Giving you the bird has a whole new meaning and maybe it will even help Revit sales!

I've been a little under the weather and working from home this week. Only problem is I share my home workspace with, as I like to say, "my wife's parrot", a talkative yet finger biting African Grey.

Every time the phone rings, he says, "hello, hello, hello" and then continues to randomly talk, whistle, beep, ring, or whistle Yellow Submarine.

Well, apparently (or aparrotly) spending 3 days at home was enough for him to start using his newest word.

Officially today at 11:21 AM I heard, "Hello, hello, Revit, hello". I was sure I was dreaming until he repeated it and then I called my wife and had a great laugh about it.

Now I'm just waiting for the time when he hears the phone ring and he says "Revit Revit Revit."

If I could only teach him to dial, I'd have a great telemarketer and new Revit salesperson. Read more...

1-2-3 Revit: BIM and Civil Engineering - Rick Rundell Cadylst.com

1-2-3 Revit: BIM and Civil Engineering

Modeling for building design and civil engineering with Revit and Civil 3D.

Sep 1, 2007 By: Rick Rundell, AIA

Autodesk recently announced that the number of users of its 3D model-based software has passed the one million mark. Although 3D software for mechanical design, such as Autodesk Inventor, has been standard in the manufacturing industry for many years, the one-million-users milestone couldn't have been reached so soon without the growing adoption of 3D in the form of building information modeling (BIM) across the AEC industry.
...Continue Reading.....
Read more...

Autocad Service Pack 1 for Revit Architecture & Structure Suite users released 8/29/07

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Revit Blog for some lovely patches for Autocad.

AutoCAD 2008 Service Pack 1 for AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2008

Published date: 2007-08-29 ID: DL10035910 Applies to: AutoCAD® 2008 AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2008

	autocad2008revits100sp1.exe - 32-bit (exe - 8423Kb)
	autocad2008revits100sp1x64.exe - 64-bit (exe - 12079Kb)
	Readme (html - 28Kb)

The Readme contains the latest information regarding the installation and use of this service pack. It is strongly recommended that you read the entire document before you apply the service pack to your product. For your reference, you should save the Readme to your hard drive or print a copy.

AutoCAD 2008 Service Pack 1 for AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2008

Published date: 2007-08-29 ID: DL10035919 Applies to: AutoCAD® 2008 AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2008 Revit® Structure 2008

	autocad2008revsu50sp1.exe - 32-bit (exe - 8423Kb)
	autocad2008revsu50sp1x64.exe - 64-bit (exe - 12079Kb)
	Readme (html - 28Kb)

The Readme contains the latest information regarding the installation and use of this service pack. It is strongly recommended that you read the entire document before you apply the service pack to your product. For your reference, you should save the Readme to your hard drive or print a copy.

Read more...

Revit Architecture Webcasts

Revit Architecture Webcasts

Autodesk invites you to attend a series of pre-recorded online training sessions for Revit Architecture®. These informative webcasts, led by product experts, will give you both an introduction to and a closer look at Autodesk Revit Building.

Simply click on a recording link below to watch one of the training sessions.

Live from the AIA Convention: A First Look at Autodesk Revit Building

Recorded on: Thursday, June 8, 2006
Recording URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/autodesklearning/view?id=ARB_06_08_06&pw=audience

This session is intended for customers who would like to see the benefits of building information modeling. Discover how Autodesk Revit Building software and building information modeling enable you to produce building designs and construction documents that work the way you think.

Making the Most of AutoCAD® in AutoCAD® Revit® Series—Building

Recorded on: Thursday, July 20, 2006
Recording URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/autodesklearning/view?id=ARB_07_20_06&pw=audience

This session is great for designers who want to use the new release of AutoCAD but want to find out how they can also benefit from building information modeling. See how you can use Autodesk Revit Building and AutoCAD side-by-side. You'll learn tips on how these two products work together for maximum productivity.

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Autodesk Revit Building 9: New Features
Recorded on: Thursday, August 10, 2006
Recording URL: https://www112.livemeeting.com/cc/autodesklearning/view?id=ARB_08_10_06&pw=audience

This session will introduce the top new features in Autodesk Revit Building 9. You'll learn how you can gain a competitive advantage by keeping all of your design information complete, coordinated, and error free. From creating sun studies in a preliminary design to detailing in your construction documents, Autodesk Revit Building has new features to make your job easier and fun.

Autodesk Revit Technical Training Webcasts

We invite you to view our archived series of online training sessions featuring Autodesk® Revit®. This is a great opportunity to get an in-depth look at some of new features in Revit 7. It’s all you need to know to put the power of building information modeling to work.

