Week 3 Post: Chapter 2: BIM Tools and Parametric Modeling

Chapter 2 started by describing, and more importantly explaining the reasons for, the evolution of early CAD to current BIM software. Essentially, basic 3D modeling evolved from creating objects from a combination of simple shapes to programs which helped the user create, place, and alter objects based on a set of rules. This kind of program allows for parametric design, which in turn allows much faster, less error-prone models, greatly reducing working time and change orders. After fully explaining the current use of parametric modeling, several modern BIM applications were introduced, compared, and contrasted. Emphasis was placed on the fact that there is not a “best option” but rather programs that are better fit to certain situations than others. Lastly, lightweight modeling applications were introduced before the chapter was brought to a conclusion.

Reading the chapter actually changed my perception of what BIM was supposed to be. I had been using Revit and expecting it to behave more like Inventor and I fought against its parametric capabilities instead of leaning into them and beginning to tap the program’s potential. Upon understanding BIM modeling more clearly, I’m interested to explore Revit, re-examine its functions, and see if I can leverage the program more effectively.

I hadn’t entirely misunderstood how BIM worked though; the chapter also deepened my past understanding of how BIM programs work and why they use parametric modeling so heavily. I found many terms that I picked while using Revit in the past. For example, I first encountered the concept of spaces/rooms as objects at co-op. I only used it to indicate room uses and wondered how it was different than simply labeling rooms with text. Upon learning the fully capabilities of the feature, it makes much more sense now. Again, while I understood what many of the errors I encountered in Revit meant, I now understand how these are detected. Similarly, I better understand how changing one object can cause changes to propagate throughout the rest of the model. I gained a new understanding of how BIM programs work, which helps me better appreciate them.

The authors’ narrative on the history of BIM helped build up my understanding so I could easily comprehend the complicated processes that control modern BIM programs. It also provided a useful background for the subsequent description of current programs. The entire chapter changed my perspective on program like Revit which encouraged me to rediscover them. Overall, the article put me in a good mindset where I could understand the capabilities of current technology and see how it could evolve in the future.

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Christian Tait,

I found your reflection on BIM interoperability interesting. From what I understood interoperability offers another benefit: in the future there will only be a single file that represents all of a project and various programs would be able to update and use certain parts of the file for different tasks. This is certainly at odds with the present: project folders where I co-oped contain many hundreds if not thousands of files which needed to be meticulously maintained. The idea of setting BIM standards would be ideal, but I wonder how quickly these standards would be updated as technology advances.

Alec Silverstone,

My experience with contractors has been limited to a co-op where there was almost always an issue between the engineers and contractor, so I was intrigued by the possibilities that your post introduced. I think projects would run infinitely better if the contractor worked with the designers and owners of a project from the start. However, I wonder what the effect of this approach would be on how companies are structured. It would make sense to me that the contractor on the project would be very familiar with how the designers operate and vice versa, so I wonder if companies would prefer to start their own contracting branch to ensure smooth operation.