What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
Building models are created with three goals in mind: enabling a global revision process, allowing for three-dimensional conceptualization, and integrating architecture and structural analysis. Since everything in a building model is tied to a 3D model, any changes propagate throughout the project, ensuring self-consistently. Additionally, the 3D model allows architects, engineers, and clients to “walk around” the space, providing everyone with a better idea of the intended vision. Finally, building models can facilitate the integration of architecture and structural analysis. Since the material selection and geometry are contained within the 3D model, structural analysis can proceed directly from the building model, as opposed to being a wholly separate analysis.
While there are many project stakeholders, three key ones are engineers, architects, and clients.
- What do they need?
The engineers need accurate plans to ensure that the building is structurally stable and not liable to collapse. The architects need a space that allows them enough flexibility to design unique, functional spaces for their clients. Finally, the clients need a tool that allows them to understand whether the proposed concept will meet their needs.
- What do they care about most?
The things that the stakeholders care about and the things that they need go hand in hand. The engineers care about public safety; the architects care about aesthetics and functionality; the clients care about whether the building will be suitable for their operations.
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...)
The manufacturers benefit from increased sales as a result of these models. By enabling firms and clients to better visualize their products, the manufacturers are more likely to sell more of their products. Furthermore, manufacturers gain name recognition if the models are widely used.
- 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?
The designer benefits from manufacturer-provided families because the families (1) provide additional design options, (2) ensure model quality, and (3) allow for easy ordering. Manufacturer-provided families make up a sizeable chunk of the Revit components and give designers a lot more options to decorate their space. Moreover, the manufacturer-provided families are almost certainly high-quality, as opposed to user-created models. Finally, since these families are based on real products, it is easy to order the products when it is time for construction.
As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the manufacturer-provided families are based on real products. In contrast, the Revit library contains only generic items. Thus, if a designer uses the Revit library, the items that end up in the final space will be different from those in the model. This change could significantly impact the design of the space and create additional work later down the line.
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?
Online sharing websites provide models of dubious quality; whereas, manufacturer-provided families are from a trusted source. As a result, the manufacturer-provided models are often of higher quality. For instance, I was searching for a solar panel model on RevitCity.com and had to download several before I found one that would actually load into my project and attach correctly to my roof. If I had sourced my design directly from the manufacturer, this likely would not have been an issue. Online sharing websites also typically provide fictitious models. Because of this, designers cannot completely visualize how their space will look after construction.