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 resolve ambiguities that may exist between different perspectives on the same building, to ensure consistency across all parties involved in the creation and construction of the building, and to facilitate communication and coordination between these teams. The different stakeholders are the client/owner who is funding the building design and construction, the architect who is designing the building, and the engineers (structural, geotechnical, mechanical, electrical) who enable the existence of the building in the real world.
◦ What does each of them need from the model?
The client/owner needs to visualize the model in order to impose their vision on the design, and to ensure that what is being planned actually reflects their needs.
The architect needs to visualize each building component in relation to one another, in order to understand how changes in one area of the building may impact the aesthetic design of the project overall. They also need to be able to view the same model as the client/owner, to work with them to implement the client vision.
The engineers need to visualize the individual structural/mechanical components and dimensions of the building. They need these dimensions in order to run calculations that check for the safety and feasibility of the model.
◦ What do they care about most, and where do those priorities conflict?
The client/owner cares most about their budget and their vision.
The architect cares most about delivering the aesthetic vision of the client.
The engineers care most about the safety and operability of the building.
These priorities can conflict if necessary materials or building procedures required for safety negatively impact the budget. The aesthetic vision of the client may also run into conflict with safety and feasibility of the building, and the architect could disagree with the client/owner on how ot implement the vision. Miscommunication and a lack of coordination can exacerbate these areas of misunderstanding, making a unified model and modeling language important.
A drawing is a picture of a building. A model is a description of one.
◦ What questions can you ask a model that you cannot ask a drawing?
A model can be asked questions regarding the context around the building and about how building elements interact with others from the view of multiple perspectives. The model ensures consistency across all angles of viewing so that, if you change one object, you can view how it impacts its surroundings from a 360 point of view. Rather, a drawing depicts a flat, single-perspective vantage point of a building; if an object is changed, you can only visualize its impact on the parts of other objects that are captured by that specific perspective.
◦ Are there things a drawing still communicates better? Give an example.
A drawing might better communicate the specific dimensions of a given object, as its focus is sufficiently narrow so as to make minute details more visually accessible and prominent. For example, a flat drawing of the front of a house might have a specific length and width written around the door, which can be immediately noted. A model might not have these numerical dimensions available on the visualization itself (perhaps it is marked down off to the side), but it captures the door’s size relative to the doorstep or relative to the roof.
This course splits the work across Forma, Revit and Forma Data Management.
◦ What is gained by using a different tool for concept, documentation and coordination?
◦ What tends to get lost in the handoffs between them?
◦ Who on a real project team is responsible for making sure nothing is lost?
Where should a building model actually live?
◦ What are the practical consequences of a model living on one person's laptop?
If a model lives off of one person’s laptop, they have ultimate control over making changes to and viewing the model. This might introduce the possibility for human error going unchecked; at the very least, it makes the process of altering or viewing the model onerous to other people on the project team. This discourages collaboration and can lead to breakdowns in communication and, ultimately, problems with project delivery.
◦ What changes when the model lives in the cloud, for the designer and for everyone else?
When a model lives in the cloud, the designer no longer has sole access to the model. Any one of their coworkers can view, edit, and comment on the model. While this minimizes the importance of the laptop, it increases the potential for collaboration and contributions from all people involved with the project. It also leads to clearer communication of modeling decisions, as any changes or errors will be reflected to anyone who views the model and can thus be more quickly addressed.
You will make hundreds of modeling decisions this quarter.
◦ Which ones are worth being slow and careful about?
◦ Which are worth being fast about, accepting that you may redo them?
◦ How would you tell the difference before you have made the mistake?