480 Interiors Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. views offer architects and designers the opportunity to see the construction and interiors before laying a single brick. This eliminates changes at the construction stage, resulting in dramatically lower costs. Building-project clients can also view what projects may look like before investing in them. This is a big selling tool. The designer can easily change materials, colors, and textures, too. A 3D visualization says a thousand words. Designers can publish 3D renderings online, making them avail- able to a wide audience across the world. You can view digital models and animations online or on a computer screen. You can also make individual scenes into still images and print them using photoreal technology such as a 3D printer which uses rapid proto- typing technology. BIM Modeling System The building information modeling (BIM) system is far more complex than 3D CAD modeling. BIM, and the software with which it interfaces, offers rich information and a process for communication. The BIM process moves the building (the virtual-information model) through three different groups including the ■ design team—architects, interior designers, surveyors, consulting engineers, and others ■ contractors and subcontractors ■ owner(s)—including facility managers Each group adds its own additional discipline-specific knowledge and tracking of changes to the single model. The result greatly reduces information losses in transfer. BIM also helps prevent errors made at different stages of design development and construction. To prevent errors, BIM and the software interface use a conflict- detection feature in which the model actually informs the team about parts of the building in conflict or clash- ing. BIM also offers a detailed computer visualization of each building part in relation to the total building, includ- ing maintenance over its full life cycle. There are several BIM-software programs used in the design industry. Several common to the industry are Revit® by AutoDesk and ArchiCAD® by Graphisoft. To begin the process, the design team builds the virtual model and then creates a central file to store a master copy of the model on a file server. All team members work on their own copy stored on their computers. Users save their changes to the central file and receive changes from other users. Once modeling structures and linking them to a database is complete, BIM can visually share information with an owner. With the push of a button, completion of a fly-through of the model makes the design visually meaningful to the client. BIM allows experimentation and quantifiable feed- back. Once the designers build the model in Revit, the design team can assess building performance, such as its energy-efficiency when building is complete. When a member makes a change in one view of the model, the software updates all other views automatically. If team members are from different disciplines, they can link their project databases to the central file and master copy of the model. Users report that the BIM process is more produc- tive, more profitable, and produces a better quality project. Managing building information using BIM can lead to substantial cost savings, from design and construction through to maintenance. The model saves time and waste onsite, and makes extra coordination checks largely unnec- essary. The information the model generates leads to fewer errors on site caused by inaccurate and uncoordinated information. When all team members work on the same model from early design through construction completion, changes are automatically coordinated across the project. The information generated is therefore of higher quality. BIM provides a powerful tool for design, construction, and long-term facility management. There is, however, still much confusion about what exactly it is and how design teams should utilize and implement it. BIM is a developing tech- nology in an industry typically slow to adopt change. Many early adopters, however, are confident that BIM will grow to play an even more crucial role in building documentation. anderm/Shutterstock.com Figure 13-50 Computer modeling allows interior designers and architects an opportunity to examine a structure prior to building it. Examine this image of the Walt Disney Concert Hall designed by Frank Gehry. How can the ability to examine every aspect of design and construction via computer modeling be a benefi t prior to building such an innovative structure?