What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
- What do they need?
- What do they care about most?
The primary goal of creating a building model is to have something to present to your client. Having a detailed building model enables a more realistic visualization and imagination for the client of how the building would be. For the client to visualize where the sun rises and sets is also important as it affects the daylight in the building. In addition, creating a building model also allows the architects to have a plan to follow once the project is accepted and the building phase starts. These stakeholders care about the details of the building model, but obviously also about the materials that are used. Depending on the customer’s budget, the material can vary.
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?
I think that adding as many details as you can simplify the work of persuasion but also the architects’ work. As you develop your initial design, thinking about the orientation of the building is key. Once you have decided on your orientation, deciding where to let the daylight in the building is important. Thinking about the size of the windows you want to include changes the rooms and building atmosphere. Thinking through all the stages of a building model is key before even starting to design. 1) Think about the orientation 2) Imagine how much daylight you would want and place windows and walls 3) Design rooms 4) Add furniture 5) Add ceiling and roof 6) Visualize being in the building 7) Modify if needed and add the last details 8) Adding all the measurements of the rooms, windows, wall. Thinking all the details through these steps and taking the time to visualize as you move is very important.
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?
The manufacturer has the exact specification of the furniture/equipment/fittings and so they can provide the most accurate dimensions of those items. In RevitCity, people can share their own designs which may not be the most accurate. Furthermore, the manufacturer can provide a complete family of designs, some of which may not be provided in all markets worldwide, and therefore private designers may not have access to certain items.
The advantage of Revit families is that it offers better collaboration among the architects and the manufacturers. It is a way to gain time in the construction phase as well and maybe money too.