Should your design ideas always be conveyed through photorealistic renders?
The stakeholders who will own the structure will more likely want more detail in the rendering and presentation. The extra details can help visualize the final structure in its destined location. Typically, the paying stakeholders may not come from an engineering or architectural background, so these renders can more easily convey the structure intent in layman terms.
On the other hand, for other stakeholders with more engineering background, they will not need full renderings to be able to carry out their jobs. The structural engineer, for example, will need layouts and elevations that will show key dimensions, which is enough for them to continue their jobs.
Name some applications where viewing the building and model information in virtual reality or augmented reality would be most beneficial?
Showing the model to stakeholders can be helpful using virtual reality. It is more realistic to use VR than just using a 3D model, as the stakeholder can be fully immersed in the building, and see it life-sized. This helps showing actual sizing of the model. Using CAVE virtual environment can help too, as the projects are displayed on the walls, while the regular VR headset can be more disorienting. The VR modeling could also help with looking for modeling clashes between multiple disciplines, since you can see everything on a larger, realistic scale.
How can schedule views be used to assist with procurement and model-based estimating?
Schedule views easily summarize the type and amount of material needed for different parts of the model. The schedule can automatically create tables that have all of these information, and does not require the person modeling to have to measure and input values themselves. It also means that the people in charge of estimating and procurement do not have to count the items themselves. Overall, the schedule eliminates extra step needed of counting the needed materials and inputting them into a table for communication.