What are the primary goals of creating a building model? Who are the key stakeholders?
In my opinion the first primary goal of creating a building model is to obtain a thorough 3-D visual of the project you are working on. Getting that 3-D visual is important in the visualization of the project for the engineer, architect and all of the other stakeholders on the project. This helps ensure that the stakeholders like the design before construction begins and some decisions cannot be changed. Another primary goal of creating a model is to be able to make changes to the design, whether it be furniture, siding or a layout, without a costly on-site fee or contract modifications to the construction of the project. If the stakeholders do not like an item in the design, it can be quickly changed in the model at the cost of labor for the drafter. If a item were to be changed in the design during the construction phase, it would be costly due to the purchase of the new item and the fixing of that aspect which depending on the size could also lead to a contract modification which increases fees and delays completion of the project. The key stakeholders of a model are the owners of the project, the city the project resides in (AKA city engineers and officials), the county the project resides in (AKA county officials, inspectors, etc.) and construction company who will be taking the model and developing it into reality.
- What do they need?
Stakeholders need a lot from models. These things include; aesthetics of the design, possible furniture layouts, door orientation and how the doors can affect spaces and the area of each room and their dimensioning. Being able to have dimensions and areas of spaces allows for construction workers or city officials to easily understand what is to be built and if it is up to design codes. Door orientations and how it could affect spaces allows for the stakeholders to understand if the door location is not ideal or if they have enough room in a walkway for the door to be open and a person to get through which is key to the functionality of the space. Lastly, aesthetics are needed for the stakeholders because ultimately they are the ones that have to deal with the project after construction completion and making sure they like the project is important to having a happy group of stakeholders.
- What do they care about most?
The first thing people usually care about is the cost of the project. So making sure the model and the project reaches all of the stakeholders goals while also minimizing costs for labor, materials and any other items. Another thing stakeholders care about is that the aesthetics match what they want and/or what the city requires. Some HOAs have very strict restrictions on what a home or building can look like within their community. Making sure that the aesthetics match these requirements is really important. Lastly, stakeholders will also care the most about the functionality of the model and project. By modeling the project, stakeholders can see how functional their space is. This could include windows, open space and walkways. If a space is too cluttered or small, the project will not be functional for the stakeholders to use understanding the functionality of the space through a model is a good way to see if the project will work.
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?
- And how much detail should you include at each stage?
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...)
The biggest advantage to manufacturers providing Revit families is to have a form of advertising with the models. Lots of people look at models everyday, if they see a door or window they really like, they will want to know who manufactures it and where they can purchase the item. Another advantage is that if people have access to their goods in Revit families, they can use them in their models to have a more dimensionally accurate model. Having these families creates a level of trust between the person creating the model and the manufacturer because the person modeling will know that the manufacturer created families are accurate to what they will be purchasing in the construction phase of the project.
- 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?
Like stated above, as a designer using these manufacturer-provided families gives me trust that what I am using in my design model is accurate to what will be purchased for the real-life project. Other non-manufacturer families might not be accurate in the dimensioning or are just generic doors or windows, like the ones seen in the Revit library, that have no ties to a real-life product. Using manufacturer-provided families gives a more realistic model for the stakeholders to look at because it gives them more information on the design, cost and energy information for their project which is a big advantage. Revit library or other databases aren’t accurate in those listed components because they are not tied to a real-life product that has been researched and studied.
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?
When I think about comparing Revit component families directly from the manufacturer versus an online sharing website, I think about it similarly in the way of comparing a science journal article to a Wikipedia page. Component families from online sharing websites can be used, but one should be wary on how accurate the component families are. For example, dimensioning could be not as accurate. Getting component families are more accurate in dimensioning simply because the manufacturer themselves have gone through to make sure the component families match what the consumer would get if used in real life. Similarly, another advantage of manufacturer component families is that they are not generic furniture, equipment or fittings. When you look at the component families on RevitCity’s website, one can see that some of the items are labeled as “lab sink” which is a generic form of that item. Using manufacturer created families allow for specific, real-life to be placed in the model. If you know you want to build with a specific companies fittings, you can ensure that your model includes the exact products and companies that you plan on including in the real-life system, building, etc.