Archive for category Revit
Biting the BIM Bullet: Another Success Story #BIM
Posted by Jim Foster in Adoption, BIM, Revit, ROI, Virtual Construction on August 23, 2009
Winter Street Architects in Salem describing how Revit is helping them to achieve their best year ever.
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If you haven’t done it by now, you better get to it! Or fall so far behind you may never be able to catch up. Bite the BIM bullet. It’s the future of the building industry and the future is now or just around the corner. Our firm swallowed the BIM pill way back in 2003, a year after Revit was first introduced to the market by AutoDesk…(See the whole post)
http://winterstreetarchitects.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/biting-the-bim-bullet/
ITT Tech to Include Revit: #BIM
Posted by Jim Foster in Adoption, BIM, Revit on August 21, 2009
Just another data point showing BIM being adopted up and down the value chain. Great to see more qualified modelers will get turned out, and as this generation comes I would find it hard to believe they would back track to 2D. I would think we are on the backend of product the life cycle for 2D CAD. I am not trying to throw 2D under the bus, it will be around for a very long time as a legacy system with a very long tail, and we all need to figure out how to integrate our workflows but all the talk about BIM, and Revit…it’s more here than not.
Thanks to Gregory Arkin and http://bimboom.blogspot.com/ for bringing this to my attention, and
http://greenbayscddandcm.blogspot.com/2009/07/revit-software.html
Summer Thaw, Projects on the Rise: #BIM
Posted by Jim Foster in 3D, architects, As Builts, BIM, Built Environment, Laser BIM, New Technologies, Revit on August 19, 2009
I have always thought companies like mine are like the canaries in the coal mine for part of the industry, like box companies as an indicator for the overall economy. When companies start ordering more boxes they are expecting to ship more product. Our company surveys buildings and provides as builts in both 3D BIM and 2D CAD formats. When times are flush we operate much like others enjoying the benefit, but as projects start to dry up, firms will immediately pull back outsourcing to keep employees busy rather than laying them off. This impacts us greatly. When the economy turns the inverse is true, and firm wary of hiring yet or not having enough stuff turn to us to augment their services without increasing head count. While I might argue that might be a prudent way to do business generally we ride the tide like everyone else. Having said that there has been a very perceptible uptick in business and companies asking us for proposals. More germane to the BIM world is people asking about Revit and asking for more Revit deliverables. A University even asked us after our presentations to deliver their dorms in Revit even though they did not even have an installed seat of Revit but wanted to plan for the future. Yesterday an architect I spoke to said they are now doing 70% of their work in Revit and that clients love seeing their projects in 3D, so even with the economic benefits of working in BIM are real no one should discount the importance of visual communication. This has been a rough ride but I believe more strongly than ever that a fundamental shift has taken place in the building and design community and investing now in training in BIM will pay dividends well into the future.
The Rise of Virtual Construction: #BIM
Posted by Jim Foster in As Builts, BIM, Built Environment, Revit, Virtual Construction on August 17, 2009
When I first started my company at one of our presentations after explaining we could capture as-builts in 3D, then ADT, now Revit, one of the architects in the room stood up and emphatically said, “we don’t want ANY Z-axis information.” To which I replied, “not a problem we can flatten all the drawings.” But that response still resonates with me, how could anyone not want Z- axis information, how come you would want me to strip all the meta data of an object to just a block, to which I have found out, you do not mess with the workflow of an architect’s office so it is of little surprise that construction mangers seem to be the current biggest adopters of BIM and Revit as they are ultimately on the hook for cost management. With that said you have construction managers around the country opening up virtual construction offices to figure out the design, reduce collisions, schedule sub-contracts, etc. before a shovel is ever put in the ground. This is a big change in the zeitgeist since before everyone looked at soft costs, (i.e. engineering and design) as some fuzzy math and did not appreciate it as much as pouring concrete or erecting steel, as that was at least the physical embodiment of the money developers put up. Getting digital files that could fit on a thumb drive just did not seem big enough. Virtual construction has proven itself to pay for itself may times over through quicker build time, less collisions, better decision making, etc and BIM is enabling it. Viva la Z Axis.
Laser to Revit : Laser to BIM
Posted by Jim Foster in As Builts, BIM, Built Environment, Existing Conditions, Laser BIM, New Technologies, Point to Point Laser Technology, Revit on July 30, 2009
PointKnown website www.pointknown.com has its splash page up and expects to be in beta within the next 6 weeks. PointKnown has developed a system that takes laser range finder data and builds Revit models in the field. Point to Point Laser Technology (PPLT) increases the capture of existing conditions, speeds the production of BIM and Revit Models of the built environment and decreases data gathering and draft time by over 50%.
40% of Energy Use Comes From Buildings : States Adopting Tougher Codes : BIM can help
Posted by Jim Foster in BIM, Energy Analysis, Revit, ROI on July 29, 2009
According to the EPA buildings are responsible for up to 40% of all energy usage and carbon dioxide production, because of the increasing need to decrease energy usage and the US carbon footprint more stringent building standards are being put in place based on ASHRAE 90.1-2007 with some states adopting stricter standards. Each state energy code is available here. Massachusetts had adopted one of the stricter standards and just wading through the stuff makes your head spin, I got sidetracked researching it by a thread discussing compliance concerning a sunroom and if it had to be added to the total exterior wall footprint of the house, and then there were tables with insulation factors, etc. To add to the madness there is the HERS (Home Energy Rater System) system developed through energy star, and the ResCheck Suite developed by the DOE that ‘helps’ with home compliance. Maybe you’ve started laughing by now or more likely crying. All of this is well meaning but will take even more specialists to wade through it, understand it and comply with it. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were plug in components for energy analysis with BIM software..wait a sec, they got that, and then run scenario analysis so you can see what modification or additions you need to make to comply to this new and evolving standards, have the software figure it out so you can design and build. Use a swiss army knife instead of a spoon.
