What are the principal advantages of using a single building information model of the existing conditions as the foundation for modeling proposed additions or renovations?
- Why not create a separate model for the new proposed design?
What sort of complexities are introduced when you construct a building complex in phases?
- What happens at the interfaces between the buildings as the phases advance?
- How can you plan and prepare for these complexities as your create your initial building model?
What are the principal advantages of using a single building information model of the existing conditions as the foundation for modeling several proposed design alternatives for a portion of the building?
- Why not create a separate model for each of the design alternatives?
Modeling new design alternatives based on existing conditions can help designers ensure consistency across models. By building from the same base model, variations can be compared more directly.
As an aside, modeling while visualizing existing conditions can help designers understand occupant needs and movement between spaces more clearly. They wouldn’t see their project as a silo’d construction, but rather, as a part of a larger living space.
In your project, which features of the proposed design did you choose to model as design alternatives?
- Why did you choose these building features? And what were the biggest challenges in modeling them as the design alternatives?
I chose to model different room layouts as design alternatives to emphasize the benefit of incorporating multi-purpose spaces in the Engineering Quad extension. Some primary challenges were the extended time it took to readjust doors and windows, while simultaneously ensuring all the building needs were met at each given floor.