Last week, I was honored to be a featured speaker at the Building Infrastructure Lifecycle and Technology (BILT) Conference series, a 3-day conference created to advance the use of technology in Design, Construction and Operations. Held annually in Australia, Europe, North America, and Asia, it is comprised of over 100 classes, myself and other industry experts shared our insights on bringing high tech to the construction industry with detailed instruction on innovative tools and workflows.
In a presentation titled ‘Intentional Design: Making design intent clear with Revit and Navisworks,’ I focused on the construction uses of BIM and VDC. BIM is an intelligent, 3D model-based process that gives AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) professionals the insight and tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct, and manage buildings. From improving BIM workflows that enhance and accelerate design coordination to best practices, tips and tricks gleaned from the construction side of the industry, I explained how it is helpful to understand how to use Revit in an improved way for communicating design intent.
Using Revit, we can remove design coordination headaches before they begin. By integrating Navisworks into the design phase we can better understand the design and keep everyone involved on the same page -without going overboard! Workflows improve design collaboration as well as open the door to a more meaningful partnership with the construction team.
Some success stories I described included:
- On Gilbane’s Restoration Hardware The Gallery at the Estate in project in Buckhead, the monumental stair only existed as 2D drawings. This was a complex, curving, interweaving stair visible from each floor’s lobby and from the exterior. We were able to accurately model the stair, working with the design team to ensure their design intent was also constructible, all while integrating the necessary HVAC and life safety systems for this flagship store in Atlanta, Georgia.
- On a confidential criminal justice project in Georgia, our team discovered an issue with the architectural soffits as designed. It was an issue that would have never come up in the design team’s typical review or documentation process but was discovered thanks to the 3D coordination effort our team was running in Navisworks. We were able to quickly review this with the design team and come to a resolution that everyone was happy with, all in a fraction of the time the typical RFI process would have taken.
Having presented at BIMForum twice as well as Autodesk University, I look forward to more opportunities to clearly communicate issues while driving toward solutions that utilize the collective knowledge of the team.
