Mobilizing an office, and Distributing Information...

I often wonder... How does everyone filling the role as BIM Manager for many people manage to distribute information about all of the changes made, to all of the users that use them? Template updates, Content creation, content modification, Standard detail updating, etc... Theres a lot to keep everyone informed about.

The running joke amongst me and one of my (now) coworkers, HAS been that over the last few years i would take a position, set up an entire office, and then leave.... Only to have to start over at the next office.(Here is hoping this time i dont end up having to go somewhere, im quite happy!). But whats always plagued me during the implementation trials... Is how to keep everyone informed? Of COURSE, i know how every family works. What every parameter does. Where the constraints are. How things flex. Whats in the template. Which things are ready, and which things arent. Its only natural... I built it all. But thats not fair to the entire rest of the office.

So finally, while setting up a Content and Training library for Beck, we saw the opportunity to do something ive always wanted to do... And we seized it: The Revit Explorer. At least, in my mind thats what it was called. The format of it lended itself more to: The Revit Wiki. But it was/is as follows:

The first and most significant (in my mind), was the Content Page. We have Registered Architects, designers, Interior Designers, Project Engineers, Project Managers, and Interns, all looking for content. Does everyone know what Folders the library is broken up in to? What Revit Categories to check? No. Should they have to? No.

So the content link goes to a very bland looking list. The reviteers will notice its awfully close to a Revit Category list, but its not. While it started out that way, the categories were then broken up further, in to groupings that made sense architecturally. Revit System Families were included (Architectural staff often dont need to know- or care- that they act differently than components).

One of the beautiful things about an HTML solution, is that redundant links can point to the same location. So some things are included under Equipment, that are also located under Plumbing, or Casework, and so on. They all point to the same pages, when it gets down to the content level, and thats a beautiful thing. If three people guess (interpret) that a piece of content is something different... If theyre marginally close (read: if i anticipated that interpretation), they find it anyway!

The pages shown below (Doors) point to families that are stored in the Office Library. The items that are system families, ALSO point to the office library, where systems of Model Groups are saved out. Just because its a "Revit System Family" that plays by different rules, why should it act differently for the staff needing to load it?

The other benefit to this solution is images. I stand by the long and complex naming strategy for Content that ive implored upon people in office and office again. Until the Factory gives us a Component button that functions by category, and sorts in a fashion other than alphabetically, this will continue to be necessary, as a means to circumnavigate chaos in a Revit Model. (Foreshadow: This whole page is still relevant, although someone built JUST THAT: A version of the ACA Design Palette, for Revit. Thats coming up in my next post, as were using it as the new front end for all users, and for this website).

Still, pictures are much easier to understand than a 5 field Family name, meant to declare what the usages are of the Revit Content. From here, the user knew they had the correct Door: Now it was just a matter of knowing how to use it. Considering how parametric a lot of families are, this is a trial in and of itself. So each family had three links: About me, Open for Load, and Find in Library.

The last one, did just that: It took you to the directory in the network that had the content in it.

Open for Load, would launch the family in Revit (in session, if Revit was opened, with their project, presumably), and then they could simply hit "Load in to Project" and be done with it... Never having to bother with finding the library.

About me, was a page (1 per family) meant to tell the users which parameters were meant for them to use, and what it affected. They look as such:

They may seem like overkill, but i cant help but think its a vital necessity: Highly flexible and parametric content- How much of it do you have? I mean, the harder and faster we push in to integrated delivery, and the more advanced and data/object rich modeling we do, the more theyre necessary.

The image at left is a door family. With the advent of reporting parameters in 2011, doors afforded us many new options: Report the thickness of the host, which we then translated in to (user defined) "ignore the thickness of the host," and for that matter "ignore the LOCATION of the host as well." Why?

We derive much better results (both on the architectural detailing side, and on the construction estimating and sequencing side) from having our Wall Finishes and our Wall Structures modeled as two separate walls. Ever see what that does to a Wrapping Door Frame graphically? Yuck. Now our teams have a way to have the frames auto-throat-determine and wrap at interior partitions, and ignore and manually define throat dimension and frame placement, in exterior conditions. Which ALSO means no more skirting to BS typical details for Frame Locations in Cavity walls. Its a thing of beauty. But, its a lot of parameters. So this web page serves to teach the users which parameters control what.

The Page called Office Standards is just that... Things that are Beck Specific. But another of the fantastic things ive enjoyed with this web page, is the Beck Training Page.

