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?

  • The Primary goals for creating a building model is to communicate first design intent from an architectural standpoint, and further communicate how the different types of disciplines (Architectural, Structural, MEP, Civil, etc.) interact with each other. Ultimately though, especially during concept phase, the building model can be quite a useful tool to engage the users of the space and those managing the space to make sure what is designed and built is actually useful for them and makes their lives better.
  • The key stakeholders would be the owner of the building, the ultimate occupants, the building managers, facilities staff, financing team, as well as any environmental health and safety personnel. On the other side, from a communication standpoint, the stakeholders would be the construction manager, design consultants (structural, MEP, etc.) and sometimes key trade partners to weigh in on constructability of the space.
  • These different stakeholders would each want different things communicated, and the building model is great when it responds to these agendas in different ways. I think at the end of the day though, the stakeholders want a space that is useful, easy to use and be in, and that prioritizes the health and wellbeing of its occupants.

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...)
    • If we as designers end up using the specific manufacturer in our initial designs and ultimately specifying them in the spec book, the likelihood of the contractor to use that product is quite high (unless there are stages of value engineering or other issues with constructability that come up). So having these families readily available to use and plug into models is quite a plus for those companies, since it means that more projects will likely use their products.
  • 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 benefit is that these families are (or should be) completely matched up with the correct size and properties that the actual product has - so using it in your model will base your model on actual products rather than a generic “Casement Window” from the Revit library. This can provide some more legitimacy to the model.

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?

Using revit component families directly from the manufacturer ensures that the components you are using are correct in their proportions, properties, and how it may relate to other systems in revit designed by the manufacturer. Using an online sharing website may be good and quick for dropping a more visual component (like a whiteboard), but it might not be based on actual products in the market or it might not have the correct properties which means as you get into more detail with your model, it might run into issues or lead to issues when you actually want to price and procure those items down the line.