Tag: what revit wants

The Revit Mind and What Revit Wants

Luke Johnson

6,000 of us graduating while there are still 20,000 more experienced architects looking for jobs too?!
… what do we have that those 20,000 architects do not? The Revit Mind.

The Revit Mind does not simply mean we know Revit and they don’t. It means we think differently. We problem solve differently. We naturally collaborate across disciplines without a hint of discrimination or hesitation…

via
The Revit Kid.com!: So You are Graduating…What Now?

It reminds me of these posts:
The Revit Mindset
… it’s the ability to clear your mind of any preconceived “knowledge” or “understanding” of Revit and then layout a plan of attack before even beginning a project. (via ArchDesignLabs)


The right Revit attitude
… you MUST understand, at least to some degree, how Revit works. Otherwise you will never succeed, and you will face a lot of frustration. Yes, you must grasp What Revit Wants.
You must try to think in the same way that Revit thinks. Why is it trying to join the walls this way? Why is object A masking object B? What is causing Revit to show this line dashed instead of solid? Instead of getting frustrated and angry … just try and understand WHY.

‘It’s a way of thinking’
One of my fellow staff members was recently doing some work in AutoCAD (after using Revit), and he said something quite profound:
“It’s a way of thinking, isn’t it”
And it really is. Using Revit properly is not a matter of ‘why can’t Revit do xxx’, its a matter of ‘why does Revit do xxx this way?’ And there is usually a very good reason.

Assertive BIM
let’s say 3 people like 3 different colours. Mr Aggressive says ‘Red is the best colour and you are all idiots if you don’t agree with me!’ Mr Passive loves Yellow, but he meekly nods. Mr Assertive says, ‘I respect the fact that you like Red. However, I personally like the colour Green.’

Mr Assertive does not need others to change – he just shows respect and wants to be respected. His beliefs are not dependent on forcing others to change.

When it comes to BIM, the ‘aggressive’ stance is often taken (AutoCAD is rubbish!) However, perhaps a more successful tactic would be to truly Listen, Acknowledge, and then firmly express why You believe in BIM.   

Top 7 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Expect too much from Revit

Luke Johnson

Actually, there is only one main reason.  Biased and overly optimistic blog posts and marketing dogma do not really benefit long-term Revit adoption.  They often lead to inflated expectations.  These balloons of hope will eventually burst, resulting in tears and angst and general dissatisfaction. 

Revit is a powerful and useful software tool.  But it isn’t the answer to all of life’s problems.

Here is an example of what looks to be a ‘biased’ or super-positive post (with some affiliation to BluEnt).  I found a few of the comments quite funny (in bold below):

Autodesk’s Revit suite has the highest market share in the pie of BIM software industry, indicating its acceptance and popularity among the global fraternity of architects.

With Revit software, architectural designers can quickly sketch a rough layout of the floor plan, or make changes to the standard set of building designs and instantly let their customers preview their future homes.

 BIM authoring tool Revit software comes with a full set of parametric building design components.

3D modeling capacity of Revit architecture enables designers and drafters to easily identify the clashes and areas of congestion, and resolve them early in the process. It results in error-free and high quality construction documentations.


A total understanding by everyone on the project of what’s happening removes the design conflict and risks. 

Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did.

Top 7 Reasons Why You Should Use Revit Building Information Modeling Software

Revit Makes You Happy

Luke Johnson

Well, it can make you happy. A lot of it depends on your attitude. Nice feel-good comment on Autodesk BIM Blog quoted below:

Revit also plays in your personal life a great role. Both agree, Matthias Spiss: “We often discuss until late in the evening on the creation of families and recognize that it is absolutely beautiful, in relationships and at work to have the same interests.”; Bernet Tanya: “Revit has made us happy 🙂 ”

Google Translated

Original post

Combine your skills and become a Revit professional

Luke Johnson

To become a true master of Revit is to know What Revit Wants.  You need to have the right Revitude.

When you know what Revit wants, you can combine your skills and work effectively.  You can use the software to create something both functional and beautiful.

