I was fortunate enough to be able to present at the inaugural BIMShow Live event on Tuesday the 1st November. With the UK government now mandating BIM, there have been plenty of BIM events & conferences over the last 12 months. However, BIMshow Live was different, as it was trying to cut the discussion & really showcase working examples of how the UK is using BIM. Think of it as the UK’s version of a mini one day Autodesk University or Revit Technology Conference. It was a great event & attracted at least 350ish paying attendees!
When I was originally asked to presented I decided straight away that I wanted to actually show some “live BIM” so attendees could go away & think that they could do what I showed; it really isn’t that difficult. Many say doing software presentations live is too risky, but I am confident in a live environment & if you are coming to BIMShow Live; then you are paying to see live BIM! Death by Powerpoint just don’t cut it!

My session covered conceptual design with Autodesk Vasari. I often get asked where should you begin with BIM, well in my humble opinion massing & early concept design is a great start point. Its part of the process. In the session I showed how to use BIM for concept form making. I reviewed how, even at the early stages of the design process you can use the power of software tools such as Autodesk Vasari or Autodesk Revit to provide immediate feedback & how it allows you to capture vital data to aid in the decision making process. Concepts covered:-

• Generate forms
• Use parameters to control geometry allowing you to test options
• Schedule areas
• Divide complex surfaces for early stage panelisation
• Create solar studies
• Generate basic solar analysis
• Use CFD for wind analysis

Below are the two examples I showed live. The first is a simple parametric massing block, this introduced simple parametrics to drive a form.


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The second example was a slightly more in depth example of the roof designed by HOK Los Angles & Parsons Brinkerhoff designed for the Artic Project in Southern California, USA.


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I have also provided a link to the Powerpoint presentation I showed. I hope you find this useful as well as informative.Roll on to 2012, I expect BIMshow Live to be even bigger & better!



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