Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 Preview

So here's a nice selection of information From ADSK on Revit 2010. If you open these in other windows (in your browser) your surfing will be much easier... Cheers, -J

Detailed Features

Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software helps you gain a competitive advantage with tools that help keep all your design information better coordinated and more accurate.

View Larger New Conceptual Design Tools Autodesk Revit Architecture software offers new easy-to-use conceptual design tools that support your creative flow. Sketch freely, create free-form models easily, and manipulate forms interactively. You can define forms and geometry as real building components for a smooth transition to design development and documentation. As you design, Autodesk Revit Architecture automatically builds a parametric framework around your forms, offering greater levels of control, accuracy, and flexibility. Take your design from concept model all the way to construction documents all in one environment.

View Larger Streamlined User Interface Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 software features a sleek, new user interface that offers better desktop organization, a larger drawing window, and quick access to the tools and commands you need. You’ll be able to find your favorite tools faster, locate lesser-used tools more efficiently, and discover new features more easily.

View Larger Bidirectional Associativity A change anywhere is a change everywhere. In Autodesk Revit Architecture software, all model information is stored in one place. As a result, any information that gets changed is effectively changed throughout the model.

View Larger Schedules Schedules are just another view of the Autodesk Revit Architecture model. A change to a schedule view is automatically reflected in every other view. Functionality includes associative split-schedule sections and selectable design elements via schedule views, formulas, and filtering.

View Larger Parametric Components Parametric Components, also known as families, are the basis for all building components designed in Autodesk Revit Architecture. They offer an open, graphical system for design thinking and form making as well as an opportunity to express design intent at increasingly detailed levels. Use Parametric Components for the most elaborate assemblies, such as cabinetry and equipment, as well as for the most elementary building parts, such as walls and columns. Best of all, no programming language or coding is required.

View Larger Design Options Develop and study multiple simultaneous design alternatives to make key design decisions. Present multiple schemes to your clients easily. Substitute each option into the model for visualization, quantification, and other data analysis to better inform decision making.

View Larger Detailing Take advantage of the extensive detail library and detailing tools that are part of Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010. Presorted to align with the CSI format, detail libraries can be tailored to accommodate your office standards. Create, manage, and share your own detail library.

View Larger Material Takeoff Calculate detailed material quantities with this new tool. Appropriate for sustainable design and checking material quantities in cost estimates, Material Takeoff facilitates the tracking of material quantities. The parametric change engine helps ensure that your material takeoffs are accurate.

View Larger Revit Building Maker The Revit Building Maker feature provides a seamless way to turn conceptual forms into functional designs. Select faces to generate walls, roofs, floors, and curtain systems. Use tools to extract important information about your building such as surface area or volume per floor. Conceptual forms may be created natively in Autodesk Revit Architecture or imported from applications such as AutoCAD®, form-Z, Rhino, Google SketchUp, or other ACIS- or NURBS-based applications into Autodesk Revit Architecture software as mass objects.

View Larger Interference Check Use interference checking to scan your model for collisions between elements.

View Larger Design Visualization Capture design ideas in a photorealistic state. With easy user interaction, high-quality output, and faster render times, the mental ray® rendering engine enables superior design presentation. For more granular control over the rendered scene, use the Autodesk® FBX® file format to import your designs into Autodesk® 3ds Max® Design software. You’ll get unmatched flexibility and control over how you visualize and present your work. Learn more about design visualization.

View Larger Native 64-bit Support New native 64-bit support enhances Autodesk Revit Architecture’s ability to handle large projects and improves performance and stability for memory-intensive tasks such as rendering, printing, model upgrading, and file importing and exporting.

View Larger Enhanced Interoperability Interoperability enhancements enable you to work more efficiently with members of your extended project team. Now you can export your building model or site, complete with critical metadata, to AutoCAD® Civil 3D® software. And you can import accurate models from Autodesk® Inventor® 3D mechanical design software.

View Larger Autodesk 2D and 3D DWF Integration Autodesk Revit Architecture software supports complete round-tripping of markups with Autodesk® Design Review software. Because Autodesk Design Review software’s markup capabilities combine with Autodesk Revit Architecture navigation and revision management capabilities, tracking changes is easy. There’s no need to re-enter information. Autodesk Revit Architecture supports publishing a model to 2D or 3D DWF™ format. This capability provides high-impact, dynamic communication of design information in a lightweight format. It’s great for including nontechnical participants in the project review process. Resource Center Product Download Services & Support Building Information Modeling (BIM) Features Detailed Features System Requirements White Papers Customer Stories Product Trial News & Events Related Products Documentation How to Buy Subscription Benefits FAQ (pdf - 173Kb)

Autodesk Revit Architecture Brochure (pdf - 3950Kb)

Inside the Factory

Not Andy Warhol's Factory but ADSK's Factory.

Why not let someone else do it this time?

Interesting question.

