There are some topics that keep coming up when we talk about leveraging BIM for Building Performance Analysis (BPA). In presentations to peers, clients, and students alike, discussion inevitably comes back to the applicability and timing of BPA, and the interoperability of BIM models and BPA models. What does this mean for design teams?

Last year a colleague at Vanderweil Engineers approached me with a challenge: “How do we leverage our BIM models for Building Performance Analysis?” I took the bait. Armed with the support of our firms and numerous knowledgeable resources, we ...[more]

We’ve all heard that producing in a BIM (Building Information Modeling) environment is drastically different than producing in CAD, but it was the contrast between “novice” and “experienced” BIM that really surprised me. At times I almost laugh out loud, thinking about how I did things when I started and how I do them now. I can remember sitting at my desk, arm hurting (seriously) from squeezing my mouse trying to get Revit to behave. The one thought constantly running through my head: “There has to be an easier way.”

I can picture the ...[more]

I was surprised when someone recently asked in passing if there was really anything behind the term “integrated design.” or if it was just the latest buzzword in architecture. I couldn’t imagine anything more off base, but it did get me thinking.

If you were tasked with solving an enormously complex problem utilizing a team of highly trained professionals, each representing different, but related, disciplines, wouldn’t you want to create a situation in which all the various expertise on the team could be leveraged to its maximum potential?

If a successful solution to the problem ...[more]