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CHAPTER 1 Understanding BiM: FroM the Basics to advanced realities
Revit Fosters Problem Solving
An advantage of a BIM methodology is that you can’t cheat the documentation of 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, faking annotations 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.
Revit Lets You Leverage Other Tools to Support Your Workflow
Other software packages, such as SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Autodesk Alias Design Studio, Autodesk
Maya, and Autodesk 3ds Max, are all excellent 3D modeling applications. While they can produce
either quick 3D concepts or conceptually complex geometrical shapes, these modeling applications
don’t have the ability to document fully your design for construction, nor can they be leveraged
downstream. Note, though, that even if these tools are not BIM, they can still play a role in a
BIM workflow; many architects use them to generate concept models that 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, convert the imported conceptual models into real building
elements, and start taking advantage of BIM.
Figure 1.5
To build a BIM
model, you need
to solve problems
in 3D space, from
dormers to trusses.
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