The Mind's Eye

Technology ties design visions to reality

By Janine Anderson

Schedules, sections and 3-D data are just some of the features of a BIM representation of the control tower at Volk Field Air National Guard Base in Camp Douglas. Image courtesy of Mead & Hunt inc.

High-tech is reaching higher in the state’s architectural field.

And that doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise to the designers and technicians who constantly search for better ways to transfer a client’s vision to the computer screen. It’s part of their job to look at the role technology plays in building design.

So when one of the biggest clients of all — the state of Wisconsin — announced that it will require building information modeling as a platform for the design of all of its projects, the architectural field, to one extent or another, simply took the news in stride.

Maybe that’s because, nearly 25 years after computer-aided design appeared, the transition from one technology to the next doesn’t come with the same baggage as the shift from drafting table to keyboard and mouse.

By most accounts, BIM has, within a few years, become a widely accepted design tool. But acceptance shouldn’t come at the expense of caution, said Tom Kubala, co-founder of The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc., Cedarburg.

A transparency feature of the SketchUp software lets the client see how all of the elements are connected in a planned addition to the First Unitarian Society of Madison. Image courtesy of The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc.

“All technologies have their agendas,” he said. “Before we used computers, we wanted the technology to support our idea of thinking and not have to adjust our thinking to the technology.”

He said that concept represented his firm’s biggest problem with AutoCAD, which is a computer-aided drafting software package for two-dimensional and 3-D drafting and design. The problem persisted as BIM platforms appeared on the market.

“That was the limit with AutoCAD,” Kubala said. “You had to see things differently to be efficient with the technology.”

Instead, Kubala Washatko looked for a system that would intuitively support the firm’s design philosophy of “buildings unfolding rather than being assembled,” he said. With that in mind, Kubala’s firm opted for programs such as SketchUp and VectorWorks, and the shop runs on Apple computers.

Other firms latched onto PC-based platforms, and they’re following those technologies into the realm of BIM, a system that grew out of design software for cars and airplanes.

BIM data leads to the visualization of an Arizona airport terminal, which was designed to look like a coiled snake. Image courtesy of Mead & Hunt inc.

BIM nudges designers deeper into the 3-D landscape with its focus on keeping all of a project’s information accessible and up-to-date in a digital environment. Instead of two-dimensional drawings that simply show the design and layout of a building, BIM allows for the integration of architecture, engineering, scheduling and pricing.

Wisconsin, which funds millions of dollars in construction projects annually, likes it enough to require the technology.

David Haley, the state’s chief architect, said Wisconsin started requiring BIM for large projects — those valued at $5 million or more — last spring. The state is now pushing firms to include mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans in the 3-D design as well.

And Haley said he expects the state to require BIM for all projects in six to eight months.

It’s the software’s focus on integration the state wants.

“The most important thing to us is scheduling,” he said. “You can pick a date and time, and the model shows a picture of what’s built on that date.”

The Kubala Washatko Architects uses its software to cut away a section of the planned addition to the First Unitarian Society of Madison. Image courtesy of The Kubala Washatko Architects Inc.

Haley has high hopes for the technology. Ultimately, he expects to see contractors in the field using BIM to guide the building process.

“We all know it’s the future and see the advantages,” he said. “I see it coming very rapidly.”

Kubala said his firm looks at 3-D modeling as a way to connect with clients in a useful way early in the process.

“It allows us to see what we’re doing and get instant feedback,” he said. “We don’t have to ask someone to render it. It becomes a building in front of you.

“You can turn it and move it. We get better looks at the design and better feedback from the client.”

And, no matter what technology is used, keeping a client informed is still the top priority.

A night rendering using BIM technology of Friedman Memorial Airport in Idaho uses finish detail and space relations to an extent that the viewer gets the experience of actually standing in the space. Images courtesy of Mead & Hunt Inc.

“Surprising a client with the way a design changes, it’s not a good thing,” Kubala said. “Before, a design would develop in our heads. We would talk a specialized language — a shorthand — and clients would not be able to check in until we produced a drawing they could understand.

“Architects overcame this by being extremely arrogant. ‘This is the design, and I don’t care if you understand. You’re a layman.’ We never saw that as a viable alternative. The ability to 3-D model allowed us to overcome that in a more truthful way.”

At Madison-based Mead & Hunt Inc., CAD and BIM are constant parts of the process.

Jessica Tyler, a designer at Mead & Hunt, said the evolution of 3-D modeling lets the firm create a clearer picture of a project.

“In terms of bubble diagrams, in CAD it’s just a plain view,” she said. “Now, you’re seeing a color schematic diagram that communicates the relationship of the different phases and how they exist around each other.

A proposed interior remodel of the Rhinelander- Oneida Airport in Rhinelander relies on BIM data to highlight the material and finish selections. Image courtesy of Mead & Hunt Inc.

“You get a lot of immediate information that you would not get without extra work in CAD.”

Dan Dankert, CAD/BIM manager for Mead & Hunt, said using AutoDesk with software programs like Revit and V-Ray lets the project team see the whole building from the beginning.

“We’re in a model-based world right away,” he said. “When we start laying out plans, we’re getting the elevations right away. We can drop in doors, and if the owner came back and asked for a different archway or opening, we can swap that out very quickly in one location or all locations.”

Vince Paske, an illustrator and visualization specialist at Mead & Hunt, said he helps designers render their projects in 3-D.

“I’ve got five machines cranking out one image,” he said. “We sit and tweak and tweak until it feels right. It gets a design done a lot faster than any other way I’ve ever seen. It’s just amazing how fast you can design things.”

And, beyond all the benefits for clients, the new technologies offer a little something extra for the people doing the design.

“They say they’re having more fun with this program than they have in the past,” Dankert said. “That’s something you don’t hear that often.”