b'YOUR TOOLKIT FOR BUILDING EXCELLENCEus. The possibilities of what we do with this information areBuilding Information ModelingIsnt That Just CAD?powerful. We have the ability to improve our ordering and material needs, predict and avoid potential interferences andMany engineers and designers have learned CADcomputer construction problems, render beautiful views to visualizeaided drafting, or even hand drawing early in our education. the completed building before construction begins, pullDrafting and CAD has become the standard methods of detailed information for energy modeling, life cycle analysis,information transfer in construction for many years. But in and predict future building maintenance needs. I will try toits simplest form, CAD is still an advanced drawing software. illustrate each of these uses in this article. Of course, drawing software has evolved to include standard forms and 2- and 3-dimensional items. For instance, creating As a disclaimer, I want to mention that this article will talka wall requires a 2-dimensional drawing of a rectangular about various software packages for BIM. These should notshape. For 3-dimensional parts, this shape would need to be be construed as endorsements of specific programs. Theseextruded by adding a third dimension. programs are listed as examples, and are not a comprehensive list of available software. What makes BIM different is the added information. When I draw a wall in BIM, I am assigning a set of properties to BIM Defined that wall. Functionally, I draw a linelocated at an edge or According to the Whole Building Design Guide, BIM iscenter of the wall, as I define itbut then that line sprouts defined as a digital representation of physical and functionalinto a wall section (Figure 1a). Options are given to bound characteristics of a facility (https://www.wbdg.org/bim).the wall vertically, and the profile of the wall is stored as a Here the digital representation is not just the visual graphics,collection of components. Properties of those components but also the information contained about the object. Thisinclude physical dimensions, but also thermal and moisture information can be as detailed as needed to accomplish theproperties, cost, and sourcing information (Figure 1b). Even model goals. Most models contain information on dimensionsafter creation of the wall, the components of the wall can be and general material properties (density, R-value, permeability,modified and changed (Figure 1c). All of this information thermal mass, roughness). More detailed model elements liststays with the wall I have drawn, and can be accessed by the component shapes and materials, cost, material strengths,software when needed. While I began by drawing a simple carbon storage, and links to manufacturers websites. line, that line represents a thorough material description of this wall.(a) (b)(c)Figure 1. Wall Drawn In REVIT, including (a) drawing a line to create the wall section, (b) list of wall material properties, (c) editable structure showing wall materials and thicknesses.continued on page: 22 FRAME BUILDER - VOL5 3 / 21'