New People and New Technology
We are pleased to welcome our new CAD Engineer, James Pottinger to the Sorrel team. With over ten years of AutoCAD and Revit knowledge and eight years planning and design experience, James is working to bring all our survey, drawing and visuals services in-house to help us provide a more comprehensive package to all our clients.
An accurate survey forms the foundation of accurate drawings, which reduces potential errors and helps to keep projects on track. At the beginning of a project, we collect as much information as possible through site visits, where we undertake non-intrusive surveys, as well as gathering plans and documentation from councils and other sources to ensure we can create up to date existing drawings. This means we can design with confidence, as any unusual or heritage features of the site can be accounted for and considered throughout the planning and design process.
We’re now able to produce 2D drawings and 3D models using Revit, an industry-leading piece of Building Information Modelling software, which allows us to recreate buildings and spaces as “digital twins” at real-world scale and with incredible accuracy. These digital twins can also be filled with data, to provide up to date information on room areas, ventilation flow, fire escape routes and more. Revit also gives us the tools to rapidly iterate designs, providing instant feedback for costings, designs and planning which helps the project remain within budget and keep to agreed timelines.
3D models produced in Revit can also be transferred to our real-time rendering software, Twinmotion, allowing us to create realistic visuals, panoramas and videos. These help us to share our initial designs with clients and gives them the opportunity to provide feedback prior to any work starting on site, enabling all parties to be confident in the design from the beginning. By using this real-time rendering software, layouts, designs and colour palettes can be changed on the fly to explore numerous design options to get the best results for the spaces we’re working with. These visualisations can also help our teams on site to understand the design brief and the end goal of each project.
Once a project is completed, we’ll carry out an as-built survey and update our models if necessary. These as-built models can then be used as reference for operation & maintenance manuals as well as for planning any future works on site. These digital twins can continue to exist alongside their real-world counterparts, being regularly reviewed and updated throughout the lifetime of the building, which helps to reduce costs through incremental record keeping.
Overall, having these capabilities in-house allows our teams here at Sorrel Group to improve communication with each other, and with the client, to deliver the high quality fit out that we pride ourselves on.
