First Post about my Revitation

This is going to be a loosely corralled storytelling, about the revitation, and the things I've learned through it. There are many Revit blogs out there, and many of them have a lot of great information in them: Advice, tips and tricks, release and version information, etc...

I'm not sure exactly what the intent of this one will be, other than to start an informal documentation of my experiences as i traverse Revit usage.

To start off, I've been using Revit for exactly 15 months and 3 days. Certainly not the longest of times, but I've come a long way. I had a mild background with building modeling, having used a few other platforms before taking my current position at DPA (Dal Pos Architects) in Syracuse, NY. (The website can be found at www.dalpos.com). Previously, i used Gehry Technologies Digital Project (V1, R2), Vectorworks, ArchiCAD, and of course... Good old AutoCAD/ADT. Each platform had its ups and downs (although admittedly, i spent a VERY short time with Vectorworks... longer with the others). Since starting with 3D Modeling, ive become VERY enthused about where i see the profession of Architecture going:

I could see architecture (for one) going paperless. And by paperless, i do not mean setting up traditional sheet layouts, and then sticking with an easily viewable file format that reduces paper waste. While that's a worthwhile goal, my thoughts are this: If we have object based software's, capable of so much data storage and display, then why are we even limited to the standard format that HAS been Construction Documents? With 3D visibility, detailing, hyperlinking, and modeled Revit Families and Catia Parts, etc... I think the descriptions and construction information necessary for our end goal (the building) could be displayed in a myriad of formats... With there not BEING a specific sheet style layout. This may be a long way off, but its something I'm curious about nonetheless.

Anyway, in my 15 months with Dal Pos and Revit, I've discovered some interesting things, disregarding the previously mentioned goals. BIM, and 3d modeling (notice i separated the two, as we should) have implications that are VERY far reaching. More so than having to teach people to model, instead of draft. 3d modeling and BIM mean a new way of Project management, from the top to the bottom. A new way of marking up document sets, if at all. A new way of teamwork and communication, and maybe even a new way of design workflow.

Maybe this is why i do not know where the blog will end up going. Every day is a new challenge, and i look forward to sharing the ins and outs of them. And who knows... Maybe someone will read them. :)