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Crucial Inputs Required From Clients During 5 Different Stages Of Design Process While Availing Architectural CAD and BIM Services In 2023

Mar 29, 2023

What are Architectural BIM Services? And how do they benefit clients?

Architectural CAD and BIM services from reputed vendors can help you create unique, practical designs and efficiently communicate the design intent to the clients and other project stakeholders. A team of skilled professionals offers architectural CAD and BIM services to make the design process more creative and efficient, inexpensive, and less error-prone.

These services include –

Architectural Drafting Services
Architectural Revit 3D Modeling
Architectural Floor Plan, Elevations, Roof, Ceilings, Furniture Fixtures, and more
Architectural Site Plan Layout
Architectural Conceptual, Schematic, and Design Development

The participation of the clients is vital throughout the process to ensure the outcomes are of highest quality and contain little to no errors.

The job of transforming the dreams of the client is ably performed by architectural CAD services with their deep knowledge of architectural design processes and skill and expertise in CAD software. However, they must have comprehensive inputs from the building owners to get going.

Knowing the client inside-out:

You are creating a dream building for the client. It’s imperative that the architectural CAD services team know everything about them to be able to give them what they aspire for. Their requirements, aspirations, their taste, their likes and dislikes, and so on. The art to make the client come up with their requirements, desires, and preferences is vital for the design team. Let us discuss in brief the inputs you would like to elicit from your client.

What are the inputs required from clients: Architectural CAD services:

The design process goes through several important stages. Close interaction with clients is always desirable for the design team. Let’s have a look at how the building owners can play their part during these different stages.

Schematic design and conceptual stage drawings

The architectural team starts the conceptual design and conveys the design intent through hand-drawn sketches. This is the time the clients have to be proactive in their inputs and responses. The designers try to elicit all the required information, however, it’s always helpful if the clients themselves come up with their ideas, preferences, special interests, and of course, their dislikes as well. This would help the architect to propose a scheme that reflects their personalities perfectly well.

As-builts

These drawings play a vital role in the case of an extension/ remodeling project. Again, to help the design team understand what has to be retained and what has to be replaced with a new structure, clients must come up with what they have in mind. As-built drawings give a true idea of the existing structure and elements, enabling designers to start planning the proposed building with clarity and confidence.

Site plans

A site plan is an important document that determines the layout of the proposed scheme. The building orientation, immediate environment, approaching roads, contours, availability, and placement of important resources are all incorporated in the site plan. The clients must take an active part in the discussion and come up with their thoughts and ideas about how they would want the environment at their doorstep to be.

Material details

Architects give your dream castles the shape of solid structures by defining the materials to be used for construction and finishes. This is going to be your own abode, you must come forward and give them suggestions about the materials you like and do not like that much. Of course, they are professionals, and they would advise about the suitability or non-suitability of certain materials for the purpose, but expressing your own preferences is important.

Plan reviews and markups during the design development stage

Construction plan review and markup is a key step toward ensuring a successful building project. This is in a way final stage when some major changes can be thought of and made to the scheme. The clients should take a deep interest in the review process and share their ideas with the design team. This also gives them a wonderful opportunity to see something amazing being erected from the scratch.

Architectural CAD services help architects create exclusive, viable designs and effectively communicate the idea to clients, consultants, and contractors. The clients must show keen involvement in the process with their inputs to ensure they are given an end product that matches their expectations and requirements.

3 Benefits Architectural Design And Drafting Companies Can Derive From Interior Design Documentation Produced Using BIM

Aug 26, 2021

Architectural design and drafting professionals handle restoration/ renovation projects more efficiently by using BIM to produce an accurate interior design documentation set by seamlessly integrating the existing spaces with the newly added ones.

BIM should not be mistaken as just another highly publicized software used to create a more complex building model; it provides a more comprehensive overview of a building project besides creating detailed 3-D models and thus, enabling you to extract accurate design and construction documents.

Integrating existing and proposed structures:

Architectural design and drafting companies must work systemically using BIM to simplify the complex process of remodeling or refurbishment of an existing structure.

You need to create two different models for the existing and proposed structures for this, and then seamlessly integrate them using all the features available.

The architectural objects of the existing structure like walls, floors, doors/ windows, etc can be labeled as “existing entities”, while the newly designed architectural objects should be assigned the label of “new build entities”.

BIM allows you to do a dynamic comparison between the two models; you can use special tools to quickly demolish or rebuild architectural objects.

Revit facilitates efficient preparation of interior design documentation.

You would often have found an interior job like a relay race with every contractor waiting for the other to finish and start his own work.

Dropping batons in this relay race is common, important information is thus lost and precious time wasted. BIM makes it more like the integrated effort of a team of rowers who work together in unison to achieve expected results.

