Collaboration is key to the future of BIM.
Over the past 15 years, building information modeling has developed into the
undeniable future of the architecture and design industry. It is already
difficult to imagine a time when design happened strictly with pencils and
t-squares, endless stacks of blueprints and painstaking miniature models.
Technology has forever altered the design process and we are now operating in a
brave new world of limitless possibilities. The industry now moves with greater
speed, cost-effectiveness and intelligence. But alongside all of this new
technology, we are also experiencing growing pains.
With each new benefit we get from BIM, we are faced with new obstacles:
Data-laden models produce unwieldy files. Huge, digital product libraries are a
filing fiasco. Complex models are difficult for laymen stakeholders to
understand. The list goes on.
The question we must ask ourselves is how can we use BIM better? What can we do
to eliminate some of these issues and improve the way we are using the
technology we already have available?
Let’s look at two of the critical issues tied to BIM use: collaboration and
client interfacing.
COLLABORATION
While modeling technology has made it easier to eliminate design errors among
the architects using the software, it has opened up many new loopholes for
inefficiency-mostly due to lack of communication.
Architects are often hesitant to share their Revit files simply because there
is no function to lock them down. Whoever gains access to the file is able to
alter the design without the architect’s control. At best this results in a
complicated maze of duplicate files. At worst, the architect loses control over
his design vision.
CLIENT INTERFACING
Autodesk, Revit, and Google’s SketchUp all create designs using BIM models and
3-D interface to form a clearer representation of the space and design.
However, both require a certain degree of expertise and skill to navigate and
can leave key stakeholders, such as the owner, contractors and even occupants
with a vague impression of what their final product will actually look like.
For the stakeholder to have a true understanding of how the design translates,
architects must do in-person walkthroughs, navigating on behalf of them. In an
industry where it is not uncommon for key players on the design, client, and
build side to live in different parts of the world, this has become
increasingly difficult.
OLD SOLUTIONS
Designers have turned to renderings to resolve both of these issues, but this
is not a perfect fix. While this technology has become immensely popular and
increasingly lifelike, there are still some constraints to the process.
Rendering videos remains expensive and time consuming to create.
Stakeholders are left waiting days or weeks for an architectural rendering to
give them a better sense of what might actually be built. Even then, these
rendering videos are stagnant, giving users no control over where they can look
within a project. Pre-determined video tours often leave users with only a
semblance of the whole picture.
Other
designers and contractors are unable to stop and analyze the design. They
cannot explore options or make suggested changes critical to the editing
process. They cannot see what is going on behind the walls, or under the floor.
If any changes do need to be made, the Revit file must be re-worked and the
rendering process must start all over again, prolonging an already tedious process.
Rendering a building several times over is a costly endeavor, out of the realm
of most project budgets. So how are stakeholders expected to see what is really
happening on a project? Often times they can’t until too close to the end, when
design has progressed to a point where making large changes can severely delay
the project timeline.
NEW SOLUTIONS
There is an opening in the industry for a tool that can finally balance
rendering quality, speed, and file size. But this tool also requires the kind
of efficiency that can get data-rich BIM models back in the hands of
stakeholders in time for efficient design, specification, and build process
contributions. This is where visual information modeling enters the picture.
Moving beyond simple BIM modeling, VIMtrek software converts Autodesk Revit
files into a VIM file within minutes. These VIM files create an interactive and
collaborative environment to work in, much like in a first-person video game
(think popular first video games, such as Call of Duty, Halo or World of
Warcraft). VIM environments put multiple users into the project and allow them
to easily navigate the space for themselves, view the potential built
environment, change key build factors such as daylighting, and do design
checks.
Because VIM files are separate from Revit, stakeholders can come in and make
design changes while keeping the original file intact. It frees up more room
for experimentation and collaboration, and only after this process, once all
parties agree on the changes, does the architect merge the data back into the
original Revit model for implementation.
Users can examine and evaluate a virtual project rendering by clicking on
objects and reviewing the BIM data, or even analyze environmental data through
apps or plug-ins. Users now have the ability to move through a project freely
and multiple users can navigate through this immersive 3-D environment
simultaneously, organize a meeting, or even set up a Skype session.
Perhaps most exciting is the way it improves the reveal process. With instant
rendering, an architect can now show the building owner the most up-to-date
design version without getting bogged down by lengthy explanations of how to
read a Revit model. Instead, the architect can take his or her stakeholders on
an exciting virtual tour, allowing them to walk through the space as though it
was already built.
In a recent project, the owners were hesitant about physically standing on the
40th floor of a building site in order to approve crucial decisions. Rather
than delaying the process, VIMtrek was utilized to take them through a virtual
navigation of the top floors and skyline view.
And so in the true spirit of innovation, two of the largest obstacles facing
the design industry today-collaboration and client interfacing-are solved.