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

The primary goal of creating a building model is to provide a single source/documentation of the building that can be shared with all stakeholders and parties involved (investors, clients, construction, engineers, architects, etc.) By providing a building model, we have a single place for all these parties to reference to. This allows changes/collaborations to happen more easily and without disconnect between parties.

Additionally, a building model provides a visual representation that all parties can interact with it (i.e. being in the space, seeing components, etc.) For example, if you are an investor, you may be interested in minimizing the costs of the construction by suggesting a cheaper material. Using the building model, they can physically see those changes. They can see how it might impact the visual environment or other elements in the design and decide if that change is something they actually want.

How much detail should you include in your building model? How do you decide?

The amount of detail that you include in your building model really depends on what stage you are in.

When you are developing your initial design you probably do not need to include too much detail. The purpose of the initial design is to get a rough idea of what stakeholders want. The design can be a rough example of the idea(s) that you may have. This rough design can ensure that we are on the same page as our clients and from there we can build on the design and add more detail. Also, starting off with too much detail can overwhelm clients and cause them to miss/overlook key design features that they want.

As we iterate through the design, we can more detail to better align with what our clients are looking for. However, how we design the space is important, but not essential. The details of the interior or more to give the clients a good idea of the space and its use (it is not by any means a final design). So really, detail should simply provide the client with as much information that is needed for them to gauge what the space will look/feel like when completed.

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?

By pulling components directly from the manufacturer we can get exact measurements and details of the furniture, equipment, and or fittings. Since many of these components can actually hold information associated with them, it would be best to pull the accurate data from the manufacturers. Online sharing websites like RevitCity.com have components that may have been created by individuals to represent the components, but not actually hold all the information that may be valuable to our clients.