A compact schedule is generated allowing everyone to work together for ensuring an efficient building with high-performing units.

Benefits of using BIM for interior design documentation:

Better visualization

BIM tools enable you to easily communicate ideas, analyze and evaluate different spaces, and assess the future performance of the structure.

You can study and accurately compare various design alternatives reflected in related views, drawings, and schedules, saving time and increasing your credibility.

Close collaboration

BIM helps architectural design and drafting firms facilitate better collaboration among all the stakeholders involved with the project.

Individual models are created by different stakeholders which are linked together, allowing an interior designer to see every minute detail to carry out their work efficiently and with the minimum interruptions.

You can always provide a viable design if you know precisely where articles like an electrical junction box or a plumbing line is laid.

A closer collaboration helps you save time and money.

Forming accurate databases

Finalizing the placement and documentation of articles like furniture and equipment etc. is always a tough job for interior designers.

BIM makes this job much easier. Revit helps you accurately sort, count and filter all databases, giving parameters to every object, like model number and cost.

The schedules can thus pull their information and remain updated all the time.

Producing interior design documentation for renovation projects can be a challenging job for architectural design and drafting service providers.

BIM helps you visualize and communicate your design in a better way, facilitates better collaboration among all stakeholders involved, and enables you to sort and filter all databases to produce architectural masterpieces time and again.

4 Ways CAD Service Providers Help Make Your Working More Efficient & Productive

May 7, 2021

Working closely with the reputed CAD service providers like The AEC Associates has become a norm rather than an exception for top architects around the world.

Third-party CAD service providers offer countless benefits contrary to the belief of some people who remain apprehensive about entrusting their important drafting and documentation job to an unknown outsourcing vendor and still prefer to get the work done by their in-house team only.

Following is a brief discussion on the main reasons you should not hesitate in hiring an outsourcing vendor specializing in the kind of work you deal with.

You Get Top Quality, Every Time

CAD service providers are teams of experienced, skilled professionals specializing in different disciplines of architecture and engineering, adept at handling both small, retail buildings as well as large, complex projects of all kinds.

You are assured of top-quality work every time when you associate with them. It takes you years of untiring hard work to build a reputation of your own, you just cannot afford to compromise on the accuracy or the quality of work.

Just take your time and choose your vendor after proper due diligence, and your results will improve.

Faster Turn-around Time

Time is money in today’s business world, you don’t deliver on time and your reputation is tarnished beyond redemption.

You might get apprehensive you won’t be able to control an outsider when it comes to punctuality, but is that true?

You can of course monitor your timelines closely while getting the job done from your in-house teams, but times have changed and globalization has ensured that most outsourcing vendors are usually located in different geographical locations and time zones than your own.

So, your work goes on even after you have closed down your office for the day. You can manage these vendors by having a time schedule and a good follow-up program in place to ensure a faster turn-around time.

Reduces Your Operational Cost Considerably

Some people think that outsourcing one’s work costs more money, but that’s a misconception.

It in fact reduces your operational cost considerably, besides giving you an exact idea of what it is going to cost you once you hire your vendor.

One big plus here is that you are spared the pain of hiring and firing as per the demand of your projects. Since you can work with a minimum number of employees as a result, you can save a lot on office space and equipment, and also on salaries and perks of the employees.

Ensures Data Security

Architects are sometimes wary of working with CAD service providers as they are apprehensive about design data being leaked or stolen.

They think that they are at greater risk when working with outside vendors, but it can simply be prevented by entering into contracts like non-disclosure agreements, etc.

Associating with reputed CAD service providers can give you more freedom to focus on your core competencies and business aspect.

They help make your work more efficient by reducing your operational cost, ensuring faster turn-around time, and offering top quality all the time.

Architectural Drafting Services: 4 Challenges You Must Overcome For Efficient Design Coordination During Design Development Phase

Apr 26, 2021

Top providers of Architectural Drafting Services constantly strive hard to produce functionally superior and aesthetically pleasing buildings on a regular basis. You would of course be interested in knowing how this seemingly impossible objective can be achieved.

Building Information Modeling: A revolutionary process:

Building Information Modeling or BIM promises to take the construction industry to the next level. There has been a marked difference in the performances of the projects where BIM is being used and where traditional methods are being employed, clearly showing the value of this process.

Enriched BIM models used by Architectural Drafting Services professionals facilitate greater inter-disciplinary coordination and collaboration for efficient and timely decision making. Following are some major challenges you face due to inefficient coordination during the design development stage of a project.

Reworks and wastage

It becomes so necessary to avoid those countless reworks and material wastage that often result in budgeted overruns.

Inaccessibility of information

So many projects fail to take off due to different stakeholders not being able to access the required design data at the right time.

