What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
The primary goals of creating a building model are 1) to house the tons and tons of information necessary for a construction plan, 2) to ensure that all different pieces of information are consistent with one another, 3) to enable effective and clear communication between architects, engineers, and craftsman involved. Every single thing in the model can store information about it… and that is a big deal.
◦ What does each of them need from the model?
Each of them needs to better understand the building plan as a whole. They need to know all different aspects of the plan so that they can make contributions that are consistent with those details.
◦ What do they care about most, and where do those priorities conflict?
They all value consistency… perhaps especially the craftsmen who must build the model. Perhaps the architect cares most about intention.
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?
What did the architect mean by xyz? How is this one aspect of the construction plan consistent with this other aspect of the construction plan? Where did this piece of information come from?
Unlike drawings models literally store information such as an object’s context, future plans, and intended relationship to space and other objects.
◦ Are there things a drawing still communicates better? Give an example.
I think a drawing might still communicate the essence of the building and the intention of the designer better than a model. For example, a drawing might better communicate how the architect imagined a person would feel in a given room… this being because that is what art has the power to evoke.
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?
Each phase of the project requires a different approach and the different tools enable this. For example, Forma enables more quick and lose testing without having to commit to precise geometry of one idea too soon.
◦ What tends to get lost in the handoffs between them?
Intent and decision-making reasoning might get lost. Ownership of each element might get lost. Precision and detail might get lost in relation to initial intention. Anything happening in conversation could get lost!
◦ Who on a real project team is responsible for making sure nothing is lost?
The BIM Manager takes responsibility of the process and the Design Manager (Project Architect) takes responsibility of intent and concept.
Where should a building model actually live?
◦ What are the practical consequences of a model living on one person's laptop?
◦ What changes when the model lives in the cloud, for the designer and for everyone else?
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?