Share a brief overview of your proposed tool or solution (1 page max) that outlines the essentials of your plan. It should include:
Intended users
This tool is designed for architects, BIM managers, and early-phase design teams working within Revit. These professionals are tasked with balancing design decisions and budget constraints, often without access to real-time cost data during the conceptual design phase.
Need you’re trying to provide a solution or support for
In the early stages of building design, teams struggle to evaluate the financial implications of their material selections and volumetric decisions. This disconnect between geometry and cost data delays design iteration and limits informed decision-making. A Dynamo-based tool that integrates material properties with cost data can empower users to make smarter choices faster by providing instant feedback on estimated material costs.
Inputs
Design Variables (to be changed and explored):
- Material selections (e.g., concrete, steel, wood, glass)
- Volumes or areas of elements by category (walls, floors, roofs, etc.)
Constants (conditions for modeling):
- Unit cost per material (from a referenced database or Excel file)
- Default thicknesses or densities for material types
- Element categories to include in analysis (e.g., structural elements only)
Underlying logic of the model you’ll implement
The tool will use Revit’s material and geometry data to extract the volume of each relevant element, then multiply those volumes by the corresponding unit cost (based on material type) to compute a preliminary cost estimate. A Dynamo script will automate this process by:
- Collecting material types from model elements
- Calculating their volumes or areas as appropriate
- Matching them with cost data from a linked source
- Summing totals and displaying the estimate
Outputs
- A breakdown of estimated material costs per element category
- A total project cost estimate
- Visualization in Dynamo or Excel of how material choices impact cost