Unreliable decision making

When you are not able to access the right information at critical stages, it results in unreliable decision-making. It gives rise to unwanted conflicts and stalls so many promising projects.

Inter-disciplinary conflicts

Lack of coordination among various stakeholders could give rise to inter-disciplinary conflicts, which if not sorted, can push deadlines behind and result in gross wastage of precious time, money and resources

So, how would you tackle these hurdles and make sure everything goes smoothly during the design development process? You can adopt modern techniques to ensure better coordination among various participants. Following are a few tips about how to achieve this objective.

Coordination between architects and engineers

You plan a building as per your client’s requirements keeping in perspective the functional efficiency and aesthetical appearance. It’s the responsibility of the engineers to make sure that the design provided by you is viable.

A detailed BIM model can be used to make sure there are no clashing elements between the layout of architects and engineers, pointing out possible problematic areas at an early stage itself so that viable solutions are found.

Coordination between engineers and MEP contractors

There is often an issue of materials and equipment not being available or right people not being there at the right spots. Detailed BIM models may be used to generate schedules, estimating the requirements and time slots to avoid this problem.

This would also give MEP contractors an exact idea at the time of planning where structural elements are placed to offer an efficient layout.

Architects and MEP contractors

MEP contractors must be aware of an architect’s requirements so that there is no major deviation from the original scheme. For example, they cannot provide an Air-conditioning duct that makes the space look ugly.

It would be a disaster if they provide a cable where the architect is planning to place a classical object. They can be kept on the same page by using a detailed BIM model.

The massive responsibility of converting client’s dreams into functionally efficient, visually pleasing structures lies on the shoulders of the Architects and their Architectural Drafting Services team.

Identifying the main challenges in design coordination faced during the design development stage and finding effective ways to overcome them will enable you to produce timeless buildings time and again.

You cannot ensure flawless execution of a building project without handling various challenges in an efficient manner.

It often becomes a tough task for the Design Team to stick to the original design scheme and complete the project within the allotted timeline and budget due to a general lack of coordination among various stakeholders involved despite their individual brilliance and creativity.

“Design coordination during the design development phase” thus assumes great significance for the successful completion of a building project.

4 Benefits Of Using 3D Modeling For Architectural Drafting And Design Services(Continued)

Architectural Drafting and Design

Jun 11, 2018

4 Benefits Of Using 3D Modeling For Architectural Drafting And Design Services(Continued)

High-rise buildings and complex structural details have made life difficult for The AEC Associates Architectural Drafting And Design professionals in an era where skyscrapers have become a norm due to increasing scarcity of land. The designers need a few powerful tools to overcome these challenges and remain creative and productive, 3D modeling is one of the modern-day techniques helping them accomplish this objective. We discussed some benefits of using 3D modeling in our previous post, the discussion is continued here.

Giving precision and control over the process

Architectural drafting and design services cannot afford to make even the slightest of errors today since a building project involves huge amounts of money; a lot is at stake both for the professionals and the clients. Precision and control over the entire process is the need of the hour. 3D modeling allows you to view and analyze, in a very precise manner, each and every feature, in isolation and in relation to other components. Working on multiple levels is never a child’s play, there are so many elements hidden, so many possibilities of getting conflicting components; it’s virtually a nightmare sometimes. 3D models enable you to detect flaws and conflicting elements at an early stage to iron out the problems much before the construction stage.

Helping communicate effectively with the clients

Architectural drafting and design professionals invariably find it difficult to satisfy the clients or the prospective customers that the proposed building would be up to their expectations. 3D models help them give their clients a virtual tour through the structure, alleviating all their worries. The clients can understand the design inside-out through the model or 3D views generated by it, leaving no confusion in their minds.

3D modeling is a powerful tool for Architectural drafting and design professionals for performing their job in an efficient manner. They get workable solutions to difficult and complex structural problems and make their process faster and more efficient by employing this new-age tool.

Power Of 3D Surface Modeling: Architectural Drafting And Design

Architectural Drafting and Design

Jun 5, 2017

CAD 3D modeling is a powerful tool for The AEC Associates Architectural Drafting and Design services, offering unlimited scope for innovation and experimentation. The modern-day computer software help Architectural drafting and design professionals save time, work efficiently and produce error-free, quality drawings and brilliant, lifelike views. Unlike earlier methods, working with 3D models enables you to think and conceptualize directly in three dimensions, enhancing the quality and accuracy of your designs.

There are primarily three types of 3D models, they are discussed below.

3D Wireframe models

Wireframe modeling is the simplest form of 3D modeling employed for Architectural drafting and design. These models provide just an extended form of 2D orthographic projections. Even though they are far superior to 2D projections, wireframe models still have limitations. You need to edit these models to remove extraneous lines and add hidden and center lines to make them conform to the standards.