The way i look at it, there are two types of people looking for Revit Help documents, and those two groups of people will search in two different ways:

Those who just underwent training, will search by the class they took. (chronological)

Those who arent in training, are looking for the topic they need help with. (systemic)

I normally train with Powerpoint, and live hands on work, afterwards. But i saw the chance here to just do away with the PPT, and build the presentations in chronological order for the Training classes at Beck University. This worked out very well:

In the image above, you see both ways to search. The top four links are by "topic," while the bottom one takes you to the Beck U training schedule:

Much like the redundancy links on the content page, i like this setup because really... The links are all pointing to the same thing. If you go to "Beck University- Day 1- Modeling," somewhere in the slides you will find Levels and Datums. But if- instead of the Training U page- you go to Revit topics- Building a Model.... Youll find Levels and Datums.

The other major nicety of this system, is that the images are all linked from the office Server, instead of embedded in a Powerpoint. Now, im sure thats doable in Powerpoint as well, i must admit ive never tried.

But working with a program in such infancy as Revit, where the UI, menus, ribbons, options, add on's, and whatnot are changing year to year, this makes updating training material MUCH faster.

I dont have to remove an image, and reinsert an image. I just write over the image on the Server Directory, and its done.

Which leaves me to the last remaining item... The one that was toughest for me to grasp the severity and necessity of, as i was the creator of the material: How, and who to, must i alert to what ive changed, every time ive changed it?

For this, we actually had a conversation amongst the offices internal Revit Users Group: Should it be everyone? Just Revit Model Managers? Project Managers? All Revit users? And how often? Template changes? Content Additions? Standard Detail revisions?

In the end, we settled on this: There is no perfect system. If i email everyone at every change, they will all filter their inboxes to delete my email (LOL... Tell the jokes now, girls. "We already do!" hahahahaha). So, we set up a very simple system as follows:

They are four "Document sets" on the site, which is basically Sharepoint.

One for Content, One for Template changes, and one for Standard Details. They are just pages with lists of text and notes on them for what ive changed in each category, but theyre set up as different document sets, so each user in the office can set up an "Alert," if they would like to be notified via email when i make changes. Instantly, daily, or weekly. Their choice.

Its not a perfect system, but it is- by far- the best ive had the change to implement, for disseminating information.

If you read this far, the irony will be the next post: A third-party app provider has made it so: The Content "About Me" pages will live on, as will all of the Training and Office Standard pages... But the Content navigation pages became largely unnecessary with a new application derived from the API.

Imagine.... The Design Palette from AutoCAD Architecture. Replete with: Content IN Revit, thats NOT in the project, that automatically calls from the library (meaning the complete capability to rethink whats natively in the template, since its all available without a load function). That updates in real time. The loads and/or places content. That is office-wide configurable. And....

That connects to this Wiki's About Me pages. To be continued!

Revit and Multi-Language Documents

Its been much too long since ive written. Its been an eventful year since i wrote last! I went through all of the implementation and content standards at a new job in NYS, right after which point.... I moved to Texas, to take the job as a BIM Manager at The Beck Group in Dallas. Its been a busy but amazing time down here, and im enjoying every minute of it.

On the Revit side, theres a lot of current stuff to write about. But this one struck my fancy. We're doing some Design Work in Korea, and as such our deliverables have to show both languages: English and Korean. We experimented with a few different options for this, and we also found some interesting things (some by accident). Heres how it went down:

There were two items that needed to have both languages: Room Names, and Notes. Room names was a pretty easy one. As most languages arent one for one literal translations, we simply needed another Parameter to put in the Room tag. No brainer there. Where it got interesting was the following:

In doing some experimenting, The room name in Korean had to be typed in a Text file, saved in UNICODE Encoding, instead of the standard ANSI (Notepad) or Western European/Windows (Word, saved as Plain Text). Without the Unicode Encoding, the characters would actually translate in to gibberish, and nothing would work. Ironically, we figured this meant we would also need a Font that had the Korean characters in it.

Initial testing proved this not to be the case, as this screen shot is Korean Text, in Arial. Interesting! However, i went over to a collegues station and his looked a bit different than mine:

The Korean Arial isnt displaying in Revit on his system. Whats the difference? Im on Windows7-64, and he is on Windows Vista-64.

For whatever reason, the Unicode TXT document doesnt respond the same on both systems.

This also made me nervous because of the Revit "Tug of war" that happens with some settings such as "By Linked view." (If youre not sure what i mean, with two users in a workshared project (Parent) with Links (Link), test the following:

Have both users get local copies of the workshared model, and local copies of the Linked Model.

