Breaking Down BIM BUILDING SOFTWARE

Home Building: Breaking Down BIM
BUILDING SOFTWARE Click Here What Is BIM? As building information modeling grows in prominence, builders and designers share their thoughts on how it helps their businesses. The core of BIM centers around the creation of 3D models of a home. All of the elements of the home—from the roof trusses and the drywall to the kitchen island and the bathroom tile—are represented as solid objects in the 3D environment. This is what distinguishes BIM from simple 3D drawings: Rather than just being lines on a screen, each object carries the same properties it would in real life. The size, shape, and material composition of each object is noted, creating a complete, living picture of the home exactly as it will be built.

BIM doesn’t stop with the completion of the model though, says Joe Sirilla, design department head at Monta Consulting & Design (MCD), an Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based design and engineering firm. In fact, creating the model is just the first step. And that, Sirilla says, is the key to understanding BIM and all of its potential for home builders—to stop thinking of it as technology and to start thinking of it as a process.“It’s a process where all the individuals involved, using their software together, can interact and create one project in a 3D virtual world,” he says. Levels of BIM, BIM is a process whereby a builder creates a home in a 3D environment to better define construction ahead of the actual build. Builders who use BIM say putting the pieces together virtually first lets you find any possible construction issues before you start building, like overlapping plumbing and structural components. “Having one master model for a particular plan lets you quickly see what works and what doesn’t,” says Brad McCall, co-owner of Billings, Mont.-based McCall Homes. “It’s much easier to catch a problem when it’s in 3D.” 

There’s also the issue of incompatibility among the different BIM software. Each program has its own type of output, which often conflicts with other programs. That’s why groups like the American Institute of Building Design (AIBD)—for which Sirilla is the National BIM representative—are working to establish a national standard for BIM users and software. Check here for the rest of the article.

Residential Architect Visits Jeff Speck House

In 2010, former senior editor Nigel F. Maynard visited with designer Jeff Speck at the Washington, D.C., house he designed for himself. Learn how the shape of the flatiron corner lot inspired Speck to seek special variances and devise custom design solutions. (source: architectmagazine)

The Top 100 Green Design Firms

The Top 100 Green Design Firms, click here for FULL list by Engineering News Record
There is no lack of interest in sustainable design, as shown in the results of ENR’s Top 100 Green Design Firms list. As a group, the Top 100 generated $5.21 billion in design revenue in 2014 from projects registered with and actively seeking certification from third-party ratings groups under objective sustainable-design standards such as LEED.

Sustainable Architecture | Habitat 67

Of the many different styles and kinds of architecture and building design, you may ask what are the Most Interesting Sustainable Innovation Design Architecture....here is one. Habitat 67, or simply Habitat,

Rodwin Architecture

Cad designs are generated through a number of methods however, one thing that is consistent is if you want a good design you have to be creative. Seeking out good design sometimes maybe a task you may have to look through a lot of data. The high end design firm Rodwin Architecture has really good residential design. The utilization of the materials and how they put them together in unique configurations with design is incredible. So check out some of their designs and contact them, for the rest of the story here's the link.

FTC Enforcement, Renew Plastics

New Plastics Corp: Rethinking Green Materials in Architectural Design

Cases and Proceedings as follows. In the Matter of N.E.W. Plastics Corp., a corporation, doing business as Renew Plastics

FTC Order, Stop making false claims...

Company’s Green Claims for Plastic Lumber Misleading

FTC Order Requires Firm to Have Distributors Take Down Ads With Unsupported Claims.
A Wisconsin-based manufacturer of plastic lumber products has agreed to stop making allegedly unsubstantiated claims about the recycled content and recyclability of two of its brands of plastic lumber.

 “Consumers deserve to know the truth about the products they are buying,”

FTC Settlement, Company claims not TRUE!

Are your green claims clean? Knock on wood.  

Consumers have another choice these days: plastic lumber, which is often used in decking, fences, outdoor furniture, etc. Wisconsin-based N.E.W. Plastics Corporation (you may know them as Renew Plastics) manufactures two lines of plastic lumber - Evolve and Trimax - and touts their environmental benefits.