Webcast Archives

Working in the Autodesk Revit Family Editor
Become a power-user! This webcast is for customers who want to create or modify components using the Autodesk Revit Family Editor. When working with a building model, your design intent often requires a specific component that may not be readily available. Using the powerful and versatile Family Editor feature, you can modify existing components or create new components to meet your precise needs. In this web session, learn how to work with the Family Editor to create new geometry, add instance and type parameters, use formulas such as conditional statements, and use visibility parameters to control the visibility of specific elements in a project.

Using Design Options in Autodesk Revit
This webcast is for designers who want to get into the trenches with the Revit Design Option feature. Have you ever wanted to explore two different window and roof configurations without having to make copies of your design? Autodesk Revit can help designers explore many different design configurations within the same building information model, using the powerful “Design Option” feature. Learn how to explore different design requests right in front of the client for fast approval with minimal change orders later in the process.

Interoperability between Autodesk Revit and AutoCAD
This session is for customers who use Autodesk Revit and AutoCAD side by side and want to learn tips for using these products together for maximum productivity and fast return on investment. This web session covers how to link and export files, import details for sheet creation, link standard window details in the Family Editor, and build a Revit model from four existing 2D elevations. It also addresses the process of exporting standards to AutoCAD as well as other CAD applications.

Autodesk Revit Basics Training
In this web session, new or prospective users can discover the basic concepts of project design with the Autodesk® Revit® building information modeler. Learn how to create and modify basic components of a building model, such as walls, curtain systems, doors, and roofs; apply constraints to the building model to capture design intent; and make changes to the building model that are applied projectwide to all views, thus ensuring consistency, improving productivity, and boosting profitability.

Autodesk Revit Building Maker: From Concept to Reality
Turning your thoughts and concepts into reality is now easier in Autodesk Revit 7. This web session will highlight the new features of the Revit “Building Maker” design environment. Learn how to:

• Quickly and easily layout building massing and rough square footages
• Mold, change, and sculpt your design ideas. Then quickly turn them into intelligent walls, floor systems, roofs, and curtain wall systems.
• Develop conceptual models and map them to building components as your design progresses.

Working with Groups in Autodesk Revit
If you want to ensure consistency within and across projects, and reduce the amount of work needed to create, place, and modify repetitive units, then you won’t want to miss this informative webcast. In this session, you’ll discover how to:

• Create model and detail groups
• Use groups within a project
• Create and modify nested groups
• Save and use groups within a group library

Presentation Graphics in Autodesk Revit
Do you want to communicate your designs to clients, planning boards, and other members of the extended design team? From a napkin sketch to a full walk-through animation, this session will take you through the tremendous power of presentation graphics with Autodesk Revit. You’ll learn how to create:

• 3D perspective images with hidden-line, shaded, and real-time shadow views
• 3D views that slice through models and show design layout or constructability
• Eye-popping images from your model using the Revit AccuRender® feature within Autodesk Revit

Autodesk Revit Phasing
Autodesk Revit automates renovation projects by managing the different time phases assigned to components within the building model. In this webcast, you’ll learn how to maximize the information contained within a phased building model. You can create phase-specific project documentation, complete with schedules and 3D views to prepare a visual time-line for the client. This session will cover:

• Creating, modifying, and applying phases and phase filters
• Creating phase-specific views and schedules
• Organizing the project browser by phase

Read more...

California Developers Making Solar Roofing A Standard Item (TreeHugger)

by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 08.25.07

Business & Politics (news)

It's another California trend, which, as with so many other positive environmental developments that emanate from there with San Andreas-like shocking power, we fully expect will ripple outward to other US states. "One of the central San Joaquin Valley's largest home builders is taking the alternative-energy movement a significant step forward with the announcement that it will make solar energy standard on all its new houses.

...continue reading...California Developers Making Solar Roofing A Standard Item (TreeHugger)

Read more...

ArchiCAD-Talk :: Trying to Move To AC from Revit

Considering Archicad over Revit. Read this posting on the Archicad website forum.
With over 200,000 users and 8000 more every month, Revit has a clear advantage for content over Archicad.

ArchiCAD-Talk :: View topic - Trying to Move To AC from Revit:
"PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:21 pm
Post subject: Trying to Move To AC from Revit
I am trying to move over from Revit 8,9,10 to AC 10,11 and am struggling to find any smart parametric objects that are free and posted by users. The depository has almost nothing Crying or Very sad . Is it that GDL is to restrictive for the beginner/average user? With my three year experience in Revit their are thousands of smart families (objects) and they are very easy to create if one can draw they can create objects. Thousands of families are provided free on RevitCity. Any suggestion on where to look for USA based objects? For the most part I like using AC 11 Smile , but finding that it very restrictive when it comes to parametric objects."

......
how long does it take to learn GDL?

Forever. It is like learning a language - your vocabulary constantly expands if you stay out of bars. BASIC is the form GDL uses. Read more...

