Has the Paper Drawing Sheet Era Ended in the Construction Industry?
Official titleRegulation on the Digital Preparation of Architectural and Engineering Projects
Procedures and principles regarding the digital preparation and submission of architectural, structural, electrical, and installation projects in BIM (Building Information Modeling), IFC, and PDF/A formats in building permit applications have been established.
Before
Submission of projects to municipalities in the form of printed paper or non-standardized CAD files.
After
Digital delivery of projects of a certain size in BIM (Building Information Modeling) and IFC formats, and 2D drawings in PDF/A format becoming mandatory.
Details of the Regulation
This new regulation prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change aims to fully digitize permit application processes in structures subject to the Zoning Law. Within the scope of the Regulation, projects of new buildings to be constructed (excluding detached structures with a maximum of two stories and not exceeding 200 square meters, and unintegrated agricultural/livestock structures) will be prepared in a digital environment in accordance with computer-aided design (CAD) and Building Information Modeling (BIM) standards. While it is mandatory to deliver 2D drawings and all other documents in PDF/A format, which is the archiving format, 3D digital building models must be submitted in IFC format, an open data standard. Implementation will be put into practice gradually. Starting from large-scale projects in metropolitan municipalities, all projects will be integrated into this digital system over time. For example, while the obligation to deliver BIM models for buildings exceeding 10,000 square meters in provinces with a population over 2 million begins as of September 1, 2029, this period has been extended until the year 2032 for other structures and smaller municipalities. For other non-residential commercial structures, the transition period has been set as September 1, 2033. The Regulation also standardizes technical details such as the naming of projects, layer structure, sheet dimensions, and quality control processes. It is stipulated that CAD projects to be produced from the BIM model must be fully compatible with each other, thus aiming to reduce bureaucracy in permit approval processes, detect errors in advance, and increase building quality.
Questions You Might Have
- Does this regulation affect every citizen who will build their own home immediately?
- No, detached house projects with a maximum of 2 stories excluding the basement floor and not exceeding 200 square meters in total, as well as agricultural-livestock structures, are excluded from the obligations of this regulation.
- When does the system become fully mandatory, right tomorrow?
- The regulation enters into force on September 1, 2027, but there is a phased transition. Depending on the population of cities and the size of buildings, obligations are spread over a broad timetable starting from 2029 and extending up to the year 2033.
- When the BIM model is delivered, will there be no need to deliver a CAD drawing additionally?
- It is mandatory that CAD drawings produced from the BIM model also be delivered in PDF/A format and that these two file types be 100% compatible with each other.
Key Terms
- BIM (Yapı Bilgi Modellemesi)
- The method of managing the design, construction, and operation processes of structures using digital and 3-dimensional data models.
- IFC (Endüstri Temel Sınıfları)
- An open file format standard enabling the sharing of building information models between different software without data loss.
- PDF/A
- A special PDF format for archiving purposes that enables digital documents to be displayed in the same manner in the future.
- Proje Müellifi
- The architect or engineer who prepares the project.
Affected Sectors
- Construction
- Architecture
- Engineering
- Real estate
- Local governments
- Information technology and software
Where we posted this
Follow Turkish legal developments
REGAS analyzed all 36 items in the Official Gazette of 5 August 2026; we published only 5 of them here.
REGAS summarizes every change in the Turkish Official Gazette in plain language and notifies you.
The REGAS app is currently Turkish-only. If you would like English in the app, the best way to make it happen is to support the developer: get the app and just say so.
REGAS Commentary
A revolutionary step toward digitization for the construction industry, architects, and engineers. Projects are no longer just drawings, but are becoming living models (BIM) containing data. Although it requires software investment and training at the beginning, it will incredibly speed up approval processes in the long run and reduce execution errors at the construction site to zero. For citizens, it means the construction of safer buildings that comply with standards.