Eng. Giampiero Brioni teaches Foundation in Quantity Surveying at Politecnico di Milano

On 16 October Eng. Giampiero Brioni gave his first lecture for Foundation in Quantity Surveying, the course promoted by REC – Real Estate Center of Politecnico di Milano and Consorzio CISE in collaboration with the RICS Italy Construction Working Group. Following the introductory session on 14 October, the teaching is entirely in the hands of B&B Progetti. Eng. Daniele Olimpieri teaches the eighth of the nine modules and Brioni all the others: he graduated from Politecnico twice, in Building Engineering and in Architecture, and now returns to teach the discipline he practises professionally.

Nine modules on construction cost

The first seven modules start from the role of the Cost Manager and from cost planning, then move on to project syntax and the Work Breakdown Structure. They go on to cover national and international classification systems, the synthetic and analytical approaches to determining cost, the Bill of Quantities and cost planning in a BIM environment. After Olimpieri’s module, the ninth, devoted to the professions of Cost Management, concludes the course.

The programme follows the framework of «La gestione economica del progetto di architettura ed ingegneria civile in ambiente BIM» (The economic management of architecture and civil engineering projects in a BIM environment), the book Brioni published in 2025 with Maggioli Editore. Book and course come from the same body of work, developed between research and professional practice: the first sets out the method, the second brings it into the classroom through estimates built on real cases and a comparison of the different approaches to determining cost.

From quantity taker to Quantity Surveyor

The first lecture began with a difference between two models. In Italian practice the priced bill of quantities (computo metrico estimativo) is prepared by the designer, or by a quantity taker who measures the works once the design is complete. In the Anglo-Saxon world cost management belongs to dedicated professionals (Quantity Surveyors, Cost Managers, Cost Engineers) who join the team from the earliest stages. When cost data stays disconnected from design, the bill comes due on site, with variations out of control and contractor claims ending up in disputes.

In the background is Italy’s Public Contracts Code. Since 1 January 2025, Article 43 of Legislative Decree 36/2023 has required contracting authorities to adopt digital information management for new works and for interventions on existing buildings with a tender base value above one million euros. For those working in Quantity Surveying, this means working on information models, in a role that shifts from measuring quantities to cost planning in the full sense.

Classroom, site and internship

The course has limited enrolment, with a maximum of fifteen participants drawn from final-year students and recent graduates in civil engineering, building engineering and architecture, as well as young real estate professionals. The 82 hours of classroom teaching, held at CISE’s premises on the Leonardo Campus, are complemented by site visits, project work and a 160-hour company internship. The course is coordinated by Marzia Morena and Tommaso Truppi of Politecnico di Milano.

Alongside its teaching role, B&B Progetti is one of the course sponsors, together with RYZE, HUB Engineering, Korus Group, BEAR Project Management, Turner & Townsend, GAD, Colliers and Agilité. The initiative is under the patronage of RICS, OICE, Collegio degli Ingegneri e Architetti di Milano and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.