Key Traits of an Effective Architectural BIM Support Partnership

In the building design and construction industry, construction documentation forms an important phase between design development and on-site construction administration. In scenarios where architectural practices decide to transition to object-oriented BIM modelling or there is a need to turn around more projects than can be executed by the internal team, firms decide to look for experienced architectural BIM modelling support partners. Whilst such collaboration models provide cost-effective and high-quality access to CAD and BIM expertise, issues can crop up if your support partner does not have appropriate processes and quality standards in place.

As a result, to make the BIM outsourcing engagement work successfully for your architectural practice, there is a need to ensure that the following are in place:

A Dedicated Point of Contact

A dedicated point of contact in the form of a project manager serves as an integral link between your firm and the outsourcing partner. He/she liaises with the architectural firm’s representative (in most cases the project’s chief architect or the design head) to gather and analyse in detail the project’s requirements, construction specifications, and CAD/BIM standards followed.

Well Defined Project Flow

After a comprehensive needs analysis by the project manager, a clear process should be in place to break down the client’s 3D architectural modelling and construction documentation requirements into a tangible project scope. The scope then dictates the roles/responsibilities and the turnaround schedules of each of the senior team members, including team leader, senior BIM technicians, senior CAD technicians, BIM coordinators, and draftsmen.

Production Planning Roadmap

Depending on the resources at hand, the project manager along with team leader should map out a timeline for documentation delivery. Traditional CAD-based processes necessitate clear guidelines pertaining to drawing scales, dimensions, symbols, targets, annotations, and abbreviations. Modern BIM-enabled workflows also require establishment of protocols and standards for master model worksharing, data exchange, library creation, and model coordination.

Multi-Tier Quality Checks 

Rigorous quality check protocols are an integral part of delivering accurate standards-compliant architectural BIM modelling and construction documentation support to architectural practises. The first tier entails draftsmen involved to cross-review their peer’s work followed by an inspection by the team leader on local models. The final tier of quality check phase requires the project manager to undergo a detailed review of the master model. Once the central master model gets a go-ahead from the project manager, it is used to extract construction documents. Finally, the construction documents are reviewed to check whether they fulfil the construction specifications set by the client.

Ability to Coordinate Online with Clients

The success of your outsourcing partnership will also depend on the associate firm’s ability to hold regular update and doubt-solving virtual sessions. Focussed meetings ensure both you as well as those on the outsourcing team are on the same page as far as the project progress is concerned.

To know about how our architectural BIM modelling and proven BIM/CAD outsourcing model, contact us.

Residential Architectural Renderings: How they Benefit Distinct Stakeholders?

In the realm of homebuilding construction, though residential architectural renderings are predominantly used to pre-sell housing projects during the post-design phase, there are other key facets to it that are often overlooked. The residential project stakeholders use different forms of architectural visualisation to serve distinct needs. On the one hand, homebuilders may use low-detail birds-eye rendered views and other perspectives to study how the essential components of a project relate to its context. Alternatively, building companies may partner with AEC visualisation firms providing photorealistic architectural 3D rendering services to create high-detail fly-through animations of the project’s exteriors and interiors complete with surroundings, furniture, wall textures, natural/artificial lights and fixtures.

Right from concept planning and designing to the post-design and pre-construction phases, 3D rendered walkthroughs and stills in the residential construction domain provide value to the three distinct participants (potential residents, contractors, and homebuilders) involved.

Offers Clarity to Potential Users

Architectural 3D renderings clearly benefit end users as well as potential buyers in a number of ways. Firstly, they gain in-depth clarity about the project which is not always possible with 2D CAD floor plans and section drawings. Secondly, they can readily assess the pros and cons of alternative design options using detailed virtual walkthroughs even before any actual construction work kicks off on-site. Lastly and more importantly, residential architectural renderings (both interiors and exteriors) help the end users conveniently identify and estimate the cost implications of each of the design choices. As a result, detailed 3D scenes allow potential users to study how distinct components relate to their respective contexts whilst avoiding unpleasant and costly changes during construction.

Serves as Design Validation Tool for Contractors

Residential architectural renderings help contractors validate design before actual construction begins. The 3D photorealistic scenes, including both stills and videos, offers a real insight to the contracting team on the spatial coordination of distinct architectural elements. Whilst floor plans, section drawings, services drawings, and construction documents are essential, detailed 3D visualization ensure the homebuilder, the contractor and the end user are all on the level playing field as far as understanding the form, function, and scope of the residential project. In addition to this, 3D rendered assets can expedite the local regulatory approval process.

Helps Homebuilders Convey and Promote Detailed Concept 

The most important gap that architectural renderings can fill is that they allow homebuilders to convey accurate, precise, and detailed design intent to the end users. Serving as a key tool to promote, exhibit, and market their design concepts, 3D renders can add life to otherwise technical floor plans and monochrome perspective views by adding important facets that include textures, finishes, interiors, landscaping, and contextual and a humanistic environment. Accordingly, homebuilders can communicate and market their project details in a life-like photorealistic manner whilst the end users can navigate through finer nuances and request changes or clarifications before on-site construction commences.

