TABLE OF CONTENTS In this chapter, we ll cover the principles of a Building Information Modeling (BIM) approach and summarize how BIM differs from a traditional 2D CAD tool. We ll explain fundamental characteristics of Revit, how Revit delivers the benefits of a true BIM tool, and why Revit is the tool best suited for a process motivated by an integrated and collaborative practice.
In this chapter, you ll learn the following:
The advantages of Building Information Modeling
What to expect from Building Information Modeling
The production of design documents has traditionally been an exercise in drawing lines to represent a building. These documents become instruction sets: an annotated booklet that describes how the building is to be built. The plan, section, and elevation are all skillfully drafted line by line, drawing by drawing, sheet by sheet. Whether physical or digital, these traditional drawing sets are composed of graphics each line is part of a larger abstraction meant to convey design intent so that a building can eventually be constructed. By and large, this is still the reality we face today, but the process of creating these drawings is being fundamentally changed as a result of BIM. Let s put this into a historical context for a moment and briefly walk through the evolution of architectural design and documentation.
Andrea Palladio s Four Books of Architecture (trans. Robert Tavernor and Richard Schofield, MIT Press, 1997) presents an amazing array of drawing techniques that show...
