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 clearly communicate design intent and function before anything gets built. It helps visualize how all the parts, structure, systems, and spaces, come together and lets you catch problems early. The key stakeholders are designers, clients, users, and builders. Each group sees the model differently. For example, the designers need accuracy and coordination, clients want to understand how the building will look and feel, users care about comfort, accessibility, and efficiency, and builders focus on constructability and material implemented. They all need a model that’s both visually clear and technically reliable. What matters most is that the model bridges those interests so it’s not just a 3D visual because anyone can do that. It has to be a shared tool that helps everyone make better decisions.
How much detail should you include in your building model? How do you decide?
The amount of detail you include in a building model really depends on where you are in the design process. In the early stages, I believe you should keep things light and simple like massing, layout, and basic elements to test proportions, play around with the setting/daylight, and minimal factors. The goal I feel is to understand and feel out the spatial patterns/relationships. As you further develop and create more iterations, I think that's where more realism comes into play like accurate wall types, materials, fixtures, and components that help visualize the experience of the space. By the time the design reaches the final or documentation stage, the model should be detailed enough for coordination and presentation, with correct dimensions, materials, and ADA requirements reflected. Basically, detail increases with purpose so to put it simply, the early design is for clarity and flexibility. The final stage is for precision and communication.
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?
Getting Revit component families directly from the manufacturer usually means they’re more accurate and up to date and that they reflect real-world dimensions and product specs. When modeling to build something that's a huge advantage because it helps with coordination, quantity takeoffs, and adds a sense of realism. Sites like RevitCity.com or community libraries are quick and convenient, but the quality and accuracy are all over the place and don’t match real products. So, I’d use manufacturer families for final presentations or construction documents, and RevitCity ones mainly for early design stages when I just need something to visualize scale or layout.