For more information about our residential architectural 3D rendering services, kindly contact us

Why Residential Architectural Rendering is Paramount for Homebuilders?

With the homebuilding industry becoming fiercely competitive in developed markets, the expectations from both the demand side (potential owners) as well as the investor side (financial institutions) have significantly changed. As return on investment is crucial for both the owners and the funding institutions, homebuilders walk on a tightrope. In addition to this, homebuilding companies are required to procure permits and approvals from construction and local planning authorities. In such a scenario, residential architectural 3D renderings are a boon to homebuilders in addition to adding value to the potential owners and investors.

Following are the multifaceted benefits that rendered 3D stills and walkthroughs offer homebuilders during the different stages of a residential construction project:

1.  Pre-Construction Planning

In the homebuilding industry, the pre-construction planning stage requires evaluating attractive markets, identifying sites, and securing investment from potential investors and funding institutions. As a result, both conceptual and detailed architectural 3D renderings can help homebuilders communicate the viability of the project to investors. This also gives potential investors a thorough insight into the project and a greater decision-making ability.

2.  Design Stage

Known as the most critical phase, the design stage starts with concept ideation and ends with construction documentation submittals to seek necessary approvals and permits from local planning authorities and regulatory bodies. Homebuilder’s major responsibilities include preparing conceptual sketches, developing detailed floor plans, sections, elevations, perspective images, and construction drawing sets. In addition to mandatory construction documentation, detailed 3D renderings complete with lighting, materials, landscaping, environment, interiors, and furniture can empower residential builders to communicate complex concepts to planning authorities and expedite the approval process. Moreover, the potential clients get a life-like visualisation before construction begins.

3.  Construction Stage

At this stage, the finalised design is handed over to the contractor to initiate the build process. A detailed rendering at this stage helps homebuilders and potential clients administer the construction and check whether the build is in line with the proposed design. Furthermore, residential architectural 3D renderings help discover design inconsistencies and resolve them. These renderings, in combination with construction documents, act as a yardstick in the hands of homebuilders and clients to assess and review the project’s progress. 

4.  Post-Construction Stage

Once the construction phase is complete, customised interior and exterior renderings can help homebuilders pre-sell their property to clients. Detailed renderings and walkthroughs present potential stakeholders with an all-round visualisation to speed up their decision-making whilst reducing the time-to-market for homebuilders. Compared to 2D floor plans and drawings, photorealistic renderings provide clients with the holistic details needed to choose a property that accurately fits their requirements. 

To summarise, 3D architectural rendering for residential projects can add value to homebuilders during different phases. It can help them instil confidence in funding partners and investors; expedite their approval seeking process from local planning authorities; assess and review project’s progress vis-à-vis proposed design; and act as a perfect marketing tool to convince potential owners.

For more information about our architectural 3D rendering services, kindly contact us.

 

Advantages of CAD Drafting over Manual Drafting

Computer Aided Design (CAD) has been a real breakthrough in the AEC industry by becoming the primary source of communicating design intent. Before the advent of CAD, the only source for draftsmen was pencil and paper for drawing sketches. The traditional method of manual drafting is iterative and time consuming. However, now there has been a paradigm shift from traditional manual drafting to cad design and drafting.

Some of the benefits of CAD Drafting are as follows-

Architectural Drafting Services

Data storing and Accessibility – One of the advantages of CAD drafting is that the drawings need not be filed and stored in folder unlike in manual drafting. CAD drafting can be easily saved on the computer server and can be accessed from anywhere with internet connection. The chance of losing the documents is higher in manual drafting. As CAD drawings can be saved electronically without the use of paper, it is also an environment friendly method.

3D views – 3D drawings are the best way to virtually represent a structure. Though one can manually create a 3d model, it wouldn’t look as realistic as the 3D model generated by AutoCAD. AutoCAD breathes life in the 3D model and aid the visualization process. While creating 3D view manually is a challenging, time-consuming and tire-some job,   it becomes much easier with software like AutoCAD.

Revisions – While you create any drawing on paper or software, there is bound to be some amount of revisions or modifications. In manual drafting, you need to erase and redraw to make any modification to your drawing. CAD simplifies the revision process to a large extent with its various editing tools. With few clicks of mouse, you can undo, redo or delete your actions. You need not re-draw an object anytime later as you can modify the existing object by mirroring, stretching, rotating, scaling etc.

Speed and Time – Technologies are invented to make our work easier, save our time and to complete the work faster. AutoCAD is significantly faster than the traditional method of manual drafting. It speeds up the task of preparing bill of materials, reports, scaling etc. The tedious task of drawing each line on paper can be done in few mouse clicks. As CAD software eliminates repetitive iterations, a substantial amount of time is saved. In AutoCAD, data describing a component or its family is associative in nature and hence revisions are automatically made to all places the data is used.

Accuracy – In manual drafting, all the objects drawn must be of correct size and alignment. Each object need to be manually verified and dimensioned as the slightest error can be catastrophic to the entire project. With CAD, there are numerous techniques available to obtain exact dimensions thus leading to improved accuracy in the project.

