What types of building information are best portrayed in 3D views?
- Which stakeholders require 2D views, and why?
Windows and doors are types of building information that are best portrayed in 3D views. This is because in a 3D view, the modeler can peer through the glass and examine what someone would see if they were standing and looking through the glass. This could be important for room layouts or symmetry if desired by the stakeholder. Another piece of building information best portrayed in 3D views are furnishings. In 2D furnishings end up looking like boxes or circles which don’t give a great idea as to what the actual items would look like in real-life. In 3D views, you can see the level of detail of the furnishings, how the shape and/or textures match with the other furniture and if a wall—hanging item can fit well within the space on the wall. As previously stated in another question, there are many stakeholders that require 2D views. These stakeholders include; engineers, contractors and architects. The listed stakeholders require 2D views because they are the ones who build, design and perform analyses on the building information and designs. 2D views are easier for contractors to build off of because of the simplicity of the drawing and the dimensioning that can be done in 2D views. At the same time, 2D helps architects and engineers see material cross sections, quantify amount of materials for cost and energy analyses and use the material information tagged on the 2D view to check if the design matches codes and regulations.
Give examples of how the building information for a specific location in the project needs to be filtered for different audiences and purposes?
Should your design ideas always be conveyed through photorealistic renders?
- How does the level of detail in the rendering and its presentation affect the perception of stakeholders reviewing your design?
No, design ideas should not always be conveyed through photorealistic renders. The audience/stakeholders of the design ideas should determine the level of detail. If you are showing your design idea to a general contractor to see if the design was constructible, a detail level of typical construction drawings (i.e simple black and white lines) should be used. This is because it would be significantly easier for the contractor to read and understand because its industry standard for them. However, photorealistic renders of your design ideas would be better suited for the owner of the project rather than a detail level of construction drawings. That is because a photorealistic would give the owner a better understanding of what their project will look like in the real-world environment. Similarly, the level of detail can affect the perception of the stakeholders reviewing the design in terms of cost. If one is solely reviewing a photorealistic rendering, it is difficult to quantify the materials being used and tie it to a cost estimate. In a rending made from black and white lines, it is easier to quantify materials being used because there are no colors or textures busying up the model and preventing items from being seen.
Name some applications where viewing the building and model information in virtual reality or augmented reality would be most beneficial?
- Are there advantages to using a C.A.V.E as a virtual environment versus VR headsets?
How can schedule views be used to assist with procurement and model-based estimating?
Schedule views are a quick and easy way to get the information within your model totaled and sorted. Schedule views use the software to do the calculations and summation of materials for you rather than you summing them by hand. They can then be easily sorted based on what the most important aspect of the item in the schedule view is. This saves significant time with the procurement and model-based estimating aspects of the design and modeling process. Schedule views can give you the sum of products needed, which quantifies how many/how much of each type of product needs to be ordered. Then using that quantified number to find cost by multiplying it by the rate currently seen in the industry. As someone who has to hand calculate in the field the quantities and areas of the products needed, I would enjoy using this software to cut down time and labor costs for procurement and model-based estimating. Along with that, schedule views can be easily placed on sheets for ease of reference for all project stakeholders allowing them to get an idea and estimate as to what is going to be needed to complete the project.