AEC Media Day: Update 6 - @ the cusp

The last future's direction presentation is more of "digital cities" (Project Galileo) and tools that allow you to deal with massive datasets to do conceptual planning within a 3D urban environment based on information from a variety of sources, GIS, Lidar, Revit, BIM, CAD, etc.

I feel like Autodesk has been spinning this story for several years now, but I also feel like we're closer then we've ever been. I still think there are going to be a number of issues with gathering the data and getting access to it, so you really can do all the things they propose.

We'll see what the future holds....

Conceptual Design Workshop

I won't be able to go to this (past my no travel date) but in case you're interested:

http://www.acadia.org/acadia2010/

"- The 3-day Conceptual Design workshop will explore the new Revit conceptual design workflows, specifically parametric modelling and performative design using Autodesk® Revit®. The first two days of the workshop will focus on the ins and outs of the new form making and manipulation tools including creation of parametric rigs to drive and modify form, surface panelization, reporting parameters and adaptive components. The second part of the workshop will focus on analysis applied early into the design process (conceptual energy analysis, solar radiation, use of structural analysis plug-ins), and will also provide overview of API features such as Analysis Visualization Framework and Dynamic Updating.

- The 1-day Sustainable Design workshop will be focused on using Ecotect to explore the boundaries of generative and performative design using Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis, Autodesk® Green Building Studio® and Autodesk® Revit®. The workshop will focus on the use iterative techniques and automated feedback from performance analysis to optimise and refine building geometry. While developing scripts in Autodesk Ecotect is quite easy and the fundamentals can be picked up during the course of the workshop, some experience with programming concepts and/or languages will be advantageous."

News!! AU & more!

So we've been quiet for quite some time, because there are just sooo many things going in our lives!!!

First off, I will be presenting at AU this year. Two Classes, One Lab and one Virtual Session. Thankfully I have a great supporting cast around me, and each is only an hour long:

• Parametrics Laid Bare: Panels and Adaptive Components in Autodesk Revit: AB223-1
• Beyond Project Templates: Managing Company Standards and Best Practices in Autodesk Revit: AB234-4P
• Au Bon Panel: Baking Your Own Adaptive Components and Panels with Autodesk Revit Architecture: AB316-1L
• "Virtually" There: Using Revit with Geographically Dispersed Teams: AB22-1R

Hopefully Krista will be co-speaking (via Skype) with me for the Project Templates course, but alas, she may be a little tied up with our new baby who is due on Nov. 13th!!


Lastly, if you have not heard or seen the most recent big news, you may want to read the press release here.


Look for some more posts later this month, but I suspect we will continue to run pretty silent, stay tuned!

Revit 2011: Stepped Foundations with Adaptive Components

So, if you want to learn all sorts of impractical for the new Adaptive Components (AC) you can visit Builz. But if you're interested in some more practical applications you've come to the correct place.

I don't know about you, but I've always found modeling stepped footings to be a bit of a pain. There were several techniques, but they all had their drawbacks. I think the newest technique that AC's offer us is the best yet. It is still not perfect, but its quick and easy! This quick demo illustrates some of the flexibility AC's actually offer, and the concept of thinking of the Conceptual Mass Environment as a wrapper for working with these elements.

I'll take a double please....

A double skin that is!

I took a little more then a week, but I finally managed to build a working double skin panel. It still needs some refinements, but it at least works! While this may not be perfect for full on Consrtruction Documents (yet) I think this holds a lot of promise for some of the more practical things you can do with the new tools that showed up in Revit 2010.

Things I've learned (mostly from Zach):

• Points - its all about locating points! Then creating geometry.
• Workplanes!
  
• Build everything off the corner points.
• If not the corner points, then driving points on the default reference lines.
• Did I mention workplanes? "Set" workplane should be your next favorite tool.
• Dimensions need to be set to specific workplanes too.
• Did I mention points are important? Make the reference planes of the points visible (properties).
• Use the reference planes defined by reference lines.
• The "host point by intersection" is a handy tool.
• Did I mention points?
• Workplanes.....
  

Classic Roman Architecture anyone...?

This started as a little "show & tell" to Zach, and now its a movie... (mine didn't work nearly as well as his).

I think this goes further to suggust what you can do with these tools to handle complex geometry we just could not model before. Easy? No! Cool? Yes!

Further disclaimer - Zach made the video, not me. I just got the conversation started..... (my panel didn't work nearly as well as his)

Fun with Rigs

Fun with Rigs thanks to Zach's latest post. I don't know what it is, but it was fun to build, and it doesn't break!