Virtual Reality (VR) has attracted increasing attention of the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Facility Management (AEC/FM) industry in recent years, as it shows a great potential to improve workflow efficiency through enhanced common understanding. A problem with current VR applications in AEC/FM is that the manual conversation from official design data (e.g., a BIM model) to VR displays is difficult and time consuming. There is a lack of automated and efficient data transfer approach between BIM and VR. In this paper, we will introduce a BIMVR real-time synchronization system called BVRS, which is based on an innovative Cloud-based BIM metadata interpretation and communication method. BVRS allows users to update BIM model changes in VR headsets (such as Oculus Rift DK2) automatically and simultaneously. We tested BVRS in a variety of design change scenarios including changing object dimensions, changing object locations and changing object types. Results confirmed the usability and efficiency of BVRS. •This study develops and tests a system that transfers BIM data to VR in real time.•This study proposes an innovative metadata transfer protocol for VR.•The proposed system improves collaborative decision-making in AEC.•It contributes to BIM literature with a real-time visualization method.•It also contributes to AEC decision by reducing information latency.