[Lauren Schmidt]

I am always up for a good discussion. But I think you’ve missed the mark on the entirety of scope for landscape architecture. Yes, plant material is a large portion of it, but there is also so much more that could be provided by manufacturers: furniture, lighting, signs, storm structures, etc.

While an owner does not usually need a permit for plant material, they do for stormwater and earth moving. In fact, it would be quite helpful for some owners to have their plant data cataloged (as I know plenty that do this by hand after the fact).

There are already BIM tools that are utilized by most other disciplines (Revit, to name one). And, yes, it is useful, though checking rootball clashes would be a bit silly. But we often work with walls, stairs, handrails, ramps, and other hardscape elements that have much more function when modeled in 3D.

The UK BIM Task Force has quite a bit of relevance to landscape architecture. The Landscape Institute has their own BIM task force that is trying to tackle BIM as it relates to landscape architecture (not an easy task). I do agree that the term BIM isn’t perfect, but as Daniel pointed out, creating more terms for the same idea leads to more confusion.

[Lauren Schmidt]

Actually, BIM is an internationally accepted term that applies to more than just “buildings”. The word “building” is often referred to as a verb and not a noun, while the “modeling” part is also interchanged with “management”. So I would argue that BIM does apply to landscape architecture.

[Lauren Schmidt]

Thanks for posting that video.

There is also a new blog out there- http://bimforlas.wordpress.com/ that seems to be focusing on how Revit can be used by landscape architects. 

[Lauren Schmidt]

Hi Andres,

I also work for a multidisciplinary firm and having been leading our firm’s LA transition into Revit. I would have to disagree with Adam and agree with Jordan on almost everything. While LAs do work largely in plan, our firm has found that having LAs in Revit bridges that gap between the site and building. When the building changes, we can see that update right away, rather than working with a dated savedown. It is also valuable for certain coordination items, particularly finished grade at the building, so the architects and structural engineers can actually see where grade drops along a foundation.

Our civil engineers still use Civil 3D, so we are the coordination point for all export/savedowns into CAD. And we are currently working with civil consultants on a couple projects as well. Ideally, I would like to see Autodesk realize that they should have one BIM software that communicates across all disciplines.

Like Adam said, Revit’s scheduling ability makes planting schedules a breeze. We had used some third-party plugins, but they are not keeping up with 2014, so we don’t really rely on them. I would like to add that details are actually much easier to construct in Revit if you utilize detail components. Our architects have been in Revit for 5 years, so there is a certain amount that I have been able to learn from them.

I would be interested in having a discussion with you and any other LAs about your workflow in Revit. The site tools could certainly use some improvement, but there are certain things I have developed along the way (such as using Area Plans for planting areas). I would love to here other LAs’ thoughts on Revit.

Cheers,

Lauren

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