The future really is coming...

Steve Stafford recently had a really good post about "the future" here is another.

Indiana University has released BIM standards for project delivery, to be followed by BIM contracts. They cite a number of sources I'm familiar with, including the State of Wisconsin, which has also released BIM standards.

These standards are real, and they're detailed. Generally I don't take much issue with them, and most of them assume you're working Revit. However, I did note in IU's standards they require all wall finishes and materials to be included... paint anyone? It will be interesting to see how all this plays out. I have to assume that any of these organizations are willing to negotiate once you get to the table, since most of them require some sort of "plan" with regards to how the design team and contractors will work together, and the required model deliverables.

AU "Unplugged"

You may have heard of the "un-conference", well the organizers at AU have decided to do something similiar. (Though I question how "random" and "spur of the moment" it will be with it being so "organized"). Editorials aside, essentially AU Unplugged will provide for small dicussion groups focused around user driven topics. I've submitted a topic inspired by a recent post on AUGI under the "AU class wishlist thread" in the Revit community. I'm suggusting a discussion on best practices for core template & content development, and distribution to the rest of your firm. Vote for me! :).

You can find out more here:

http://au.autodesk.com/2007/blogs/view/AU_Unplugged_is_Ready/

Cheers,
-R

Partition (not wall) Types

So as most Revit users are aware, wall families in Revit can't really be seperated from the project file. Most people (I think) opt to put their firm's standard wall types into their project templates. However, being such a large firm we've opted for a slightly different approach. Because we service so many different market sectors, and have so many offices (up to 8 stateside, 3 international now) we've opted to keep our base project template simple and streamlined. To that end it contains only generic partition and wall types. More advanced (and approved) partition types are instead stored in a project file that is kept in our library. Projects can open the file, and either do a "Transfer Project Standards" or copy/paste the partition types they need. They can also bring over details, partition schedules, and general notes as needed. We plan to create similiar "library" project files for our major market sectors (like healthcare and Science & Technology) rather then creating multiple actual project templates, that all have to be updated when we make minor changes. In this process I've also learned that partitions is what we build inside, and walls go on the outside of a building. The screen shot below is from the partition type file, it is set up with 8 1/2" x 11" sheets so that we can print a partition standards booklet from the file for distribution or reference.

Revit Standardization: Family Specs

So its been awhile since I've created a post... Architecture is like that, it tends to suck up your time. :)

The good news is that we've done some very interesting things recently. We've written an in house specification for family creation. It is written in the same way as an outline spec for building design and construction. There are numerous "fill in the blanks" where information specific to the family you need can be filled in by the spec writer. In this way we are able to assure a certain level of quality and uniformity for any family created across our 7 office (600+ person) firm. The plain spec is only 4 pages, obviously depending on how much an author writes, it could get much longer. As an accessory to the spec document we've also created an excel table where the spec writer can define all the parameters that they know they want or require, as well as the types to be defined and the settings for each parameter per type. We also expect anyone writing a spec to include sketches & other graphical information to illustrate the intent of the family. We plan to use this specification as a means for having new content created on a contractual basis. That said, already from personal experience in using the spec, it is a great tool to help define and figure out a family before you even put cursor to Revit desktop. :)

Another interesting project we have on-going is matching Revit graphic standards to our 2D CAD standards. Currently our firm has a very thorough 2D CAD standard implemented for both Microstation 2D and AutoCad, the standards are so thorough that we have a complete custom layer/level set, complete custom line styles, and custom line weights, and, on top of all that we get reliable output from both programs that looks alike, even on all the different printers our various offices own, from 8.5" x 11" to 42" B&W plotters!

That said, our custom tools in ACAD & M-station both use a replicated CSV file to define our layer set and the various attributes defined "by layer". This was fine in the 2D CAD world, however we have now introduced a new guest to the party, Revit. Revit is rather unique in the fact that it has two line weight tables (one of which has multiple line weights by scale) and as we all know it has categories and subcategories, which for the purposes of 2D DWG output, must be mapped to various layers. To that end we are going to create a database that essentially allows us to set-up all the necessary translation tables, ie, categories and subcategories to layers, layers line patterns and weights to various categories and subcategories as appropriate, and our custom line weights to Revit line weights. This database will also have the advantage of allowing us to track all of our custom subcategories, which will aid in writing the previously mentioned family specification. We also expect that the new Database will help as we begin to implement both Revit Structural & Systems.

Quite a bit to wrap one's head around, but when attempting to implement a program like Revit in a firm our size, there are a number of challenges that get magnified. I won't even bore you with the issues of attempting to troubleshoot and help someone 400 miles away, as well as simply capturing knowledge and talent, and having it shared and available across the whole firm.

Not Much New

Haven't done very much recently. I've converted our standard 2D Line Styles to a set of Revit Line Patterns, the next step will be to match object style's default line thicknesses to the line thicknesses assigned in our 2D CAD standard layers.

I recently saved a Revit Building file off as a solids dwg file and sent it to a an outside rendering firm. I'm still waiting to hear back from them to see if the file is usable for exterior renderings in 3D Studio Max.