Autodesk - Revit Architecture Services & Support - Product Download—English 20070810_1700

New Version of Revit Architecture is now available.
Here's the Revit link for Autocad Revit Architecture Suite Version
http://revit.downloads.autodesk.com/download/2008/SP2_RAC-S2008.exe
or click www.revitarchitecture2010.com

Autodesk - Revit Architecture Services & Support - Product Download—English

Improvements made in the current Web Update SP2 build (20070810_1700):
• Improves stability after receiving a corrupt element warning when opening a project.
• Publish to DWF™ functions when Rooms are present and are clipped by the viewport.
• Improves stability when saving a Project with a linked DWG™ file that contains an image.
• Improves stability when applying a view template to a sheet view.
• In Windows Vista™ operating system, allows the ability to write to revit.ini, licpath.lic,
KeyboardShortcuts.txt, and the Journals folder.
• Line based families contained in a group are no longer flipped when the group is mirrored.
• Improves stability when importing group into Titleblock family.
• Allows the ability to export renderings to TIFF format.
• When temporary dimension text too small to read, user can adjust the size of the font through Revit.ini.
• Linked DWG added by another user will now show up in Manage Links after reload latest.
• “Relative” spot elevation updates automatically with the change in Level elevation.
• When exporting to DWG, overlapping lines that share a point are no longer missing in the resulting DWG
file. Read more...

Revit: Custom Curtain Wall Panels

Here's a great tutorial on making custom curtain wall panels

Source:http://autodesk-revit.blogspot.com/

Revit: Custom Curtain Wall Panels Read more...

Another 21,000 Seats of Revit sold

Autodesk just announced the results of their 2nd quarter for 2007 sales and another 21,000 seats of Revit were sold. It's amazing how many customers call us up now and ask for Revit. I remember just a year ago that no one had even heard of the program and now we have customers flocking to it. Thank you to all who have purchased and to all of the curious Autocad users who have visited this site looking for information on Revit.

We look forward to making you a statistic of the Revitlution. Read more...

Green Building in Seattle Washington

So, while walking downtown in Seattle today, I spotted a Green Building. I couldn't help but take this picture and share it with you.

Speaking of Green Building, the sooner you start using Revit and can spend more time on creating sustainable, energy efficient buildings and you'll spend less time on tedious line drafting.
Get the lead out and take the lead on LEED.

I only mention this because I'm about to go on a cruise to Alaska and hope all of you can too, before it melts. It's 70 degrees there today and that just doesn't seem right. Read more...

University of Revit - We only work in 3D, we don't do work in 2D!!!

Speaking of University of Miami, yesterday I received a call from one of the Directors at the School of Architecture.

We are going to provide Revit training to the students and faculty and all of the architecture students will be receiving a free copy of Revit. http://students.autodesk.com

No longer can architects use the excuse of not moving to Revit because the schools aren't teaching it. They are teaching it and the next generation of architects will be saying "we only work in 3D we don't do work in 2D because it's too complicated to coordinate and collaborate.

This brings up a sidebar: if you're just doing floorplan layouts, wouldn't it be great that every wall, door and window you drew were automatically scheduled, elevations generated and sections generated and easily changeable? In this case, Revit can be learned in 1/2 a day and kicks butt over AutoCAD....just a thought. Read more...

"It's not fair" - Revit Resistance

Here's a little story that happened this week:

My father who's been a General Contractor since 1952 is now working as an Owner's Rep.
As he's seen the benefits of Revit and BIM, he's now at the point where all future projects that he works on will require Revit architecture firms.

On Monday he was having a meeting with an architect on a proposed project for one of his clients. He told the architect that from now on he's requiring the firms he chooses to use Revit.

The architect responded by saying that it wasn't fair that he would do that to architects and force them to use Revit.

My father retorted, "It's not fair that you're giving me plans that aren't coordinated and have errors on them."

I'm so proud of him....not just because he's requiring Revit, but as a Trustee at the University of Miami, all new projects at UM must be Green Buildings. Looks like I have a LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Dad. Read more...

Great Revit site from a partner company in New Zealand

Please visit http://www.revitup.co.za for tips, tricks, articles and more. Another valuable Revit resource on the other side of the world.

Revitup - designed, created and managed by Justin Taylor

Read more...

Dilbert and Revit

Just remember, when picking an Autodesk Revit Reseller, it's not about price it's about training and implementation experience and expertise.

http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive/images/dilbert2007081130942.jpg










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Revit Subscription Benefit - e-Learning. Here are the currently offered

Revit Architecture (Autodesk Revit Building) e-Learning

e-Learning features self-paced lessons that are a quick and convenient way to learn Autodesk software. Each lesson usually takes 15 to 30 minutes to complete and includes hands-on exercises so you can practice what you've learned.

