What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
The primary goals of a building model are to provide a 3D depiction of a potential project and the integration of design and structural elements in one place. The visualisation of a project in 3D is important as it allows all individuals involved in the project to gain a better understanding of it. A 3D model often provides important information that is potentially lost in 2D plans. For the clients, a 3D plan allows them to understand what the building will look like. For the engineers, architects and contractors, a 3D model allows for better communication of ideas and collaboration as a change anywhere in the model will propagate throughout. It also allows them to “walk through” the project before it is created.
The key stakeholders are the clients, engineers and architects.
- What do they need?
- What do they care about most?
The clients need a visual depiction of the project that they can understand easily. The engineers need detailed plans to convey the important mechanical and structural details to those who need it. Finally, the architects need something that they can easily work with to create a the space that the client desires.
The clients care most about getting a project that meets their desires and objectives. Meanwhile the engineers care about creating a system that is structurally sound. The architects care about creating a space that is visually appealing and comfortable to be in.
How much detail should you include in your building model? How do you decide?
- As you develop your initial design?
- As you continue to iterate and develop on your design?
- What are the key stages?
- Conceptual design
- Preliminary design
- Design development
- Construction documentation
- And how much detail should you include at each stage?
- Conceptual design: Very little to no detail is needed in this stage of design. In this stage you are just developing potential designs for the project. There are no concrete design conclusions that are made.
- Preliminary design: At this point a particular design has been chosen for the project. Based on the design information such as dimensions, number of floors, locations of doors and windows and number of floors is needed. However, the specific materiality of these elements does not need to be decided yet.
- Design development: All of the details for the building need to be finalised at this stage of design. This includes the type of material being used and how much of it is required. This is the design that the contractors will use to build off of.
- Construction documentation: Very precise details are needed at this stage of design. By which I mean down to the number of windows or faucets required for the building or the amount of drywall needed. This allows the contractors to buy exactly what is needed to build the project.
The detail required for this stage of the design process is minimal. In this part of the process you decide the requirements for the projects, the general shape of the building and its general program. All of these pieces of information are required so that you can begin the design iteration process. You also decide the materials that you are building with. You must know the materials going into this section of the design process so you can chose the correct ones to model.
The detail included in the building model increases as you develop the design. The further along in the design process the more detail must be included to convey the appropriate amount of information to the key stakeholders in the project.
The key stages are:
How much detail should you include about the composition (layers, materials, thicknesses) of your wall, floor, and roof assemblies at different stages of your design process?
- Conceptual design
- Preliminary design
- Design development
- Construction documentation
Many door and window manufacturers provide Revit families for doors and windows that you can specify for your building design.
- What is the advantage to manufacturers for providing these families? (it's not free to create and provide them...)
- What is the benefit to you as the designer of using these manufacturer-provided families? Is there an advantage to using them versus the families provided in the Revit library?
What are the advantages of getting the Revit component families (for furniture, equipment, and fittings) directly from the manufacturer versus from an online sharing website like RevitCity.com?
Any components you get directly from manufacturer libraries will be very precise. They will include the exact measurements that will be used in industry. This is advantageous because it allows you to create an accurate design. Meanwhile, online sharing websites will include individual’s personal projects which may not be the most accurate. If you chose to use components from shared libraries you run the risk of creating a model that is not very accurate. This could have consequences when the project is being built.