Wisconsin requiring BIM: Could Oregon be next
Posted by Jim Foster in architects, BIM, Revit, Virtual Construction on July 20, 2009
BIM continues to go mainstream and being picked up in the press. Check out this article in the Daily Journal of Commerce from Portland, Ore. When refering to 2D CAD the architect interviewed refered to is as “designosaur”, first time I’ve heard that.
Revit: As a Service? BIM As a Service? | SaaS
Posted by Jim Foster in BIM, Entrepreneurship, New Technologies, Revit, SaaS on July 3, 2009
I read this morning through a linkedin update of an individual/firm that is running Revit on a 16-core Intel i7 Xeon 2.67GHz, 1GB Video Card, 12GB RAM workstation, and was asking if anyone was interested in using it for design/rendering/etc. I guess this was only a matter of time, but it begs the question of SaaS entering the AEC Software Marketplace. AutoDesk has Dragonfly that allows to export directly into a Revit format. I am not sure who the target user is for this, although they mention that “it can streamline your next home improvement. ” Again is the regular home user or enthusiast going to pick up dragonfly for an improvement project? Or is some who has a visualization program going to change workflows or programs to use Dragonfly? Or better is it Autodesk trying to work the kinks out of what could become a full blown SaaS (Software as a Service) effort? Certainly, they have to be thinking of this, especially when everyone can spit out SaaS or Cloud Computing fast enough to show they are with it.
What would the pricing model look like, free, freemium, premium, etc? I think it would be important from a data point of view, not a legal who owns the data point of view, but imagine actually having data stored centrally, and and then the building becomes the OS (operating system) and everyone adds value to the building through analysis and management, and 3rd parties writing apps, etc. Not that does not happen now, but it in the standard software, mostly stand alone, environment. Cracking this nut open as a marketplace, interesting to ponder. ANd it could bring a whoel new vitality to the marketplace beyond the current BIM movement. Keep an eye out on Dragonfly it might just tell us.
AEC Edge Premiers: Industry Mag from AUGI – Focus on Revit
AEC Edge just premiered from AUGI. (Autodesk Users Group Intl.) It’s inital focus is to provideAutodesk users crucial information to “be more productive and on top of their game.” First issue seems to deal with all things Revit. 3D and IPD, and Revit in High School, which seems interesting that these deign/collobration tools are starting to far down the education pipeline. The format is of electronic magazine, where you flip pages which seems fine from a user consumption model, but web share model, and maybe it’s me, but does not seem as user friendly as it could be. For example, if I wanted to post a link to the article I just read, it is not readily apparent on how to do so, which seems counter intuitive in web dissmenation of content. Either way worth the read for those in the INdustry. And for AUGI, this is a crucial site and source for anyone, anybeing in the Autodesk Universe. They have provided, at least to me, more answers and information than any other site out there.
Autodesk Posts 2009: Revit Continues to Outpace
Posted by Jim Foster in BIM, Revit on June 16, 2009
Autodesk released its fiscal 2009 annual report and I thought it would be worthwhile to take a look at the numbers. First, and most importantly to me is the growth within in their AEC segment. This segment in general posted a revenue gain of 9%, whereas the Revit family or products produced a revenue gain of 22% compared to itself in 2008. I could boldly state that this is proof positive of Revit’s market acceptance, however, this is also an easy to mask would could be lousy performance. For example, if I sold one box of cookies last year, and this y I sold two, voila 100% gain. By seeing the actual numbers you are more likely to come to the conclusion that I am lousy cookie salesman, and this does not necessarily reflect on the product at all.
When looking at revenue by Geography, Revit posted a 40% Revenue gain compared to 2007, and compared to the AEC segment of 26% as a whole. Again comparing it to itself does not shed a ton of light on the subject accept for the fact that Revit is accelerating.
If we look at this on a macro level, anyway you look at it, this is positive. Autodesk could be discounting products in order to maintain top line growth. Do I care? No, since I do not own Autodesk as a stock holder, but am very invested in it as a user/developer. So while a shareholder might be more interested in margins, I’m more about top line growth and adoption, so the fact that Revit is posting better revenue gains compared to the rest of the segment, I’m happy.
Strategically, I like the fact that Autodesk has almost $1 billion cash on hand in cash and cash equivalents, and that they have no problem making acquisitions of companies in their target zone. What’s their target zone? The way I look at it, imagine a building from conception to destruction and everything in between. If you carve out a space in there you are in their target zone. Interestingly they dropped FM Desktop which leaves a gap in their portfolio. The fact they picked up Navisworks, Constructware, Ecotect, etc. shows they are serious in owning this space and that they do not want you to have to leave their product of families to do your work. Hello Microsoft. How this plays with their commitment to IPD and cross platform compatibility will be interesting. IPD is too big a deal to pay lip service too so I imagine they play along, continuing to create value within the BIM and IPD space, and acquiring companies who provide value added tools.
And if you are a Revit user, or thinking about switching over, signs look good that Autodesk has your back. FYI Gartner Research reported in 2007 a 12% growth rate for BIM and Revit is beating those estimates. If I get a bit more motivated I will try and break out Revit revenue from the AEC segement, breakout the % revnue from subscription and divide by average single seat license or average seat license and see if we can get to an installed base #, last time I tried something, and this was very unsicentific I had it around 300,000+. I’ll follow this post up if I get some more cofee in me and can get excited to go through the annual report, 10K’s etc. in more detail.
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