Module 2 - Points to Ponder

What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?

• The primary goal of creating a building model is to show a concept or proposed design in a manner that can be easily visualized by the client. Building models also serve as templates for construction. They need to have accurate floor plans that also demonstrate the locations of doors and windows. Another crucial part are the dimensions so that the viewer can visualize what the model will look like in space. The key stakeholders involved with building models are the designer, the client, and the construction team.

How much detail should you include in your building model? How do you decide?

• I think the key stages of development occur when the designer has completed the floor plans, adds windows and doors, and then adds specific furniture pieces. For the initial floor plans, the inner walls and outer dimensions of the building should be sufficient to get your point across. You want enough to be able to conceptualize the space at a very basic level. When you are ready to include doors and windows, paying attention to details like the orientation of doors and placement of windows with privacy in mind should be beneficial. You can then add dimensions between the center lines of these doors and windows. Finally you can play around with the placement of furniture. There may be some changes that need to be made with regards to spacing if a piece doesn’t fit. After this you can add text to further describe where elements will go.

Many door and window manufacturers provide Revit families for doors and windows that you can specify for your building design.

• I think one of the advantages to manufacturers providing these families is that the designer gets to use and visualize their products in the space. These are the pieces the design is functioning around and that the designer can make sure work with the dimensions of the building. When it comes time to purchase the actual windows and doors, the designer is more likely to purchase those straight form the manufacturer because they can be assured they fit within the design. If the designer were to use products from the Revit library, they may not be able to locate an exact replica that is actually constructed in the real world. If there is a product that Revit has that is not actually manufactured, this could cause delays due to the design having to either spend time looking for doors/windows that will fit or redesigning in the case there are no matches.