To Bim or Not To Bim…

Buildings have been constructed from drawings for thousands of years.  The first plans were probably sketched in the dirt, followed shortly by etchings on stone tablets.  Ancient Greeks used geometry and required advanced tools such as compasses and triangles to complete their plans.  The Renaissance brought further advancement through the use of advanced geometry and perspective.  In the 18th Century, architects used conventions of plan, elevation and section in design and production control.   Computerized drafting was the next major advancement, most recently developing into BIM (Building Information Modeling).  References from Wikipedia.

Deciding to make the move to BIM software, and choosing the best software, is a huge undertaking.  There are multiple products available, though two that lead the pack – Autodesk Revit and Bentley Microstation.  Revit has the mainstream hold, while Microstation seems to be the preferred platform of government and military entities.  

Here at Tec has been using Microstation for a few military projects, and it is not the most user friendly package.  It also doesn’t appear to be as complete or polished as Revit.  When required, we’ll complete projects in Microstation, but we have decided to standardize on the Autodesk Revit MEP Suite. 

Tec Inc. Engineering & Design in Revit

This was a big step forward for us, not to mention a big chunk of change $.  There is likely to be a substantial learning curve, particularly among those less versed in CAD.  There is also, likely to be a learning curve with our clients who are using Revit.  Although great in concept, it is probably not as simple as “one-click” coordination.