Datasheet
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM BIM
7
Problem-Solve Your Designs
An advantage of a BIM methodology is that you can’t cheat your design. Because the elements have
properties based on real-life constraints, you’ll find it difficult to fake elements within the design.
When you get stuck trying to resolve a roof condition, it’s most likely that you have a complex roof
to solve. You can’t just fake the elevations and call it a day. Of course, in CAD-based systems, fakery
has always been possible and has no doubt led to some messy Construction Administration work.
As you move into the BIM world, be prepared to take on some early design challenges.
Figure 1.5 shows what appears to be a simple house model, but it’s more complex than it looks.
With Revit, you model the dormers, the trusses, and the fascia and soffits. You need to determine how
the walls and roofs connect to one another—and Revit is well suited to figuring these things out.
You Create a Full Range of Documents with BIM, Not Just a 3D Model
Other software packages, like SketchUp, Rhino, and 3ds Max, are excellent modeling applications.
However, these modeling applications don’t have the ability to document your design for con-
struction, nor can they be leveraged downstream. While these tools are not BIM, they can still play
a role in a BIM workflow; many architects use them to generate concept models, which can then be
brought into a BIM application and progress through design, analysis, and documentation. If you
prefer to work with other tools for concept modeling, doing so isn’t a problem. When the design
starts to gel, import the geometry into Revit and start taking advantage of BIM.
Not everything is modeled in 3D in Revit. You can create 2D details in Revit, import CAD details,
and reuse details from other Revit projects. The tools may be a bit different than AutoCAD, but
there is nothing you can draw in CAD that can’t be drawn in Revit. By using the intelligence of
Revit families, you can build your details into individual components, thereby embedding drafting
into the object. Figure 1.6 shows an example of a detail drawn entirely in Revit.
Figure 1.5
To build a BIM model,
you need to problem-
solve 3D problems,
from dormers to
trusses.
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