of Urban Planning Policy of the Leningrad Region. In the photo: Viktoria Vinogradova and Sergey Lutchenko
The IX International Scientific and Practical Conference “Information Modeling in Construction and Architecture Tasks” (BIMAC-2026) has started in SPbGASU. The first day of the forum brought together representatives of government bodies, the professional community, business, and education to discuss key directions of digital transformation in the construction industry.
Ceremonial opening and welcoming remarks
The conference opened with a series of welcoming speeches that outlined the main directions of industry development — digitalization, personnel training, and intersectoral cooperation.
The Vice-Rector for Continuing Education at SPBGASU opened with a welcoming addressVictoria Vinogradova.She wished the participants fruitful and interesting work and emphasized the importance of partnership with the industry:
“I hope that today’s conference will become a place for you to have an effective professional dialogue, exchange experiences, and, of course, new joint initiatives.”
Chairman of the Committee on Transport of Saint PetersburgDenis Minkinnoted the inevitability of a technological leap: “…primarily in the field of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and control systems.”
“Digital data and models are no longer just a tool for the designer, but the foundation of a unified digital ecosystem,” says the Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture of Saint Petersburg.Pavel Tokarevskiy
On digitalization, abandoning paper media and transitioning to electronic document management, and on the implementation of analytical monitoring systems, reminded the Deputy Chairman for Construction of the Leningrad Region.Evgeny Enokaev.
Speaking about the inevitable digital transformation of the information space, the speakers repeatedly noted that this primarily requires high-quality training of specialists of a new level, as well as close interaction between the state, business, and universities.
Separate attention was paid to the issues of damage to cultural heritage sites. The first deputy chairman of the Committee on State Control, Use, and Protection of Historical and Cultural MonumentsEkaterina Kozyrevareminded that 10% of all cultural heritage sites in Russia are located in Saint Petersburg and each of these sites is unique, which implies careful restoration but with the use of modern information technologies. At the same time, she noted that digital technologies help speed up processes but cannot fully replace expert human judgment.
Signing of the cooperation agreement
The key event of the first day was the signing of a cooperation agreement between SPBGASU and the Committee for Urban Development Policy of the Leningrad Region.
It was signed by the Vice-Rector for Additional Education of SPBGASU Viktoriya Vinogradova and the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Urban Planning Policy of the Leningrad Region — the Chief Architect of the Leningrad RegionSergey Lutchenko.
The agreement is connected with the launch of the project for the digital revival of regional architectural heritage sites. Within the framework of the initiative, university students will create digital and physical models of the objects, and the results will be presented at an exhibition in 2027 dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Leningrad region.
As the participants emphasized, the signing was not the beginning, but a logical continuation of the cooperation that had already been established.
Plenary session: technologies and practice
After the opening, a plenary session “Through Technologies at Various Stages of the Life Cycle of Capital Construction and Cultural Heritage Objects” took place.
The director of the Educational Center for Digital Competencies of the university spoke with a keynote report on the topic of end-to-end technologies in project activities at SPbGASU.Denis Nizhnygorodtsev.Â
He presented the university’s project-based learning system, covering all levels of training: school – university – vendor – employer, and spoke about the launch of the Educational Center for Project-Based Learning in 2025.
The speaker paid special attention to the work of student teams on real tasks from industrial partners, complex diploma projects in the BIM environment, and the project “Digital Revival of Architectural Heritage Objects.”
“These are not just training models — we are creating solutions that can be applied in real practice,” the speaker noted.
Program for the first day
Leading experts of the industry also spoke during the plenary session:
• Executive Director of LLC “ROMBIT”Andrey Reshetnikov— “Creation and operation of digital twins of cultural heritage objects using domestic software. Technology for digitizing history into the digital age”
• General Director of LLC “Bureau of Technology”Vera Burtseva— “High-rise buildings. Environment engineering and digital twins”
• Deputy General Director for Support and Development of Project Production of JSC “Atomenergoproekt”Aleksei Agafonov— “Design: from idea to decommissioning”
• Development Director of LLC “K4”Elena Kolosova— “The foundation of a successful project, or how not to ruin a project before it starts”
• General Director of LLC “S-INFO”Vladimir Frolov— “Use of TIM in the construction and operation of transport infrastructure facilities”
In the second half of the day, the work continued in the section dedicated to the digital restoration of cultural heritage objects and issues of cost estimation modeling.
The conference will be extended until April 30, with the program including discussions and reports on digital technologies in construction, in the transportation sector and road-bridge construction; on seamless education in the BIM field; on artificial intelligence in construction and architecture tasks; on the development of digital competencies of industry specialists, and more.
Within the framework of the conference, there will also be organized a round table on the issues of application of domestic software, organized by SPBGASU jointly with the Consortium of the construction industry of the Northwestern Federal District and the SRO A “Association of Builders of St. Petersburg.”
Every day at the conference, there is an exhibition where BIMAK partners present their developments in the field of high technologies and software.
At the conclusion of the conference on April 30, the results will be summed up and a ceremonial awarding of the winners of the All-Russian TIM Championship of SPbGASU will take place. The SPO League 2026, which started on April 25, as well as diplomas and prizes will be presented to the winners of the schoolchildren’s Olympiad “All-Russian School TIM Championship of SPbGASU,” which was held in March 2026.
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