FOX Populi

by Melanie Duhon, LEED AP ID+C
Project Designer

Revit has been a dependable tool in the FOX arsenal for many years, providing added-value to both base building and interior design projects independently. Recently the BIM Committee, which consists of select FOX team members who specialize in the subject matter, have embarked on their first, fully integrated interiors BIM model. The 30,000 square foot commercial project, which has been identified as ‘Project X’, will serve as documentation for this process.

Goals for the ‘Project X’ BIM processes are:

1. To develop a comprehensive BIM model that is supported, and contributed to on a regular basis by all parties, including the architect, engineer, general contractor and other project-related consultants;
2. To incorporate eSpecs that are supported through Revit and have built-in intelligence, i.e.; lights, furniture, equipment, etc.;
3. To improve the accuracy of construction costs through BIM;
4. To document the process and disseminate the information on a regular basis.

Steps of the BIM process:

1. Base Building Survey: Our first step was a base building site survey. Typically a Revit interiors design project would utilize a CAD background to populate the base building information, but we opted to model the structure for an accurate portrayal of the architecture in a 3D simulation. This practice will help us plan for ceiling heights as they relate to the existing base building soffits, etc. Additionally, it will allow the owner to have a more accurate depiction of the interior and exterior spaces.
2. Base Building / Detail Modeling: Modeling components of the project, such as the storefronts, exterior walls, columns and PT beams is new for the interiors design group who does not typically explore these capabilities in Revit. With a little trial and error - our team was able to accurately portray the base building envelope so it could be imported into the design model. 
3. Shared Coordinates:  After setting the "shared coordinates" in the design model and publishing that information in the base building model, we would be able to align the plans, once they were linked, through the use of the "positions" drop down menu and setting it to "Auto-By Shared Coordinates". Once the link between the base building model and the design model was complete, we were able to identify distinct oddities in the plans. Specifically, the phasing and view filters weren't appearing as they did in the base building model. We quickly learned that this was controlled in the "Visibility/Graphics Overrides" menu. Within that menu, we were able to have the linked Revit model take on the properties of specific views within the base building model and NOT the design model. Unfortunately, this adjustment must be made in each view (RCP, TDE, Partition, Finish, etc.). Little did we know that this tedious task would also haunt our MEP engineers later in the BIM process…

Stay tuned for more about FOX's adventures in BIM.