Why do different teams of designers and subcontractors link and share their models during the design process?
Different teams link their projects and share them to minimize miscommunications between the different teams so that everyone is up to date with any changes that might be made. It ensures a dynamic form of communication that keeps everyone on the same page. The disadvantage might be that it might be a little difficult to protect the information that doesn’t need to be shared.
How do you think design coordination was done before we started using digital models?
Previously I assume there was a lot of back and forth between blueprints as things were edited and sent to other teams for review and more editing. It is difficult to imagine how challenging it must have been to keep all of the information in check and I’m sure the margin of error was much greater than today.
At what point in the project development process should design coordination start?
Design coordination should begin when the information in the model becomes relevant to the other team and has reached a level of development where the other team can begin their work without having massive changes be made to the design. If the architects are still experimenting with masses to decide on form, the structural engineers can’t do very much with a design that is evolving quickly.