1. User1: In "Link" Create a new view, "View-Link"

2. User1: SWC in "Link."

3. User1: In "Parent," reload "Link."

4. User1: In "Parent," set a view to "By Linked View: View-Link"

5. User1: Synchronize with Central

6. User2: (Who has been working this whole time): Sychronize with Central.

7. Either user- Go check the Linked View VG settings for Link in that view.

The trouble is, the instance of "Link" for User2 doesnt HAVE that "View-Link" yet, so it cannot acknowledge that it is "BLV:View-Link." Where this gets troublesome, is for some reason the local file of User2 acquires editability of those view settings, and UNDOES the Linked View.)

Back on topic, im HAPPY to report that isnt the issue with the Encoding of the Text in the parameters. So, if the Vista user sees it displayed as squares, it will still plot and display correctly, in Korean...... If plotted from a machine using Windows 7. (I dont think its a Revit issue, so much as a windows issue, but i dont know enough about it. Thats only amusing because Revit 2010 (what this project is in) isnt officially supported in Win7. FWIW: We would love to upgrade, but the Foreign Language versions of 2011 werent released in time for our consultants, hence remaining in 2010. But i digress: The inconsistancy in Windows versions and text occurs in 2011 as well.

This brought us to our next challenge: Notes, in both Korean and English. With language being something that we cant just "toogle" because of the indirect translation, we wanted some way to at least assure that the English and Korean versions stayed tied and up to date, instead of "Text note in english" and "text note in Korean."

What we decided on, was Revits Keynotes. Typically meant to show either a Numeric Tag, or the text of a note, we elected to have it show both.... The number, and the tag of the note. Except, we also elected to not have it show a number, but show the English version of the note AS the number, and the Korean version of the note as the Text. So, just as normal in Revit, we made our Keynote file. (Note: We had to save it as Unicode Encoding again, or it didnt work...).

Once the keynote file was created, it was business as usual in Revit. We made three types of Keynote tags. For each language, and both language. Depending on what we want to print.

The only difficult part is having the Project Team know which note was which, since they cant get sorted alphanumerically, given that weve "replaced" the Keynote Number with an actual text field. Along this front, i think it would be great if we could add additional fields to Keynotes and Keynote schedules. We already do something similar when we add parameters and Shared Parameters to Type Catalogs.

The keynote file is nothing more than a Tab Delimited file, so i wonder why it can ONLY be "key number Keyed Note". The more we get in go complex models, and now (in the last few versions) with the advent of multi parameter labels, it seems like were begging for "Key NumberKey Note EnglishKey Note ForeignInstance Based Text Field," where Instance Based Text field is a note that applies TO the Keynote, but in this one location only. BIM-esque or not, its one of the small features Keynotes need that is a hang up for mainstream adoption.

Anyway, its not a perfect solution, and its not without effort. But this is how were crossing the multi-language bridge. How are you?

EDIT: I should add- Because of the users on Windows Vista, we DIDNT end up keeping it all Arial. We switched to Gulim, which is a native Windows font that supports korean Text. That way- even though the enoding was right- all of the project team could see it on the screens correctly. Unfortunately, when youre actually "IN" a Revit room schedule (not looking on sheet, but in it), they still display incorrectly, unless youre actively in the field. At which point, they display correctly. Strange!

Design Options, Linked Files, and Revit Standards...

To say its been a slow few months would be an understatement, but i suppose thats true for many of us with the economic situation as it is. Ive missed posting, as i really enjoy working with Revit and toiling with its idiosyncrasies as we fight to get productive work done. Im HAPPY to say, it looks like the proverbial end of the dry spell MAY be here, as ive had reason to model a few things recently, and i have cause for hope that a few big and interesting opportunities are on the way: All of which i expect to spark Revit questions for me.

Most people on AUGI know me as a fanatic of Linked Files. Thats not to say i wouldnt prefer one giant model that functioned elegantly, but i find using Linked Files creates wonderful performance gains for the whole team, as long as im steadfast with the model management. Not too long ago, i built this model: A very simple Mixed use 7 storey building.