Getting started with e-Learning New to e-Learning? View the tutorial now. (Available in English only)

Available e-Learning for Revit Architecture (Autodesk Revit Building) Revit Architecture 2008 (English) Difficulty Duration (HH:MM) Progress Revit Architecture Basics 1:10 Exploring the User Interface Beginner 0:20 This lesson describes how to use the different parts of the Revit Architecture user interface. Working with Revit Elements and Families Beginner 0:25 This lesson describes how to work with different types of Revit elements and families. Starting a Project Beginner 0:25 This lesson describes how to start a new project with different templates. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Starting a Design 1:15 Creating a Basic Floor Plan Beginner 0:25 This lesson describes how to create a floor plan view and place building elements in it to start a building design. Creating and Modifying Levels Beginner 0:25 This lesson describes how to create and modify levels in a building model. Working with Grids Beginner 0:25 This lesson describes how to work with grids and create column grids. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Creating Construction Documentation 3:00 Creating and Modifying Schedules Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create and modify a schedule. Creating Rooms and Room Schedules Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create rooms, room schedules, and material takeoffs. Creating Legends and Keynotes Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create legends and keynotes and add them to sheets. Creating and Printing Drawing Sheets Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create, modify and print drawing sheets and views. Managing Revisions Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create revisions and then update the information in a revision table. Working with Titleblocks Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to add titleblocks to a drawing sheet and update the project information displayed in the titleblock. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Detailing and Drafting 1:30 Creating Callout Views Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create a callout view. Working with Detail Views Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create and use detail views for displaying the construction details of a building model. Working with Drafting Views Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to work with drafting views. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Presenting the Building Model 1:30 Creating Renderings Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create a rendering for a building model. Using Sun and Shadow Settings Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to use sun and shadow settings in a building model. Using Walkthrough Technique Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to use the walkthrough technique to create a walkthrough of a building model. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Catalog Feedback: Revit Architecture 2008 Autodesk Revit Building 9 (English) Difficulty Duration (HH:MM) Progress Extracting Information 1:30 Running Interference Checks Advanced 0:35 This lesson describes how to generate an interference report to identify overlapping elements in a building model and the steps that you can take to fix the interference condition interference condition. Applying Constraints Beginner 0:25 This lesson describes how to apply constraints to elements in a building model. Modifying the Appearance of Schedules Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to modify the appearance of schedules of components placed in the building model. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Presenting the Building Model 1:10 Creating and Modifying 3D Views Beginner 0:35 This lesson describes how to create and modify 3D views. Using Building Maker for Conceptual Design Beginner 0:35 This lesson describes how to use the Building Maker to create conceptual designs Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Phasing and Design Options 1:10 Designing in Phases Advanced 0:35 This lesson describes how to create and use phases. Linking Projects Advanced 0:35 This lesson describes how to link projects and manage locations of the linked projects. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Developing the Building Model 1:40 Creating and Modifying Floors Beginner 0:35 This lesson describes how to create and modify floors. Adding Roofs Beginner 0:35 This lesson describes how to add roofs to a building model. Creating Detail Views Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create a detail view for displaying the construction details. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Catalog Feedback: Autodesk Revit Building 9 (Optional) Autodesk Revit Building 8 (English) Difficulty Duration (HH:MM) Progress Modeling Techniques 3:25 Creating and Modifying Floors Beginner 0:30 In this lesson you learn how to create floors by selecting existing architecture or by sketching the outlines of the floor area. Constraining Techniques Beginner 0:30 In this lesson you learn to use constraints to lock relationships between elements in your design. Using Building Maker for Conceptual Design Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to use Building Maker for conceptual design. Creating Complex Roofs Advanced 0:55 This lesson describes how to create a variety of sloped-roof sections and complex roof forms, such as gables, and how to create openings for roof elements, such as dormers, chimneys, and piping. Designing in Phases Advanced 0:25 This lesson describes phases and how to create and view them. Linking Projects Advanced 0:35 This lesson describes how to link files so as to divide large projects that contain multiple buildings into smaller, more manageable units. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Documentation Techniques 1:20 Creating 3D Views Beginner 0:30 This lesson describes how to create 3D views from outside or inside a building model so that your design team or clients can visualize the completed building. Creating Detail Views Intermediate 0:25 This lesson describes how to add details to a model by creating detail views and adding detailing to those views. Controlling the Appearance of Schedules Beginner 0:25 In this lesson you learn how to control the appearance of item schedules to present the information in various groupings, views, and formats. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Analysis Tools 0:25 Interference Checking Advanced 0:25 In this lesson, you learn how to work with the Interference Checking feature to manage instances where two elements overlap or interfere with each other within your building model. Evaluate Your Skills Test your knowledge of these topics. Catalog Feedback: Autodesk Revit Building 8 (Optional)

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