BIM for Architects and Engineers-Week 3

       For this week, we need to read a chapter on the BIM Hand book. After reading the chapter 5: BIM for Architects and Engineers, I had a basic understanding of the BIM background and noticed how the technology has been changed throughout the history. As the early century, people used mode of drawing and sketching to determine the structure. After that, computer-aided design and drafting-CADD has been developed into the architecture, which terms out the BIM system eventually to improve the abilities and standards. This technology changes regional 2D model to virtual 3D building model, which changes the way that the representation is constructed and makes the structure more real than before.

       After reading a little background, the next section was explaining how the designing process work related to the owner, designer and contractors. A new option catches my eye that is Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), which is different than usual design-bid-build. It is the program put owner, designers and contractors into a single collaborative contract that terms out a cohesive team, which means any small movements is going to effect the whole team. The advantage for IPD is accepting the potential cost and benefits within the projects since they are working together, so any benefits from one department will effect the other two departments as well.

       This chapter focuses on the influences in design activities by using BIM, and dealing with feasibility and concept design. The BIM reduces the required time in producing the construction documents based on the relationship between effort and time. I think that is the main reason why we are using BIM to be the most powerful tools to deal with the designing because it saves time (owner’s and contractor’s). Besides that, in the later chapter talks about the BIM is designed for reducing errors that increase the accuracy in designing and saves cost in software investment.

       Further more, this chapter introduces much new IBM software that includes the Google SketchUp and Rhino. Both new software support the 3D freeform modeling, and very flexible to generating, editing and viewing the models. Personally, I like using the Google SketchUp because it can upload a 2D drawing from other applications and layout with 3D model format, which make you easily to determine the model from 2D to 3D. Besides that, this software provide the pen tool and eraser, this make me feel it’s free to draw anything on the paper and make them become virtual 3D model.       Over all, chapter 5 determines the benefits you can get from BIM in, and use images and tables to introduce the selection and evaluation of BIM authoring tools. I realized that each tool has it's own advantages, and using different tools to deal with different project that can make the work more efficiency rely on the cost estimation.


Comments:
    
To Ryan:
    Ryan, I like the way you discuss your own experience with BIM during your Co-up. Besides that, I agree with you about the thoughts on Revit. It does a great job in performing integrated modeling, but it has the weakness in structural design. By the way, it is a very detailed summery.

To Carvalho:
    Carvalho, your post is very detailed in discuss the 4D CAD. I clear see the advantage that 4D method can bring to us mostly making sure the project is on the track. By the way, I like the picture you pick to display the 4D software. 




Refferences:
BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors. Authors: Eastman,Charles M.