Where Can You Go From Here?

Building Information Modeling is a revolutionary approach to the design, analysis, and documentation
of buildings that takes full advantage of modern-day computational technology. At its core, BIM
manages the flow of information throughout the lifecycle of a building-design process, allowing you
to experience the building before it is built. Using BIM from early conceptual design through construction
documentation and into construction administration and beyond, it’s possible to better predict,
plan, and execute the complex task of creating architecture to meet today’s demanding requirements.
The flow of information in this new world consists of virtually all imagined inputs that go into
a building design: the gross area of the building; its impact on the environment; the number of windows,
doors, and plumbing fixtures; the cost of materials; the size of heating and cooling equipment;
you name it. All this information is stored in a digital model—a virtual 3D database chock
full of information primed for extraction, analysis, and representation. The input turns into output
in the form of coordinated document sets, which can be shared across multiple disciplines and
which serve as a centralized design-management tool for an entire project.The AEC industry is at the cusp of a major shift in technology and the resulting impact on building
and, by extension, the greater environment will be revolutionary. We can no longer build without
considering the impact of the building, without considering the building as part of a larger network
of interconnected flows. The promise of BIM lies in the ability to visualize and understand how a
building participates in these complex networks: how it performs, how it will age, and how it will
accommodate and adapt to dynamic economic and spatial requirements. This software, along with
a change in process, can change the way you do business, structure your office, present ideas to clients,
win new jobs, and ultimately build a new architecture.
Armed with the skills you’ll develop in this book, you’ll be able to take Revit to the edges of creative
expression and maybe create something as ambitious as the skyscraper in Figure 1.9.