What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
◦ What does each of them need from the model?
◦ What do they care about most, and where do those priorities conflict?
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?
I would say the first question that comes to mind is how two disciplines interact on a project. In a model, you might be able to identify clashes between architecture and structural engineering directly, for example. With drawings, however, I feel that more assumptions are needed, which could lead to errors later on.
◦ Are there things a drawing still communicates better? Give an example.
In my opinion, drawings communicate specific information more clearly. For example, a drawing can show the configuration and specifications of a construction detail more directly.
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?
The only advantage I can think of is that the model is always available, without relying on a server. However, it could be harder to make sure you have the latest version of the model.
◦ What changes when the model lives in the cloud, for the designer and for everyone else?
I think the main change is that all disciplines can work together more easily. As each discipline makes progress, its changes appear in the central model. This helps everyone see each other’s updates in time.
You will make hundreds of modeling decisions this quarter.
◦ Which ones are worth being slow and careful about?
From my experince, it’s worth defining the inital model configuration and setup very carefully. For example, I’ve seen projects where georeferencing was not properly defined at the beginning of a project, and a lot of rework had to be done to correct this.
◦ Which are worth being fast about, accepting that you may redo them?
I think specifications are worth being fast about, especially at the beginning of the project. I believe thay are no the project’s critical path, so they can be properly defined in later stages of the project.
◦ How would you tell the difference before you have made the mistake?
I think there are some modeling tools that can help you identify issues before making a mistake. Hopefully we can get to know more about these tools in this course.