With lots of new projects on the horizon, we thought we’d share more about our design process and how we get from the floor plan stage to the photorealistic rendering stage. Though our photorealistic renderings are a visualization tool, they are often not seen by our clients until we are almost finished with the documentation portion of our work. Here’s how we work:
The development of our projects is separated into sequential phases. The first three phases are led by the architect. These phases are DESIGN, DOCUMENTS and PROCUREMENT. These are also known in industry contractual terms as Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents and Bidding. The remaining phase is led by the Contractor and we call it CONSTRUCTION, with the Architect’s role technically referred to as CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION. I’ll break down the first two phases quickly and then show you an example of how our design work turns into those pretty renderings you see on Instagram.
DESIGN
In the design phase, our goal is to lock in the floor plan and general massing. Small tweaks can be made after we finalize the design, but we’d like for 80-90% of the layout to be pinned down before moving into the DOCUMENTS phase.
Other deliverables in the DESIGN phase are concept boards illustrating the stylistic concepts that will guide decisions in the next phase. If required, we may review the design with any historic neighborhood commissions.
DOCUMENTS
In the DOCUMENTS phase, we engineer the structure (again, making it all more important to lock in a floor plan) and we select and detail of all the materials and fixtures on the project so that everything is spatially and technically coordinated in the drawings for the trades. The DOCUMENTS phase is also when the drawings are issued for permit. We make any adjustments to the plans that the City requires before issuing the plans for the BIDDING phase.
EXAMPLES
Let’s take for example our St. Charles Avenue Pool House Project. Below is an example of our visualization tools in the DESIGN phase.
Seen above is a Revit rendering showing basic design concept. This rendering will accompany a finalized plan.
Below is an example of our visualization tools in the DOCUMENTS phase.
As our work develops through the DOCUMENTS phase we make more and more specific choices, and those decisions are incorporated into the model as we develop our drawings. As you can see between the rough rendering in the DESIGN phase and the more realistic rendering in the DOCUMENTS phase, we made a few design tweaks as we honed in on the details. Realistic visualization and modeling forces the development of many small details that could be fudged or were not evident in the sketchy model. The stairs, the cornice detail, and the door design were all adjusted, but the overall design concepts and plan did not change.
NEXT, let’s see how the interiors of this project developed.
First, we need to define a design strategy using detailed images of other projects with aspects that we would like to incorporate into a holistic interior approach.
We look for images on Pinterest to help build a story board or concept board that depicts the overall vibe of the project.
We begin modeling the components. In this stage, everything is in black and white.
Once all of the components are built, we will add the material and color. This is where the real visualization fun begins!
The above image is the final design we landed on; however, there were many iterations of this kitchen that came after the black and white stage, but before the final. This tool is great for helping clients visualize all the materials and finishes next to each other and how it ties together with the architecture.
Another example
Below are some renderings showing the difference between our DESIGN phase renderings and our DOCUMENTS phase renderings.
In the DESIGN phase, we are still testing out ideas
In the DOCUMENTS phase, we are testing out materiality and finishes
In the DESIGN phase, we look at big picture ideas this included massing and scale for this Irish Channel project.
In the DOCUMENTS phase, we add materiality and details that make the project special.
It’s important to remember that every project is different with a different set of design goals, so the renderings at certain milestones in the project may look further or less developed than other projects. New construction projects may address the exterior prior to interior where renovations may address interior form and materiality prior to the exterior development.
Spring Design Projects Keeping Us Busy
Last year we published a blog about our how our Quarantine Design Projects are keeping us busy. This year is no different. With so many exciting things going on from construction to consultations, we haven’t had much time to share our content. Here’s an overview of what’s happening over at Studio BKA
Read MoreSeven Weeks in Quarantine, Seven Projects
We’ve been fortunate to be able to spend our quarantine working tirelessly on a number of great residential addition and renovation projects of many shapes and sizes. Here’s a quick update of what’s on the boards and what’s going up in the field - 1 project for each week of quarantine so far!
Read MoreJournal of a Revit Noob: 3 Reasons BIM Offers Architects an Opportunity for More Purposeful Design.
In the early 1980's, AutoCAD was introduced to the market and began facilitating construction documents for architecture and engineering firms, promising quicker drafting times. The days of hand drawings were coming to an end. Younger architects managed the drafting process while the more experienced architects designed, managed day-to-day coordination, and produced hand-sketches or red-lines. This created a generation of young architects who considered projects first in plan, then elevation, then details - as they were handed down to them to draft - this was my generation. So much of our energy was spent perfecting the minutiae of the drawing set and less time was given to the initial design concepts. I felt as if my generation only spent about 10%-15% on design and 85%-90% on construction drawings. This was before BIM.
What I have realized in my first year of learning BIM in my practice is that we are spending about 50% of our time designing and only 50% of our time managing the construction set, which is yielding more thoughtful architecture. I can't believe I am saying this because one year ago, I told my best friend/architect buddy that there was no way I was learning the software. I am 14 years into my career. I'm almost to the point where I can hire interns. I really don't see the point.
What I have learned in the past 8 months has been that I can have more purposeful projects. Instead of having to develop ideas first in plan format, then elevation format, then in detail, we design holistically, shifting all our energy from rote production tasks to developing our design's expression, character and forms in 3d. My husband and business partner told me this would be the result of BIM, but I didn't really believe him at the time. Now, I am totally on board and excited about our future projects. As a small design firm in a competitive environment, we need to work fast, cheap and well – to hell with the old saying that we have to pick two. But we really all are capable of that in delivering a design product, by working smart!
The Bat Signal Construction Drawing
One of the adjustments to make when using BIM for drawing production after years of AutoCAD is remembering that you have all of this information in three dimensions at your fingertips, if things are modeled correctly. Gone are the days of switching to ISO mode and redrawing a detail with 3 locked axes, which just describing is making me both sleepy and angry.
Little axos were used often to show corner conditions or transitions when 2D got too crowded or just didn't cut it. Though time consuming, they were often my favorite details, and contractors' as well, because of the instant communication of an idea that might have taken 3-4 convoluted 2D details to convey, or 15 minutes of a meeting.
Integrating these into your construction drawings in BIM is stupidly easy and affords all kinds of increased creativity in showing how things go together. One of my favorite methods is what I've taken to calling the "Bat Signal" method. You're familiar with the concept of the Bat Signal, unless your only experience with Batman is with the more recent, heavily emo iteration of the Dark Knight. If so, Google Adam West and lighten up; and also, see below:
Bat signal, circa 1970
One problem with the old CAD axo method, and with industry standard construction drawings, is - how do you callout a 3D detail on a 2D plan or section? Section markers don't cut it and callout bubbles can work but the connection can be lost between the larger and smaller scales, especially if the detail is on a separate page.
Enter the 3d callout, Bat Signal Method:
Holy Parameters, Batman!
Simply constructed with two frameless views and some detail lines directly on the sheet, this arrangement solves several visual communication problems at once. And once you use this a few times, you start realizing how many places you can use this to demonstrate complex intersections. And you start getting encouraged to model these correctly to create useful diagrams. It's a self-perpetuating cycle that encourages 3D thinking all around.