In every field, knowing just one specialty or having just one good workflow is usually not enough.  You must apply the knowledge and experience you have gained after years of trial-and-error, peer assistance, reading, and doing.

For example:

I recently put together a large rendered walkthrough.  I had to combine a number of skills and workflows to make this happen:

  • I had to accurately apply materials to objects in the model.  Using physical paint samples, I had to generate accurate Revit colours – and this technique helped me.
  • When I wanted to quickly duplicate materials between different objects, I used this technique.
  • Because the walkthrough rendering was going to be very resource heavy, I used this method to distribute the rendering between different PCs in the office (without having to use Max)
  • Once I had a bunch of BMP files, I used this tool to rename them appropriately, then
  • This method to join the BMP files into an AVI file
  • Because I wanted to make the most of this walkthrough, I opted to extend it by introducing extra ‘computed’ frames.  I used this method.  Doing this meant less rendering time for more overall impact.
  • To compress the AVI sufficiently to upload to Youtube, I could have use this method, but I used a 3rd party tool instead.

The result of combining all these skills?  See below:

To find out more about this project, check out the link below:
Dimond Architects – Theatre and Performance Centre

Three years of What Revit Wants

Luke Johnson

Today is the 21 October 2011, exactly 3 years after I started publishing this blog.  I want to thank you all for following me and for offering some great comments over the past few years.  I thought you may be interested in some statistics for What Revit Wants:

Blogger page views all time: 293,141

Statcounter page views: 297,551

Feedburner subscribers: 739

Twitter followers (@lukeyjohnson): 118

Facebook likes: 54

Blogger followers: 30

LinkedIn followers: 245

Technorati authority: 415

Here is a link to my first blog post, 21 October 2008 (along with a partial quote):
What Revit Wants: If you are interested in BIM, Revit or IT, you’ve come to the right place!
“I am a keen Revit user from Australia, and I would love to share the things I have learned.


As you know, Revit can be quite quirky and temperamental. However, if you really give Revit what it wants, it will reward you by operating in a predictable, productive manner.

This blog will give you specific, brief tips on how you can give Revit what it wants…”

You will notice that in the above-mentioned post, I give credit to the major blogs that helped me to get to know Revit – Revit OpEd (Steve Stafford) and BimBoom (Greg Arkin).

So, if you want to stay on the cutting edge and be more productive, then follow one of the leading Revit blogs worldwide:
What Revit Wants

Whether you are just starting out or you are a Revit veteran, you will find something helpful on this blog.  And tell your Revit friends about it!

Project Planning and What Revit Wants

Luke Johnson

A recent post over at Revit Scratchpad deals with the issues of ‘user expectations’ and the importance of setting up a Revit project correctly from the beginning.  Check it out:


Revit can be amazing at doing complex tasks and yet sometimes it can seem almost impossible to get it to do something that the user considers a simple task.
…
In a recent such case and after explaining an open-heart surgery procedure for a live Revit project a colleague of mine summed up the whole thing in a nutshell. He said that it reminded him of doing a slider puzzle…
…

I guess the lesson is to try and start with the end goal in mind. Please dont just jump in…

via
Revit Scratchpad: Do you find Revit puzzling?

Demo Is Not a Phase (Revit OpEd says What Revit Wants)

Luke Johnson

What does Revit Want when it comes to demolition and phasing?  Revit pro Steve Stafford provides the answer:

Demo is not a phase in “Revit land”. It’s a phase in “People land” because people do demolition things before some other construction things. Revit however considers demolition to occur during the new work.

via
Revit OpEd: Demo Is Not a Phase

Complaining whingers and What Revit Wants

Luke Johnson

When users complain, moan, whinge about #revit, they need to find a mirror & look in it, cos more often than not, its u the user not #revit
via David Light
Twitter / @davewlight: When users complain, moan, …

As I have stated many times before, if you want to be a successful Revit user you must make an effort to understand What Revit Wants.

