As the BIM Development Coordinator at TME Inc., one of my responsibilities is to develop marketing imagery from our company’s BIM models. Since visualization is such a powerful feature of BIM, 3-dimensional imagery can really help a client see what the design intent of a building space will be.

I recently had the opportunity to use a new BIM tool, and it proved to be a significant time saver. The project I was working on called for classroom imagery. I had a very limited amount of time in which to develop a plan and have the imagery ready for presentation to the client. I decided to try SmartBIM Spaces, a BIM tool from Reed Construction Data that allows a designer to search BIM objects by project type or space for rapid prototyping. Browsing through the tool, I found sixteen different room types for school buildings and different space layouts available in each room type, which was exactly what I needed. I was able to view floor plans, renderings and each object located in that particular space. A DWF viewer also enabled me to view the entire space, which I found to be a very nice feature.

I downloaded the classroom spaces that I needed and found that they were very easy to work with and manipulate — I was quickly able to move elements, change materials and add our company’s proprietary elements. I was quite impressed with the way the spaces were put together and found the tool very easy to use for my presentation project.

SmartBIM Spaces can be used in many ways, making it an effective resource for architects and engineers. “Mock-up” spaces built with provided SmartBIM content establishes a great starting point for design. SmartBIM Spaces also directs the user to suitable manufacturer objects for each space, enabling design based upon manufacturer’s specifications and recommendations.

One of the best features of SmartBIM Spaces is that it can be used for early cost estimating when paired with the SmartBIM QTO tool — simply download and modify a SmartBIM Space to your needs and run a quick cost estimate with SmartBIM QTO. With QTO and Spaces, it is possible to give the facility owner a per room cost estimate at a very early stage.

BIM is the future of our industry, so I try to look for ways that can help my firm fully integrate it into the design process. BIM integration is not easy, but the SmartBIM tools provided by RCD can definitely help!