I think I'll let them (ADSK) show you what it (Revit) does and then see how many people model every thing as a mass and destroy (???) projects. BTW: Danger BIM Managers (or whatever you are titled these days), Danger, let's see what happens when everything is created as a mass... I could sure make some pretty families with them there tools... (Is this a cowboy movie?)

Seriously, the Massing/Conceptual Design upgrade is great and a long time coming... the ribbon...thinking inside a box if you ask me... you had better create a thorough keyboard shortcut list...
In any case, Click Me for all (?) the (new) SHit from ADSK for their 2010 release products and more.

Is the language really necessary?

...Another good question

3D Hella: Holagrams, 3D Photographs, LIDAR, The Government and more

Sorry for the low quality but you can appreciate that capturing a hologram on a digital camera is less than optimum... Just know that when you see these your brain is thrown for a loop!!!

A couple of months back our Los Angeles Revit Users Group featured some 3D Present/Futurism presentations where LIDAR scanning, 3D Photos, Photogrammetry and Holograms were presented and I now have some decent enough images and videos to share; though nothing comes close to interacting with these in person.

I see these technologies becoming mainstays of AEC, where they will (and already do for some) add several things to AEC professionals: 1) more visualization possibilities, augmenting our current palette of DV output as well as 2) enabling us to provide more services; such as creating as-builts of sites where the cost and even the ability to gain access may have made this unrealistic previously and 3) more meaningful data to assess, design and realize our projects.

So: the first of the firms that we have been working with on this front is Zebra Imaging. They produce Holograms, Imagers and Display Setups so they can provide you a 'soup-to-nuts' set of Holograph services, depending on your needs. Hey, they're #213 on Inc's 500 fastest growing companies so they gotta be good! Zebra has some of the coolest technology and if you'd like some nice technical data/reviews see the following linked pdf EVALUATION OF HOLOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY IN TACTICAL MISSION
PLANNING AND EXECUTION.

Yeah, the military and Government as well as the Automotive & Industrial Design industries have used these extensively in their (now old-school) production. If you think BIM is new you'd be arguably incorrect at least in relation to the "IM" part of the acronym... Information modeling and 3D modeling/visualizations & techniques have been employed for quite a while...it is only AEC that is getting on that train a bit late.

Just think, perhaps you need to get a project through the Mulholland View Corridor approval process (or ...) you can get a LIDAR scan or any 3D topo, place your project model in context then have a Hologram created that shows the project from said Corridor and there should be no questions as to if the project meets the criteria... This type of use is but one that our creative industry could use these for... Enough blabbing...

Here is a list of videos from their Holographic Gallery.

Overview Monochrome
Architectural
Automotive & Manufacturing
Industrial Design

Well, more blabbing:
-A quick note: These are cool videos but seeing the holograms in person, as I said before, is really what you want to do!!! The holographic images can be laminated to a solid surface, such as acrylic, plexiglass, lexan, etc. or left as is on a thin mylar... roll them up and go!!! Oh did I mention all you need to see these is a moderately lit space and a simple spot light? I did now!!! Additionally since there about 1,000,000 passes that the lasers do to make these images and being holographic one can have different 'view specific' images.... HUH??? An example of this would be say you have the desired image set to be from the corners; when you move around to the next corner the floor above appears, etc., etc... There is nearly no limit to how many different views can be created this way but there is a limit as far as human understanding and usefulness is concerned... I'd say between 4 to 6 but hey it's your dime!!! Speaking of dimes these are really cost effective and are less $$$ than many traditionally printed renderings (figuring in the Artists time, etc...)

Next on the list is LIDAR scanning and it's usefulness toward AEC; namely through Plowman Craven who provides, as they say: "Complete Measurement Solutions for Total peace of Mind" including another faveorite of mine: Forensic Geomatics. While that is great today I am interested in talking about LIDAR & 3D Photos specifically.

LIDAR has been traditionally used for topographical capture in AEC, as well as for military purposes and this continues to be the case but now the technology has grown to enable what I like to call "Drive By" scans as well as 'fly-by' scans. let's say you have a facade that you want to include as context for a project... or let's say an entire building... or street scene... well anyway, no matter your needs a mobile scanner can be used (at about 35 MPH) and Voilà you get the whole scene...whatever the LIDAR can see; just put them together (or contract Plowman Craven to provide these services as well...) and you have a point cloud of the data; people, trees and all; ready for your building model. You can also have the point clouds reduced to CAD files. The scanner can create 3D scans of any place that the scan head can be placed into!!! It has very few limitations and the scans can be registered and combined into super large scale projects... t

But wait there's more!!!

Not only can these scanners provide point cloud output to be used as is (too big usually) or translated into CAD line drawings or 3D CAD; they can also capture 3D Photographic output... AKA: 3D Photos in addition to the 3D point clouds!!!

What did I just say -a 3D photo???

YES!!!

Here's a fun little video from M Scott C at Plowman+Craven: HD3D for AEC.

Holy Shit are these useful!!!

Well enough blabbing... I have to get back to R_V_T 2010... Once I am unbound by legalities I will show you the New Features!!!