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.
A model is good for giving a three-dimensional sense of the structure. In this way we can better understand and analyze how different parts of our structure interact and connect with each-other. We can attempt to do this with a 2D drawing, but it is much less intuitive. Additionally, it is possible to end up with false understandings of the connections and relations of one view to the next as drawings do not automatically update in the full space when changes are made.
Drawings can still be very helpful in specific situations. For example, a model is very broad and therefore provides alot of information. A drawing can be helpful for simplification purposes or drawing attention to specific parts of the model in conjunction with callouts, annotations, dimensions etc. without things getting too busy on display.
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?
Having a model solely exist on one person’s laptop puts all stakeholders at risk of loss if the laptop is stolen or damaged. The impacts does not only relate to the owner of the model who has to spend extra time rebuilding the model, but it also can cause significant delay to the overall project and all stakeholders which dependent on the project can also incur financial losses.
When models live in the cloud, it does not only help to mitigate the issue of complete loss by providing a back-up, it also improves overall coordination and collaboration abilities. In this manner, it allows access to all stakeholders at any time, without the requirement of being present in-person, which not only helps with saving time, but also creates an environment for better inter-disciplinary collaboration on the project.
You will make hundreds of modeling decisions this quarter.
I think the modeling decisions that deserve most care are the ones that establish dependencies in the model. This especially relates to any decision that affects how elements are related to one another. This is important because they determine how the model responds when changes are later made.
On the other hand, local or easily-adjustable characteristics can be done more quickly. Some examples of these might be the preliminary location of an element or initial wall type. These are decisions that can usually be changed without significantly affecting the rest of the model.
To tell the difference between the two I think its important to ask two questions. First, is this a decision that can easily be changed or undone? Second, does this decision have a ripple effect on other parts of the model, and if so, how can I set things up such that the necessary changes may occur automatically? These questions can be used to determine whether something is worth slowing down and being more intentional or not.