1. Students Learn with Integrated Building Modeling
Topic Number: 113
Students Learn with Integrated Building Modeling
By: Ronald Filson
Date: 27 August 2003
Web Address:
Presented By:
Wissam El Sayed Soliman

2. Students Learn with Integrated Building Modeling
Architectural education tends to do better at teaching students the conceptual aspects of design than at preparing them for the realities of design development and construction.
At Tulane University's School of Architecture, 1999, Ronald Filson began offering a design studio that asked students to broaden their approach and add issues such as development economics and cost estimating to their architectural design considerations.
The students designed primarily in the medium of freehand drawing, which meant they could gloss over some of the physical realities of buildings.
In 2002, the course was rebuilt around AutoDesk Revit, a "building information modeling" tool which encourages students to think about the building as a whole.

3. Introducing Students to Real-World Problems
The studio begins with initial lectures on the project development process and the economic structure of a typical project. Next, students are assigned a project with a few fixed parameters such as building type and cost of land.
Revit manages information in a database and tracks relationships among building components. As a result, it is harder for students to gloss over detailed design decisions.
Students also have to carefully consider the components they're designing. Using a building information modeling approach confronts students with the specific properties of materials and assemblies.

4. Student Projects
2002 semester, In most of their projects, the students carefully developed and exploited the technology of building systems in the architectural character of the design.
In the spring 2003 semester, students designed a combined residence/ art gallery. This project was more complex, and the economic parameters had a stronger effect on the program.
The student projects were more developed than in the previous semester, as evidenced by the number of renderings and interior views and by their attention to finishes and smaller-scale components.

5. How the Course Is Evolving
The Revit 3D software allows design studios to cover more ground than before. In the past, students would design in plan and section almost to the end of the semester. Now, they can work with perspectives, renderings, and 3D models as well, at any time during the semester, because Revit calculates these automatically from the building model.
Student design projects are now more thoroughly developed and refined. Revit also requires students to think more deeply about how to integrate mechanical and structural systems into the design.

6. Students Learn with Integrated Building Modeling
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