Turns out that

this has become reality by now. Today we have several solutions to import CAD and BIM data into viewing solutions like Autodesk Navisworks or RENDERLights (stakeholder) and of course all the nowadays free game engines like Unity 3D and Unreal Engine allow everyone to try their skills on 3D. They all provide unique features and capabilities to address the common problem - how to effectively make technical 3D look as good and real as possible in real-time survey mode.

Happy now?

Not yet. Lot of the daily operation still struggles with too complex or broken exported geometry, lost information in iterative dead end processes and plain lack of better automatization it could have. Why should we worry? Well, it makes sense to improve things when they can be improved and when the change will matter time, money and quality wise. Umbra Software is working on technology to optimize the 3D for better performance while Enscape 3D has made an effort on building a solid pipeline between Autodesk Revit and itself. Perhaps most innovative integration between design and reviewing process is available on Graphisoft's ArchiCAD extension called BIMX where you can smoothly navigate the design while if willing so also take 2D views and sections of the 3D model on the fly. The tool is being used in iPads on construction sites to give feedback to the designers via the platform.