I found great potential here to use Linked Files with Design options, as there are really only a few variations in the Floor plans. That is, the model only has 1 storey modeled. It then has design options as follow:

-Options Set: First Floor

----Option 1: Yes

----Option 2: No (primary)

-Option Set: Second Floor

----Option 1: Yes

----Option 2: No (primary)

-Option Set: Top Floor

----Option 1: Yes

----Option 2: No (primary)

That file is then linked and copied amongst the floor Levels, and in each view the appropriate design option configurations can be picked. Herein lies my issue, though i may be alone in such a desire:

It makes since WITHIN a file, that Design Options be view specific. Otherwise, how would we show the different options? However, with file links, i personally would like the OPTION to make the Design Options view specific in the Parent File, or Model centric when linked in. Why? Well consider the above file:

The first floors D.O. selections will ALWAYS be : Yes, No, No.

The second Floors Options will ALWAYS be: No, Yes, No.

Floors 3-6 will always be: No, No, No (primary for all)

Top floor will always be: No, No, Yes.

BUT, this needs to be adjusted in VG for every view in the parent file. With Revits penchant for extra dialogue boxes, thats a lot. (1) VG, RVT Links tab (2), Custom (3), Design options tab (4), Select, select, select, Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay, Okay. thats a lot of clicks.

View templates shorten the process, and can be applies ALMOST globally... But they cant for schedules, im not sure why. In a Door schedule with the linked files, trying to apply a VT that overrides the VG: RVT Links tab wont allow the VT to show up at all.

Considering the amount of Schedules i use for QC in my models, thats a LOT of setup work, for something that would simply be to say *these linked files will always be configured in this design option...*. It could even be in the Manage Links dialogue: Design Option: by view or by link instance. Man, that would make my day.

Worth mentioning, with this issue of the schedules in the linked files, if ANYONE on the project team isnt up to speed on the implications of the linked files and the design options, your hands are tied to basically tell the entire team NOT to make new views... Or theyre in the thick without realizing it.

*****

All of THAT said, a post was on AUGI years ago (thats still being updated), about firms SHARING their templates and standards, and i find extreme validity in this. A firm i talk with extensively even has their content posted on their website (they shall remina nameless unless they want to chime in). A FEW offices ive worked for are holding tight to their content,and templates, and standards, yelling "Work Product," and "Intellectual property," and a whole lot of other phrases i personally cant stand. Im sorry. My service is ARCHITECTURE. Thats what differntiates us. If i can share a template and MAYBE help someone else succeed with a tool that i BELIEVE is going to continue to aide and alter our industry, then i'll share it.

There are SO many discussions on standards: Naming conventions, family construction, Phases used as legend band aids, level of Details, View template setups, etc.

We all work differently, and we can certainly all learn from one another.

I have a new venue coming up soon, and it will have space for me to upload, store, share, and distribute. Instructionals on things ive done, or helped with, as well as templates, content, etc. Keep an eye posted, i should be getting to it in the next week or two. As a self proclaimed Process Engineer and Informational Hippy, i prefer to share. Not because i think everything ive done is the best way, but because the best way we ALL advance is to work together. Color me naive. :) I'll report back once the site is set up...

Revit Freelancers, beware!

I debated putting this on the blog, as i like my blog to not be polluted with personal issues. BUT, i pride myself on "doing the right thing," and i would feel bad if any of you who work from home ended up in this situation too. Luckily, for me Reviteering at home is a side thing of passion, and its not what pays the mortgage.

Its not uncommon for us on AUGI to ask one another for help, and sometimes, people are actually seeking contractual work. In one such instance, there was a Rendering task that needed to be done in SHORT order... (2 days from first contact.) Naturally, not much time to hammer out an actual written contract. That DOES make this predicament my own fault, and rest assured i take full blame for it. But naively, wanting to help a fellow AUGI poster, and wanting to satisfy another end-client that Revit IS the way to do architecture, i put my nose on the grindstone, and hammered out the work. Thankfully, i only invested about twenty hours, during which times 78 emails passed back and forth between myself and the client (which i have saved, email me if you feel this post is inappropriate, and ill be happy to share them as a statement of fact so this post cannot be construed as only one side of the story), and about 25 phone calls. There were several progress updates, and several updates in terms of how much compensation was owed. (Again) naively, i was willing to transmit final images in good faith, as i know how some time sensitive jobs can be, with regard to winning over investors, etc.

Suddenly though, the end client has gone missing, or unresponsive to communication. I have made several attempts to establish communication with him, and in one successful attempt he even mentioned having me do MORE work, but was not forthcoming when i mentioned i liked to settle old business before new.

