What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
- What do they need?
- What do they care about most?
A building model is a dynamic record of a building’s design and construction. Compared to static 2D drawings, a building model contains information regarding the material composition and structure of important elements such as the walls, floors, and roof. Creating a single building model means that any changes to the model are communicated consistently across all views that are extracted. Additionally, annotations and fixture objects can be included in the same building model to provide relevant information to various stakeholders. For example, the client may not be interested in the exact dimensions of a building and they may not be able to fully visualize the space from 2D plan views alone. However, 3D views with furniture and other fixtures can more effectively present the design. Altogether, building models facilitate communication between the client, architects, engineers, and construction team.
How much detail should you include in your building model? How do you decide?
- As you develop your initial design?
- As you continue to iterate and develop on your design?
- What are the key stages?
- And how much detail should you include at each stage?
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?
- Conceptual design
- Preliminary design
- Design development
- Construction documentation
During conceptual design, the most relevant details may include the layout and dimensions of a building. A building model at this stage may include generic elements and fixtures to communicate the purpose of and vision for the design. It would provide a comprehensive view of the main features in the proposed design such as the wall locations and roof shape. During the preliminary design stage, details might include the specific materials to be used as well as the general structure of the walls, floors, and roof to develop initial cost estimates. The design development stage might see greater detail regarding the materials used and the layer thicknesses based on structural analysis. A model at this stage may specify the exact sizing and spacing of structural elements. Finally, the construction documentation will specify the final structure, materials, and thicknesses of the wall, floor, and roof assemblies as they will be installed.
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?
Manufacturers may be inclined to develop Revit families for their doors and windows because this improves the exposure of their designs. If the stakeholders are able to include and view specific doors and windows within a building model, they are more likely to use them compared to offerings from other manufacturers who do not provide these families.
As a designer, it is easier to design for and visualize specific elements if they can be accessed through manufacturer-provided families. Using these, a designer can accurately model how the doors and windows will fit. This also allows the client to see exactly what the final product will be. This can minimize any mistakes and disappointments further down the construction timeline where time and money constraints are less forgiving.