LOD 200, in plain language.
Level of Development describes how much a model actually commits to. Knowing which level you need is the difference between a model you can work from and one you overpaid for.
The levels, briefly
- LOD 100 — conceptual massing. Shapes and areas. Nothing dimensionally reliable.
- LOD 200 — generic elements with approximate quantities, size, shape and location. Proper wall thicknesses, exterior space records, real areas. This is what we deliver.
- LOD 300 — specific elements, accurate in quantity, size, shape, location and orientation. Design-ready and coordination-ready.
- LOD 350 — adds interfaces between systems, which is where clash detection gets useful.
- LOD 400 — fabrication-level detail.
What LOD 200 is genuinely good for
Existing conditions documentation, design development against a real building, space and area verification, coordination at a planning level, compliance records, and anything where you need to know where things are rather than exactly how they were manufactured.
For most renovation and existing-conditions work, LOD 200 is the correct answer and paying for LOD 350 is buying detail nobody will use.
When you need more
Fabrication-level MEP coordination. Prefabrication. Clash detection where a two-inch error causes a rework. In those cases you want LOD 350+, and industry pricing reflects it — moving from LOD 200 to LOD 300 commonly increases modeling time 30–50% for the same area.
Tell us what the model is for, and we will tell you which level you actually need, including when that means a smaller invoice.
What LOD do you deliver?
LOD 200 with proper wall thicknesses and exterior space records, on AIA standard layers.
Can you deliver LOD 300 or higher?
That is a different scope with a different number. Ask during scoping, and we will be straight about whether you need it.
Does LOD relate to measurement accuracy?
They are separate. LOD describes how much detail the model commits to; measurement accuracy describes how close the geometry is to reality. Ours is 99.5% on distance regardless of LOD.
LOD 200 in the full ladder, and where each rung is used
| Level | What it means | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| LOD 100 | Conceptual. Massing, area, orientation, volume. | Feasibility |
| LOD 200 | Generalized elements at approximate size, shape and location. | Existing conditions, renovation planning |
| LOD 300 | Specific assemblies, accurate size, shape, location and orientation. | Design development, permit sets |
| LOD 350 | LOD 300 plus interfaces between systems. | Coordination, clash detection |
| LOD 400 | Fabrication-level detail, assembly and installation information. | Shop drawings |
| LOD 500 | Field-verified as-built condition. | Facility management handover |
LOD describes the reliability of an element, not the whole model. A single model can hold LOD 300 walls and LOD 100 ceilings, which is why “what LOD is your model” is a less useful question than “what LOD are the things I care about”.
The confusion worth clearing up
LOD is not accuracy. They get conflated constantly and they measure different things. Accuracy is how close a measurement is to reality — ours is about one centimeter on wall distances. LOD is how much information an element carries and how much you are entitled to rely on it.
A model can be highly accurate and low LOD: we measured the wall precisely, and we have modeled it as a generic wall rather than resolving its assembly. That is LOD 200, and for existing-conditions work it is usually exactly what you want — because we should not be asserting what is inside a wall we did not open.
Why LOD 200 is the honest level for as-builts
An existing-conditions model is built from what can be observed and measured. We can measure where a wall is to a centimeter. We cannot see its studs, its fire rating, or whether the insulation was installed as specified. Modeling those to LOD 300 would mean asserting things nobody verified — which produces a model that looks more authoritative than it has any right to be, and that is worse than a model that admits what it knows.
Where LOD 300 is genuinely needed — a permit set, coordination, a model somebody will build from — we produce it, with a person resolving each element against your standards. It is priced separately on the pricing page because it is a different kind of work, not a bigger version of the same one.