What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
The primary goals of creating a building model is to get a visual representation of what is going to be built. This is going to allow the designer to put their vision on something concrete that can be shared and interpreted by others. They will need a building model that represents the goals of the client and resolves their needs.
How much detail should you include in your building model? How do you decide?
The initial design should be basic and try to fill in all of the requirements. As the process continues the designer should begin to experiment and add their own element into the building model.
How much detail should you include about the composition (layers, materials, thicknesses) of your wall, floor, and roof assemblies at different stages of your design process?
Details of the composition should be thought about during each of the stages but mainly in the construction documentation. In the early stages it is important to note how the layers and materials will interact with the environment. As a result, those details will be made clear in the construction documentation.
Many door and window manufacturers provide Revit families for doors and windows that you can specify for your building design.
- What is the advantage to manufacturers for providing these families? (it's not free to create and provide them...)
- What is the benefit to you as the designer of using these manufacturer-provided families? Is there an advantage to using them versus the families provided in the Revit library?