In any event, i would feel terrible for NOT writing this, if i ignored it and the same thing happened to one of you. So Freelancers beware, here is the contact information, in case he solicits work from you:

Name: Lee McKinney
City: St Louis, MO.
Email address: chando-13@sbcglobal.net (the account states the name of Chandis McKinney)
MSN Contact: chando-13@sbcglobal.net
Project: 514 W. Diversey Ave
Cell Phone number: 773-497-9789

Freelancers beware!

Copy Monitor- How i love thee, but how i loathe thee.

* thanks to David B. for bringing this one up. Because while i could be relaxing, everyone knows the right way to spend an evening is arguing over the pro's/cons of Copy Monitor, LOL!

One of the great things about exploring tools in Revit, is coming up with new ways to change your processes. Amongst everyone i talk to, Copy Monitor is a pretty hated tool. I think it has immense capabilities (not that anyone argues that), but it certain has its shortcomings. This one, however, i hadn't thought about until i gave it a whirl last night while David and i were chatting about it.


Let us suppose: Project 1, with a few "openings" in a wall. One, an actual Opening. A pair of Single Doors: They are the same family. The family has a Nested Light fixture constrained to the wall, with a visibility parameter that is type driven. Also, a pair of double doors, in the same configuration.




Now, i preface this issue with the following: I don't believe in the *super door family* theory of having every possible combination built in to one door family, with super adjustable frames, panels, sidelights, etc. BUT, that said: Lights above doors are a PERFECT procedural reason for nesting a family. Why? If they're lights for exiting safely, they WILL go above the doors. Why manually chase moving doors through design iterations, with the align tool in elevations snapping light fixtures, when a simple nested light fixture can save you the hassle in one click? Precisely. Now suppose, this file was sent to your Structural Engineer, as this was a Bearing Concrete wall. they will Copy Monitor, to maintain consistency and coordination in both location, length, openings, etc. And CM even has that radio button in the options for walls, to "copy doors/windows/openings," right?




As they proceed, the end result is pictured at left. What appears to be happening, is for the CM feature, it is seeking out the

EXTENTS of the family, instead of the Opening of the family. MORE concerning, is that it is also doing it for Family Types that have the light OFF. As Revit is

WYSIWYG, this is MOST surprising. Until

noticing that, my suggested workaround WAS going to be edit the Family Type, uncheck the box, send to Structural, recheck the box. Not clean, but sufficient. Now, if you built your doors as SEPARATE families, instead of the type parameter for the light, you can do a Family Reload, and select a door with no extraneous items.... But that makes QC difficult, what with Dimension references being eliminated with inconsistancies in families. Not to mention if a door you switch it with has a slightly different origin configuration... Certainly that wont work!


I wanted to verify that it was checking total extents, and that it wasn't an anomaly with the nested family, so i added a few model lines to the Door family, and reloaded, then performed the coordination review in the other project...


Getting back to my first paragraph, I'm finding there isn't much this program cant do. CM is a tool that can help a great deal of trades, and lately I've been appreciating it for Architectural/Interiors collaboration. As an architect, i may want a 4-7/8" wall with gyp on both sides, and end of story. As i build my walls that way, my Interior Designer may want to explore paint patterns or additional materials on top of that wall. For add's, that's fine... They build their own wall and we call it a day. But for painting/wallpapering/finishing? This is a great situation where their CM rules can be set to turn a 4-7/8" wall in to a 3-5/8" stud (wall) and they can then layer they're own version of gyp (replete with different paint or finishes) and be done with it. Could i build just a 3-5/8 in my model, and let them cover the walls in theirs? Sure, but what about tagging/Partition scheduling, and again... How to assert that both parties are content with the QC of their product? Its an issue CM could EASILY rectify... But what if that door has Accessibility signage on the side of it, or room signage? Certainly, this is one thing that needs to get fixed!

While were on the subject, we NEED "Rule Based Copy Monitor." CM works great, if i lay out grids, and send them to Struct, and then move them or delete them. What if i add a grid? its another instance of "you don't know what you don't know" to quote JAB. They have to TELL it to CM, which means if i drop the ball and don't tell them, they aren't CM'ing that grid. Or toilet. Or column.

If I'm MEP, you know what i want? To open my file, after getting a new Arch. Model, and to get a coordination review alert, because Architect ADDED 4 lavs to the men's room. Now i know to get in that area. It could be very similar to what we have now, with a few more radio buttons. Under additional Copy Parameters, it could say "Copy ALL Grids" "Copy ALL Toilets" etc.

