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 provide a shared representation of the project so different teams can visualize, coordinate, analyze, and communicate the design. Architects, structural engineers, MEP engineers, construction managers/contractors, and owners are the key stakeholders. Architects focus on design and spatiality. Engineers care about system accuracy and performance. CMs and contractors focus on constructability, budgeting, and coordination. And owners care about schedule and overall value. These priorities can conflict, especially when design ambitions, cost, constructability, and building performance compete with one another.
A drawing is a picture of a building. A model is a description of one.
A model lets us ask questions that are harder to understand from a drawing alone, especially about spatial relationships. For example, we can see how structural, MEP, and architectural layers fit together, whether different systems clash, and how a change in one part of the building affects another. A 3D model also gives viewers a much clearer sense of scale, depth, and how spaces connect.
Drawings are still useful because they can communicate ideas very quickly and directly. For example, a 2D floor plan or sketch may be easier for quickly understanding the layout, annotations, or an early design idea without going through a full 3D model.
This course splits the work across Forma, Revit and Forma Data Management.
Where should a building model actually live?
I think a building model should live somewhere that everyone who needs it can access and work from. If it only lives on one person’s laptop, other team members have to depend on that person to share updates, and it is easy for people to end up working with different or outdated versions of the model. There is also a bigger risk if the file is lost or the computer has problems, just like people storing their pictures on the phone.
When the model lives in the cloud, people and different stakeholders are able to view the latest version from different locations and work together more easily. For the designer, updates can be shared more directly, while everyone else can access, review, and coordinate around the same model. It can also make the model easier to connect with AI tools for things like identifying issues, improving productivity, or helping different team members understand the project.