Submitted For
Module 2 - Points to Ponder
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Please share your comments on 3 of the following Points to Ponder questions. (Choose 3 of the 5 questions below.)

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

  • What do they need?
    • The primary goals of creating a building model are satisfying the key stakeholders, who are the client, the building team, and the architectural designer. The client needs a model that can show them their requirements have been met, the building team needs a model that effectively communicates how the design can be constructed, and the designer needs to makes sure that the design and its documentation speak for themselves and satisfy both other parties.
  • What do they care about most?
    • The building team cares most about understanding the dimensions of the designed building and its constituent materials so they can create a construction plan to execute the design. The client cares about having their requirements and vision met to their standards. The designer cares about preventing miscommunication between themselves and either of the other parties, which could result in missed requirements, improper construction, and even breaches of contract.

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

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...)
    • It’s worth it to the manufacturers to create and provide their families for free so that designers can become comfortable with them. I’d rather select a model of window for a design that I know I can easily include in my renderings rather than one I have to create drawings and/or CAD for. It’s also advantageous because architectural students will be more likely to use their families as they learn and develop a preference for 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?
    • It gives me more flexibility as a designer so that I’m not just limited to all the built-in Revit presets. It allows me to create alternate design concepts more easily so I can show them to a client and easily give the client a wider range of options to choose from.

What are the advantages of getting the Revit component families (for furniture, equipment, and fittings) directly from the manufacturer versus from an online sharing website like RevitCity.com?

If I get the families directly from the manufacturer, I can trust that they are coming from an official source that understands the dimensions and characteristics of their components. I want my desi