Concept of Building Information Modeling is not novelty, as it is extremely familiar term amongst Architects and Engineers today. Most of the AEC firms, Construction companies etc. today are using BIM for many construction processes. Every one today is influenced by this technology for some or the other reasons. Right from Architectural Construction Drawings, Site Design, Landscape Architecture, BIM Coordination, 3D visualization or  there are many areas where Virtual construction technology comes to play.

In the field of Architecture typically, Landscaping does not use a lot of BIM processes.  Probably there is a misconception that “Building Information Modeling” focuses more on building and not surroundings or sites. This is a myth and this technology provides Architects a great relief from photo shopping or getting printed landscape backgrounds. Actually, Virtual construction Modelling offers excellent features in software like Revit, Civil 3D etc. where we can develop green landscape within the model itself. However drawing contours and topography is not possible with Revit.

With the help of 3D BIM Modelling, it is possible to create a complete Revit model with landscape however developing contours and topography becomes a tough task. However along with the landscaping, Revit can even complete rendering and other tasks like material take off, construction sequencing, shadow study etc. Other programs are meant for specific functions while BIM offers a complete end to end solutions. Revit or BIM Modelling for design and development provides you with a complete design range within a landscape and have all parameters that is necessary for a tree plantation along with the height, the environment, its interference with the surrounding homes or site etc. It will also present the natural habitat, sun shadow analysis that is not possible with a simple visualization software.

Architectural BIM Modelling offers you assistance in the complete end to end design and development process into a single concept which is more efficient, cost effective and seamless across different software and plug in. For Landscape Architects, shift to BIM Modelling can be a bit tumultuous. It takes a lot of experience and a clear design thought process to work on landscaping with the help of Virtual Construction Modelling. Since a lot of countries today have made BIM Services mandatory, it is the need of the hour to use this process throughout design and development stage.  While all the building components can be modelled fairly with less effort landscaping still remains a tough task as there is a requirement of additional plug-ins or other software requirements to give it the desired effect.

Landscaping is tricky and takes tremendous effort in any mode of working. There is no instant plug in or software that makes this easy. There are many factors that affect landscaping. Revit being a building design and development software has got some limitations, but the interoperability features makes it easier. So as a Landscape Architect, what are the options available? There are other programs apart from Revit that are available in the market for working on landscaping and topography. Micro station and civil 3D are software that are generally used by Landscape Designers and Civil Engineers.  These programs have excellent modeling features however do not have the system of synchronizing complete end to end Building data solutions. Hence they are not used for Architectural BIM Modelling.With all these points evaluated Revit scores higher than all of these software. Architects in USA, UK etc. are still using Revit for all the landscaping requirements, though it is not a viable option for landscaping.