Here are some quotes from my previous posts about What Revit Wants:
With what Attitude do you use Revit?
Instead of getting frustrated and angry, and instead of uttering unrepeatable phrases directed at ‘Autodesk’, just try and understand WHY.
It is a little bit like meeting someone you don’t know for the first time. You may choose to judge them from first impressions. Or you may try to understand them, and why they act the way they do. If you come to understand them, you may be able to have a rewarding relationship with that person.

Excuses used to avoid Revit adoption
Revit wants its users to be passionate about good design, technology, co-ordination and quality documentation.
Sadly, many people are looking for excuses to avoid Revit adoption.  When I say ‘sadly’ – it is sad…
for them.

‘It’s a way of thinking’
One of my fellow staff members was recently doing some work in AutoCAD (after using Revit), and he said something quite profound:
“It’s a way of thinking, isn’t it”
And it really is. Using Revit properly is not a matter of ‘why can’t Revit do xxx’, its a matter of ‘why does Revit do xxx this way?’ And there is usually a very good reason.

Assertive BIM
let’s say 3 people like 3 different colours. Mr Aggressive says ‘Red is the best colour and you are all idiots if you don’t agree with me!’ Mr Passive loves Yellow, but he meekly nods. Mr Assertive says, ‘I respect the fact that you like Red. However, I personally like the colour Green.’

Mr Assertive does not need others to change – he just shows respect and wants to be respected. His beliefs are not dependent on forcing others to change.

When it comes to BIM, the ‘aggressive’ stance is often taken (AutoCAD is rubbish!) However, perhaps a more successful tactic would be to truly Listen, Acknowledge, and then firmly express why You believe in BIM.  

What inspires you?
It really excites me to see some lines on a page become an intelligent, precise, beautiful building model, that can be easily viewed, navigated and altered. The full benefits and amazing uses of this technology are not yet fully explored. I am deeply interested in BIM and where it is heading. I aim to keep in touch with the many facets of building modeling that I encounter here at Dimond Architects.

Revit Wars, Revit Trek or Revit Gate

Luke Johnson

Which do you identify with?

In Revit Wars, you are in a battle for your life.  It seems that you are the little guy, but you are up against a huge, monolithic, impersonal empire.  Each time you move, somehow the enemy finds you and destroys the good work you have done.  Sure, there are moments of hope and success, but it seems like the only way you can truly win is to rely on those one or two individuals who have transcended, who have grasped the true power of Revit-chlorians.  Will one of these Masters teach you, will they help you to realise your full potential?

In Revit Trek, each day results in a new discovery.  What will you discover today?  What problems will you need to solve?  What new technology will be revealed to you?  Sure, there are enemies out there.  But that isn’t your main concern.  Your main concern is exploration and learning.  You don’t view each interaction as an opportunity for violence, but rather, as an opportunity for peace and diplomacy.  You are surrounded by many different personalities – some insightful, some entrepreneurial, some warlike, and some powerful.  Yet you try to work in harmony, for the good of all.

Finally, Revit Gate.  This is where you take huge leaps forward, seemingly in an instant.  It is scary, but the potential to make a quick profit is very tempting.  Sometimes you take a leap without knowing where you will end up.  There are forces at play, political and powerful.  There is an Enemy, but the only way you can survive is to simply not engage in a direct fight with them.  You must learn as much as you can, as quickly as you can, and hope that it will give you the information you need to succeed.

That is not to mention Revitalien, a dangerous place where something is lurking, waiting to destroy your model, or transform it into something hideous.  Or Revitpendance Day, where a single victory makes you think that you have completely won.  Or Revitstar Galactica, where it seems the only way to survive is to actually avoid new technology altogether.

So, I ask you again, which do you identify with?  A you a Revit Jedi, a Revit Captain, or a Revit-G1 team member?  The answer will lead you to download one of the following models and import it into Revit:

Excuses used to avoid Revit adoption

Luke Johnson

Revit wants its users to be passionate about good design, technology, co-ordination and quality documentation.

Sadly, many people are looking for excuses to avoid Revit adoption.  When I say ‘sadly’ – it is sad…
for them.

Revit itself knows how popular it is.  It knows who will ultimately rule the BIM roost.

Here is one such excuse, in cartoon form:
Architexts – Project Types

So, what’s your excuse?