SEMBA and Global BIM Leader Autodesk Sign a Strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Drive Digital Transformation in the Interior Design Industry and Promote BIM Adoption through CDE Development and Educational Initiatives

SEMBA Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Jun Odagiri; hereinafter “SEMBA”), a spatial design firm, and Autodesk, Inc. (Headquarters: California, USA; President and CEO: Andrew Anagnost; hereinafter “Autodesk”) announced that they have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly develop a Common Data Environment (CDE) and advance business process transformation. Through this partnership, SEMBA will build a company-wide CDE based on Autodesk Construction Cloud® (ACC)*1, further promoting the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM). In addition, SEMBA will collaborate with Autodesk to make its in-house BIM training programs available externally, contributing to the broader adoption of BIM and the cultivation of skilled professionals across the industry.

Industry Status and Challenges: BIM’s Role in Meeting the Increasing Complexity in Spatial Design

The environment surrounding spatial design is undergoing significant change, with growing demands to address challenges such as sustainability, safety, and labor shortages. In this climate, enhancing productivity and advancing operational capabilities have become urgent priorities across the industry. In particular, the interior and spatial design sector faces increasingly complex design and construction processes, which are difficult to manage with conventional methods. Against this backdrop, BIM has attracted considerable attention. As a core platform for consolidating all information related to buildings and spaces, BIM streamlines and visualizes the entire process from design through construction and operation. There is a pressing need to accelerate BIM adoption and implementation across the industry as a whole, including among collaborative partners.

Since establishing its BIM Promotion Office in 2019, SEMBA has steadily advanced the use of Autodesk Revit®*2 through initiatives such as developing BIM talent, building training frameworks, and leveraging visualization. Under its Medium-Term Management Plan 2024, SEMBA set a management objective of “standardizing BIM as the primary design tool.” As of 2024, 76% of its design professionals have acquired fundamental Revit skills, and BIM has been applied in approximately 180 projects. These achievements go beyond the mere introduction of a platform, representing the successful integration of BIM into SEMBA’s corporate culture.

As a global leader in supporting the digital transformation of the architecture and construction industry , Autodesk has in recent years focused on promoting BIM adoption and implementing cloud solutions within Japan’s interior and spatial design sector. This collaboration marks an important milestone in accelerating the spread of BIM across this particular industry and represents a significant step toward shaping the future of spatial design and construction.

Expanding BIM Adoption and Driving Industry Transformation through MOU

SEMBA is currently working to build a company-wide digital platform based on Autodesk Construction Cloud® (ACC). By consolidating BIM data and linking related information, it aims to enhance productivity and foster the creation of new business opportunities.

This MOU represents an important step in further advancing these initiatives and expanding the use of BIM both within and beyond SEMBA. By leveraging ACC to build a company-wide Common Data Environment (CDE) and strengthen collaboration with its partners through the cloud, SEMBA will drive the advancement of spatial design and industry-wide business process transformation. In addition, by working with Autodesk to expand its company-developed staff training programs for external use, SEMBA will further support the dissemination and adoption of BIM, contributing to the realization of more sustainable and efficient spatial design.

Key Pillars of the MOU: Three Strategic Focus Areas

1. Transforming Business Processes Through the Development of a Company-Wide CDE
SEMBA aims to transform project execution processes in design and construction operations by standardizing ACC as the company-wide CDE and strengthening centralized information management within its IT ecosystem. Furthermore, by advancing API integration with core IT systems, the company will enhance information management capabilities and unlock new possibilities for data utilization.

2. Strengthening Collaboration with Partners Through Expanded Use of ACC
By leveraging a shared cloud workspace through Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro®*3 on ACC, SEMBA will accelerate collaborative design. Additionally, using Autodesk Build®*4, the company will streamline communication and project management across design and construction processes, strengthening collaboration with internal and external project stakeholders.

3. Rolling Out Educational Content Externally to Promote BIM Adoption in the Interior and Spatial Design Industry
To facilitate industry partners’ use of Revit and ACC and enable smooth collaboration, SEMBA will collaborate with Autodesk to expand access to its in-house training programs for industry partners.

Jun Odagiri, President & CEO of SEMBA Corporation

The signing of the strategic MOU with Autodesk marks a significant step in advancing SEMBA’s “BIM-driven management” to the next level. SEMBA was an early adopter of BIM within the industry, placing it at the core of its management strategy, embedding it into operations, and accumulating extensive project-level experience in BIM applications. Building on this expertise and strengthening collaboration through the CDE, SEMBA will deepen partnerships, contributing to digital transformation and talent development across the industry.

Continuing to place BIM at the core of its management strategy, SEMBA will now advance the creation of a company-wide CDE to establish an integrated ecosystem. This will enable seamless connections across all operational phases, dramatically improving efficiency and allowing the company to focus even more on its core strengths in creativity and innovation as a spatial design enterprise, while reinforcing its commitment to its executive vision of a “Continuous Pursuit of Borderless Creativity & Innovation.”

Tomoyuki Nakanishi, President and Representative Director of Autodesk Ltd. Japan and Japan Sales Vice President of Autodesk, Inc.

We are honored to have concluded this MOU with SEMBA, a company at the forefront of BIM and digital transformation in the spatial design industry. Through the establishment of a company-wide CDE via ACC, the reform of business processes, and the external rollout of SEMBA’s educational content, we will support SEMBA in creating “future-friendly spaces” guided by their “ethical and digital” approach. At the same time, we will work to advance the adoption and implementation of BIM across the spatial design industry, ultimately accelerating BIM utilization throughout the construction sector.

About SEMBA Corporation

Founded in 1962, SEMBA employs 377 people (as of December 31, 2024) and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market. The company provides comprehensive support for creating a wide range of spaces—including commercial facilities, offices, educational and healthcare institutions, and leisure facilities—covering research, planning, design, architecture, construction, and maintenance. Since 2021, SEMBA has set its vision as “Good Ethical Company” and its mission as “Creating Future-Friendly Spaces.” The company promotes Ethical Design from a perspective of compassion for people, local communities, and the natural environment, aiming to co-create a better space and a better society throughout its supply chain.

About Autodesk, Inc.

Autodesk, founded in 1982 and headquartered in San Francisco, USA, is a platform company for design and creation, with operations in approximately 40 countries and regions worldwide. Autodesk empowers innovators to design, engineer, and make all kinds of products—from sustainable buildings and next-generation vehicles to digital factories and cutting-edge films and games—using its technology. The company delivers industry-specific solutions through its Industry Clouds to enhance efficiency and automation in architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and media & entertainment. Additionally, Autodesk offers a “design and creation platform” that enables collaboration across teams and industries, supporting workflows and helping innovators explore new possibilities to build a better future.　For more information, please visit https://www.autodesk.com/jp or follow Autodesk on social media. #MakeAnything

* 1: Autodesk Construction Cloud®: A cloud-based project management service for the construction industry. It enables digitized and visualized project management through features such as drawing data viewing and task tracking. In addition, it serves as a data platform that can seamlessly integrate with external applications via a wide range of APIs.

*2: Autodesk Revit®: BIM software that supports multiple disciplines, including architectural, structural, and MEP design. Revit’s API allows integration with various software, while its component attribute management enables advanced data utilization. Revit is currently available in 14 languages.

*3: BIM Collaborate Pro®: A cloud-based BIM collaboration tool that allows design and construction teams to collaboratively edit, review, and manage BIM models, including those created in Revit, in the cloud.

*4: Autodesk Build: A cloud-based construction project management platform connecting the entire project, linking the field and office. It provides tools for document management, progress tracking, and quality control.