PDF/CAD to BIM conversion for single-family home in California

The building incorporated a mixed frame of steel and wood over a concrete basement, with an infinity pool extending over a steep rock slope. Its complex shape, combined with difficult soil conditions, made this project a structural task of above-average complexity for the ORIGIN team.

Additionally, since one of the main project goals was to help the architect see their limits for potential redesigns and project improvements, close cooperation between all stakeholders, including engineers and architects, was a must.

Hence, over the course of the project, ORIGIN went through an impressive total of 11 iterations of updates — reflecting the complexity and dynamic nature of the design process, all handled with top-notch expertise.

Our team received an initial set of structural drawings along with the architectural Revit model. We thoroughly reviewed every element and relevant detail to develop a BIM structural model containing all primary load-bearing elements.

After completing the first iteration of the BIM model, our ORIGIN experts coordinated it with the architect and engineer — seeking feedback and making further adjustments based on it. This same process was applied to all subsequent iteration rounds.

As the pace of the project intensified, a variety of design updates and clarifications led to frequent drawing revisions. Keeping the coordination model constantly up to date became crucial — since effective coordination is only possible when models from all disciplines reflect the latest design changes.

Therefore, iteration after iteration, our team kept the model current, ensuring that the engineer and architect could always communicate real coordination issues and improve their designs without interfering with each other’s work.

To detect changes and communicate any coordination issues effectively, our team used overlay comparisons on each update iteration. This allowed us to quickly identify where changes occurred and what was modified, ensuring the coordination model stayed accurate and up-to-date.

Additionally, our team created coordination markups on drawings, thus addressing all necessary questions to the project engineer and architect to ensure all issues were clarified.