3D surface models

A more complex form of 3D models, called a surface model, is used when the exterior surfaces of a structure are more important and you don’t need to consider interior forms yet. This technique represents solid looking objects externally. If we compare three types of models, surface models are more complex than wireframe models but not as sophisticated or complete as 3D solid models. A surface model cannot be sliced open like a solid model; so a proper appearance doesn’t guarantee geometric correctness of a solid looking object.

A surface model only simulates the structure externally, thus it does not give the complete view of the structure. You only use these models for the projects where the exterior holds more importance. You add surface to a wireless model if you need a more comprehensive view at some stage. The limitations of surface modeling include not being able to display internal features of an object, and not being able to prevent a clash of elements, especially in case of complex structures.

3D solid models

Now, a brief description of solid modeling. A 3D solid model is complete in every sense; it gives a life-like view of both exterior and interior surfaces and spaces. It’s possible to obtain a view from any conceivable angle, one can even get an inside out view. These models give you an exact idea of the structure. Despite all its advantages, developing a solid model takes a lot of time and effort, so is used sparingly, employed only when the structure is complex enough and Architectural drafting and design team cannot work efficiently with other forms of 3D models.

4 Fundamentals Of Office Design For Architectural Drafting And Design Services (Continued)

Architectural Drafting and Design

Apr 25, 2017

Office design is one of the most challenging jobs for The AEC Associates Architectural Drafting and Design services as new trends always necessitate certain changes in the office layout and furnishings. The challenge for Architectural drafting and design team lies in providing a timeless design that still fulfills the requirements of the users and interests them at the same time after many years. You can certainly achieve this seemingly impossible objective by following some basic fundamentals of office design. We discussed some of these principles in our previous post, the discussion is continued here.

Detailing is important

Famous architect Mies van der Rohe once said: God is in detailing. That is true when you are trying to plan an office interior. You want to create a timeless design, perfection and excellence are two things you should strive to achieve. You can succeed in enforcing a great office culture if you give enough attention to detailing. Little details like optimum lighting, comfortable chairs with the office logo etc will improve worker satisfaction and productivity besides evoking loyalty towards the organization. Always strive to achieve the best possible environment, prioritizing quality over quantity.

Make your design sustainable

Architectural drafting and design team always strives to go with the current trends and makes the designs as innovative as possible, yet sustainability is another aspect that cannot be overlooked. While adding elements to capitalize on latest trends gives that much needed flair to your office interiors, it’s necessary that your clients are able to use the present setup for a long time to come. Redesigning or even small renovations can cost a fortune and consume precious time as well; give a sustainable design to the customer to help them avoid wasteful practices and enjoy the beautiful office space designed by you for decades to come.

Architectural drafting and design services shoulder a great responsibility of creating a great office culture through furniture, office layout, innovative ideas and amenities; following the above design fundamentals can help them achieve this objective. Inspiring the workers and ensuring their satisfaction and productivity for a long time to come would make your office design sustainable and timeless.

5 Golden Principles Of Office Design For Architectural Drafting And Design Professionals

Architectural Drafting and Design

Feb 17, 2017

Principles Of Office Design For Architectural Drafting And Design Professionals

Designing modern-day office interiors has become a great challenge for The AEC Associates Architectural Drafting and Design professionals as office design has undergone a metamorphosis in this computer age. There is an increasing demand to design work spaces that are conducive for efficiency and productivity and provide a positive, cheerful work environment for the workers; definitely a tough task for Architectural drafting and design companies. One has to think holistically about an office interior instead of considering it just as an arrangement of work stations. Following are some golden principles to help designers create innovative, efficient interiors that also keep the workers happy and satisfied.

Keep the spaces tidy and uncluttered

One big challenge for Architectural drafting and design services today is to keep the office space neat and uncluttered. Desktops, laptops and local area networks often create a maze of wires that not only make the workstations seem untidy and ugly but also affect the efficiency of the workers negatively. Even a meeting table in your conference hall will look terrible if wires attached to the mikes, computers and internet networks are not well concealed. The best bet is to use clean and simple solutions for the job.

Make interiors lively using the nature

There was a trend of making the interiors look too formal, too mechanical; not anymore. A designer should try to make the spaces interesting and lively. Using the natural objects is a good way to accomplish this task. One may use wood panels, exposed brick partitions, floral patterns on carpets and wall papers etc, and even decorate spaces with different varieties of plants to make the interiors look warm, cozy and welcoming.

It’s important for Architectural drafting and design professionals to understand that the whole concept of office design has changed now; the demands are different and their methods must also change. We shall continue to discuss more important design principles of modern office design in our next post.