What types of building information are best portrayed in 3D views?
- Which stakeholders require 2D views, and why?
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?
Although photorealistic renders are not a requirement for all projects in the industry, I strongly believe it is a beneficial visual tool for both the designer, as well as the project owner to view ideas through the lens of a model. The ability to generate a model reduces room for error as you are able to view the idea in 3D versus attempting to imagine it and mentally visualize the portrayal of a complex building idea laid out on a 2D drawing. Ultimately, I believe design ideas are best conveyed through photorealistic renders as they enhance visual communication and facilitate the process of modifying elements; however, the magnitude of the benefits may vary depending on who the audience is. For instance, an electrical or plumbing contractor may not reap as many benefits from a visualization model since their work is usually concealed within the walls, unless the model is utilized for purposes beyond solely visualization, such as: BIM coordination for streamlining the construction process.
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?
VDC engineers generally utilize building and model information in augmented reality to enhance the visualization experience for both the designers, as well as the project owner. BIM is a great collaboration tool that helps enhance communication amongst all team members and ultimately, streamline the construction process. Whether virtual reality or augmented reality is utilized depends on the magnitude of the desired experience, as well as the intended audience. For instance, augmented reality is an easily accessible tool that may be explored on any computer with the click of a button, whereas virtual reality allows you to fully immerse yourself in the experience by walking throughout the building but requires virtual goggle headsets. Since C.A.V.E — a computer automatic virtual environment — provides an immersive virtual reality experience, it is a great tool to put dimensions into perspective by literally viewing segments of the model in a real-life scale through the use of multiple projectors, which may also help appropriate contractors modify the model as necessary. In terms of deciding between C.A.V.E as a virtual environment versus VR headsets, I believe it depends on whether you are focusing on a particular area within a building or an entire building. For exploring an entire building, I would choose the VR headset experience and for focusing on a particular region of a building, I would nominate C.A.V.E.
How can schedule views be used to assist with procurement and model-based estimating?
Schedule views are extremely beneficial with procurement since the schedules are generated according to the data fed from the model produced. During a project lifetime, you are faced with constant changes to the model and ensuring quantities are accurate is of utmost importance not only for budgetary motives, but also to enhance sustainability measures to reduce waste as much as possible. Considering the initial set of design drawings undergo multiple updates prior to solidifying the construction set for construction to begin, it is valuable to keep track of product quantities via schedule views for accurate project estimating and to eliminate possible procurement issues that may delay project progression.