Another Revit BIM Project is Completed

Cleary Zimmermann recently completed the design of Canterbury Elementary School using Revit MEP building information modeling (BIM) software by Autodesk®. 

The project is our third using the relatively new BIM technology and the first for MEP systems at Northside Independent School District.  Also a first for the District, Canterbury was designed to be LEED® certified.

BIM is the process of modeling components in three dimensions in the software and not just drafting in two dimensions.  For MEP systems, the equipment, ducts, lights, pipes, panels and the like are modeled with real scalable dimensions and individually inserted into the overall architectural model.  The advantage is that coordination between MEP systems and the building architecture and structural elements is streamlined.  Sections, elevations and three dimensional views are instantly available for any part of the model.  In addition, the software is database-driven so each component or piece of equipment can include as many details as the designer deems necessary, such as model, manufacturer, weight, material, cost and performance characteristics.  This information can then be presented in a drawing schedule or extracted in other ways.

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The software is not without its challenges though.  Revit MEP is extremely demanding from a hardware perspective.  Midway through design of this 90,000 SF elementary school, the performance became excessively sluggish.  A new high-end, 64 bit workstation with the most advanced video card available and 8 Mb of RAM was purchased.  It dramatically improved performance, but still was relatively slow when compared to contemporary AutoCAD software.  Among other things, it also has a very steep learning curve.  The software architecture and user interface are completely different from traditional AutoCAD.  Offsite, multi-day training and many technical support calls were necessary.

Despite the challenges, Cleary Zimmermann believes that BIM software represents the future of building design.  We are proud to be on the cutting edge of this monumental shift in our profession’s design practices.  We are committed to advancing our staff training programs and pursuing new projects.