Furthermore, you know what would be sweet? I way to Monitor the ENTIRE model. I mean, yeah... we have "Compare Models," but think of it this way: My structural Engineers model is already IN my model. Quick issue in the field, and we start revising drawings. Maybe it was structural first, so they revise and resend a model. CM will tell us what moved... If it was something to CM. But imagine CM's potential in terms of document tracking! I go to open my file after the new struct arrives, and because I've "issued" my permit set, and they have too, i get a "Coordination Revit Alert- Items in instance of link have changed after issuance." I go to a 3D view where "Project completion" is showing everything halftoned, besides the three beams, 6 columns and footings, and 4 pieces of bracing that just changed.

Man, i can dream i guess. :) LMK what you think on the CM issues though. Maybe I'm NOT the only one who secretly loves this tool!

AU 2008- Vegas! (Unconference Topics?)

Having covered everything in my LAST post, i did not think AU08 was going to happen for me. I really enjoyed 07 and 06 (though 07 happened at a terrible time, so my mind wasn't completely in the game), and i was a bit disenchanted that all of the circumstances would basically mean not participating in AU this year. (After all, who would you ask? The boss you just stopped working for? Or the one who just hired you? LOL)

But MUCH to my surprise, an opportunity to attend made itself known to me, in the form of some generosity from another believer of what i like to call "Revit hippyness." Sooooo, that being said, i will see you all in Vegas this year!

Which brings up AU Unconference. Last year, i found these to be some of the most enlightening and entertaining parts of the entire week. I am hoping then end up as such this year too! I'm contemplating putting a few topics in, but as I'm a latecomer this year, i haven't even looked to see if they're all picked already or not.

But this year (as i read so many others have done) ill be sure to stick my "avatar" in my badge, so I'm easier to identify.

Lets talk shop!

Revit Semantics, AND a job change!

I discovered something in Revit tonight, when a colleague asked me a question about a specific command, and then i realized i hadn't been here in some time. More so, i realized that my last couple of posts here have all said that i would come back to expand on them, and that i never had. It hasn't been lack of wanting, but in both Revit and Architecture: it has been a long few months.

It started with the tool of Revit, but it didn't end there. Still, in my first post here i indicated this would be more on the journey as i perceived it using Revit, and less of a "how to" in using the tool. There are far smarter people than me to teach you all. :) What transpired isn't all tool related, but since Revit began the journey: Here is my story.

A funny thing happens when you start to use Revit. Well, i digress. If you're using it the way *I* think it should be used, something interesting happens: You either fail, or you learn how things get built. You cant model correctly if you don't know what you're modeling. So, being fairly green in the profession, i asked a TON of questions, and learned rather fast. As the knowledge started to grow (due MAINLY to the two men i worked directly under, who were fantastic for my career growth. Thanks NCG and DEC!) i started to be able to move on my own. I learned the ARCHITECTURE.

As YOU all know, aside from THAT venture, once you start to progress your architecture, you start to see shortcomings in the organizational structure of your REVIT... Maybe in your revit strategy. You modify, you refine, you progress the PROCESS, WHILE you progress the architecture.

You realize you need conventions where your office has none, you need instructions where your office has none. You start to use tools, and that means teaching. You start to brainstorm with collegues, and that means testing. You guys are figuring things out, and talking to the people in charge. There are more meetings, there is more implementation, and on it goes.

But after a while, something interesting happened. I had learned enough from my superiors to move ahead, and help them do more... And on the Revit side, i had started pushing the office pretty hard. I was teaching them more tools, wanting more from the model. The client wanted more from the model, and i knew we could do it... But, as you ALL know, not everyone shares that dream.

Suddenly, something else started creeping in to the workplace: Resentment. Bullying. Sabotage. Infantile, maybe, but after a while we tire of the fight. For a long while i tried holding on to my somewhat advanced position in both architecture AND Revit, but there was a time when i knew it was detrimental to my mental well being to remain.

For a short while, as i considered a job change, it looked very much like i may have been throwing in the Revit Towel, as jobs in the area aren't aplenty using Revit, and with my house purchase and general state of content in the area, I'm not keen on moving. I'm not done here.... YET.

But i lucked out, and have transitioned to another Revit house. I am learning as i go that "Everywhere you go, there you are..." and that every day is a different fight. What i do know is this: I love this tool, and more than that i love doing Architecture. the new gig aside, there are some other things in the works that will hopefully assure that i ALWAYS stay involved in Revit and Architecture... So we will see.

For now, ill let go of my more frustrated tone, and hope to get back in to the geekishly interesting!