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?
For the sake of project organization, keeping the information history of previous design in one model allows for easy access to previous designs. Similarly to keeping documentation of everything during legal processes, having all of a building’s modeling information in a singular model allows you to keep easily keep track of updates, changes, errors, etc. It might also help with efficiency, since elements of projects (or even model setup - dimensions, views, etc) can be reused and salvaged, rather than starting from scratch in new models.
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?
The first things that come to mind as advantages include speed, accuracy, and comparison. Once you have the skeleton of a model setup with all of a project’s base information (location, size, foundation, topography, available space, etc.), then it allows you to spend more time designing alternatives for the elements that are customizable. At the same time, working within the same model allows you to maintain the fixed specs and parametric relationships across designs, ensuring they are accurate for the site you are working on and within the scope of the project. Additionally, when building out many different design alternatives and looking to choose the best one, working in a single model for existing conditions allows you to more easily compare across designs and select an optimal one.
In your project, which features of the proposed design did you choose to model as design alternatives?
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?