Working with BIM

Like most Architectural companies, we built our reputation on drawings that we did on the drafting table and then translated that process into AutoCAD. And we designed some great projects with those tools.

AutoCAD was the standard in the industry, especially in this region. To better work with our consultants and deliver to the specifications our clients expected, we NEEDED to use AutoCAD.

AutoCAD was great for making drawings. But we were designing buildings. The change orders and miscommunication that can run rampant on projects directly result from communicating the complexity and coordinating a 3-dimensional object with 2D drawings.

As a firm, we were becoming more experienced and more sophisticated in our approach. We wanted to design buildings in a way that would benefit our team, our consultants and the owner of the buildings.

Moving into BIM

We took the plunge into Building Information Modeling (or BIM).

There are several BIM software solutions on the market, but we decided on Revit because it works seamlessly with AutoCAD (both are Autodesk products). We had many legacy projects that would still require AutoCAD, and it was important that we could work between the two formats when necessary.

There are many benefits we have already gained by immersing ourselves in a BIM workflow:

Our team needs to understand better how a building is built; thus, our technologists are becoming more knowledgeable designers.

We are reducing change orders with our BIM consultants, at the site and with the project owners because we are uncovering (and solving) problems earlier in the process when they cost less to solve

We are better able to explore the 3D space and communicate our design intention to the project owners.

We can make changes faster and make sure that those changes are reflected accurately in all views and schedules.

Using BIM attracts better employees who want to use the best tools.

Committing to BIM allows us to work on better projects for better customers.

The Value of BIM

Making any major technology transition in an organization, especially core software that impacts the day-to-day operation and delivery of paid services, will always cost time and money. Still, we made that investment, knowing that it was part of transforming our organization and the culture into something that better aligned with our values.

The values of Studio Intersekt are all about providing a high level of professional services for our clients. Using BIM lets us design better solutions for our customers more consistently.

The value of BIM to our clients (now and in the future) convinced us it was the right way to approach designing buildings.

We are building models, and those models can have a high level of customization (elements designed to resemble standard fixtures in our commercial client’s buildings specifically). They can also have a high level of intelligence (allowing a consultant who uses BIM to coordinate electrical or HVAC systems with the building's structure to eliminate conflicts).

Our commercial clients who are building dozens of locations a year insist on working with BIM to consistently deliver high-quality design while maintaining their aggressive building schedules.

Coordinating over these 3D models has helped our clients better communicate their concerns and accurately meet their project goals.

We are excited about what other benefits we will bring to our clients as we continue to commit to becoming experts in BIM use.