Owing to the numerous benefits in terms of speed, accuracy, data storage, revision CAD offers over manual drafting, it has become a standard for the AEC industries.

Photorealistic 3D Rendering: A Perfect Fit for Homebuilders' Marketing Mix

Homebuilders cater to diverse people who have different tastes. Bearing this aspect in mind, every project requires a unique approach for planning, designing, promoting, and building, which makes homebuilding a highly demanding business. Some people may have a desire to own urban homes which suit their sophisticated suburban lifestyle; others based in metropolitan cities prefer smaller, ergonomic, and functional spaces owing to the higher cost of living.

Since homebuilding is essentially a service provided to potential owners, homebuilders are expected to get the seven P's of service marketing right. These include product, price, place, promotion, physical environment, process, and people. Photorealistic 3D rendering and visualization is potentially one of the most important techniques that the homebuilders can employ to take care of the 'promotion' and 'physical environment' aspects of marketing.

Simply put, rendering is a process of representing 3D mathematical models and scenes, which feature details like textures, materials and lights (internal and natural lighting conditions) in 2D formats. The final output accurately represents the vision, scope and is as true to life as possible. Based on the scope of work, details may vary, for instance, the interior 3D renderings may show details related to each and every furnishing, surface or light fixtures. When rendering for building exteriors, the output may represent natural external lightings/shadows and how it reacts with other elements, such as landscapes, walkways, entrances, roofs, and other surroundings.

So far as the 'promotion' aspect of marketing is concerned, photorealistic renderings can help you communicate to your target audience the fine nuances of your home design via various marketing channels. The rendered stills can be employed in your brochures, flyers, billboards, and magazine ads, among others. Additionally, the 3D walkthroughs and fly-by camera animation videos can help you promote yourself in a range of digital media, such as Internet, social media, and through customised DVDs.

Furthermore, 3D rendering and visualisation can aid homebuilders to accurately demonstrate the 'physical environment' of their designs to their prospective customers. The walkthrough animations act as simulated mock-ups of the homes before construction so that any feature or component of the design can be altered to their likes. These fly-by animations can also clear doubts in the minds of potential owners and offer them motivation to quickly approve the designs.

In addition to persuading the potential home owners about the functional, emotional, and self-expressive benefits of their projects, homebuilders need to ensure that their projects comply with the local building regulations related to structure, drainage, fire safety, hygiene, energy efficiency, and toxicity, among others. As a result, depending on the size of the project, homebuilders have to take permissions from the local planning authorities before proceeding to the construction stage. Detailed stills of various views derived from photorealistic 3D rendering can also prove helpful in getting timely approvals whilst saving time for homebuilders and the entire project team.

 

Kuldeep Bwail is a Director at XS CAD Limited, one of the leading providers of Residential Architectural Renderings and Residential BIM Modeling services to customers in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Europe, India and the Middle East.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kuldeep_Bwail

The Importance of Retail 3D Rendering

Retail stores are much more than stores displaying products. It is also about providing a lifestyle experience to consumers, persuading them to linger in the store and influencing their mood. An engaging retail store design in sync with your brand can provide customers with a new retail experience. You just have to make sure that the first impression becomes a lasting impression. To make that first impression of a retail store a perfect one, retail 3d rendering plays a vital role.

Suppose you have a perfect design, a concept or a structure of your retail shop visualized in your brain. An image, so intricate, that it would be difficult to put it on paper as an image. It would take a minimum of three drawings viz. the top view, front view and the side view just to give a sketch of the mental image that proves your concept. So convoluted, that only the artistically abled few would be able to grasp it and picture it from all angles. While all the measurements of the image are explicit, it gives no visual perception of the depth. Thankfully, 3D Architectural Visualization services are offered especially to overcome this shortcoming.

3D Architectural Rendering services are conceptual illustrations of the proposed architectural plan with photo-realistic effects to visualize the final structure before it is actually built. It is an excellent and fast technique to get your ideas from concept to prototype. It also helps the designers and architects to find out any structural flaws or find out if a re-design is needed. It is an art that takes you on a virtual tour of your imagination.

Retail 3D Rendering bridges the gap between imagination and reality to an extent that it is difficult to distinguish retail stores from photographs in their realism. It acts as an effective marketing tool, helping to communicate your idea clearly to the clients rather than relying on blueprints. The image you had in your mind of the store would be translated into a vision of the future using retail 3D rendering. It is a more effective communication technique compared to the conventional 2D CAD drawing.

With having prior knowledge of how the retail store would appear when finished, the design could be altered accordingly to get the desired look. Without the Architectural3D rendering technique, re-design would have been a costly affair involving money and time loss. With your visualization being transformed into a reality, the retail store would definitely leave a lasting impression on the consumers.

Kuldeep Bwail is a Director at XS CAD Limited, a leading Retail Design Drawing and Shopfitting Drawings services provider to customers in the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Europe, India and the Middle East.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kuldeep_Bwail