Stairs: It’s not Revit, it’s You!
This will be the first blog in a series of blogs I am starting entitled “It’s not Revit, It’s You!” I am going to say up front that some of the upcoming issues may actually anger some, but the point is to compare some of the most annoying situations in Revit to real life circumstances that way we all begin to understand why Revit is working in a way that most feel is counterproductive or “wrong”. It was extremely hard to decide which issue to tackle first between all of the “issues” that seem to exist. It hit me late one day after hearing multiple arguments from a small group of architectural interns that stairs should actually be the very first topic as most people just hate (or don’t understand) how stairs work. Let’s jump straight into understanding stairs and then how to create a sexy stair in a sort of abbreviated tutorial.
I will be the first person to say that originally (7 years ago) I too had an amazingly difficult time creating really nice stairs within Revit. Instead of using the provided tool and learning what I was doing wrong I would waste countless hours modeling everything as an independent family. That left me, like most creating a disgusting generic stair just for the sake of the drawing, but in 3D it simply wasn’t the amazing stair that I had drawn or dreamed up. It hit me about 4 years ago that if I dissected what Revit was trying to do and compare it to real world stair construction Revit actually starts to make a great deal of sense. For all that dont know me my background is heavy (15 years) in Residential Construction and I remembered how extremely frustrating creating real stairs are! There are so many components that have to be exact for the stair to be “correct” (i.e. Risers, Treads, Stringers, Balusters, Railing, and all mounting hardware and spacing). Sound familiar? It most certainly should considering these are the exact parameters that Revit uses to calculate the creation and manipulation of your stair. Creating a stair in Revit is just like real life and you know what? They are extremely hard to construct and understand in both instances. I absolutely hate when people say that Revit should be “easier” or that something is “dumb”. I stress over and over that Revit is an intelligent modeling program so to be successfully using the program you inherently have to have a great deal of intelligence yourself (or at least the ability to gain knowledge and understanding over time).
With that being said, lets jump into understanding the components that will make up your virtual stair. There are 3 main components that will go into the creation of your stair; baluster(s), railing profile(s), and the actual stair creation tool (which contains all the other necessary items and the calculations needs) within a project. Let’s start with the railing sweep because it’s by far the easiest to understand! The railing sweep is literally a closed loop of model lines (a profile) that will make up all of the horizontal members of the railing system. The baluster is basically anything and everything that is going to be supporting anything else (the railing or the treads for instance). Understand that in some cases you are going to need multiple balusters and multiple railing profiles. In the example below I created 2 railing sweeps and 3 baluster families that way I could fully control all of the spacing within the stair and railings.
In my example I actually chose to not include a railing within the properties of the stair itself. Instead, I used the railing tool after the main portion of the stair was complete to then draw a railing that is hosted by the stair. Normally people completely miss that the railing tool actually has a “Pick New Host” command. That command will actually let you pick the stair which in turn allows for the railing to maintain the same slope as the stairs. Another important trick that everyone seems to miss is the fact that when drawing the railing line that where you stop drawing the railing will actually re-reference the object below it so If you want a railing that slopes with the stair but then levels off and wraps back around itself then you simply stop your line then add another line to represent that design detail. The illustration below should help clarify what I am talking about.
In this case I will have to reiterate that if you or someone you know is still completely confused with the stair tool then, “It’s not Revit, It’s you (or them)!” The stair tool is overwhelmingly powerful and that really seems to be the main issue. The power of the tool makes it too hard for most to understand it at first. Remember do not jump into modeling a stair blindly either! It’s all about your Revit Mindset! Most modelers also seem to lack real life construction experience that is necessary to understand all that goes into something a “simple” as a stair. I know that if you really take the time to understand how stairs work that you will be rewarded greatly and can then have a simply amazing time creating stairs with your newfound knowledge and appreciation!
I hope this helps everyone with some of the pitfalls of creating stairs and ultimately changes the way you are thinking about them!
Thanks for reading!
As always I would love to know what everyone thinks and if you have questions find me on Twitter!
Follow me on Twitter @jadamthomas
Tags: Construction, Difficult, Easy, Help, Inspiration, Revit, Stairs, Thoughtful, Tricky, Tutorial
Posted in Current News, Revit, Tutorial | 6 Comments »
Revit: Graphic Design Tool?
Everyone knows Revit as an amazing tool for BIM, but what else can Revit be used for? For me Revit is seemingly transitioning into every single facet of my life. The more I dig into the program the more I am beginning to realize what a fantastic multi-dimensional software it truly is. I few day ago I found myself confronted with an issue when redesigning this very website. I was trying to make some cool graphics that looked and felt more 3 dimensional to give the site some depth, but I also wanted them to be very sophisticated and clean looking. My first thought was jump straight into Photoshop and just make some one off graphics. Isn’t that what everyone would do? I played around in Photoshop and Illustrator for a couple of days disappointed with result after result (which I refuse to show). One would think that if you were trying to create a graphic or logo that you should use an illustration program like the aforementioned, but it suddenly hit me that I could model what was need in Revit and export the needed view. It was a huge “duh” moment for me! Why not leverage the software that I already know and love to manipulate things a step or two farther? Below is a very simple beaker that I had been trying to make from scratch in Photoshop and Illustrator and kept failing. I was able to make it in Revit in about 5 minutes.
I then used Photoshop to do a little color correcting and add in some floating icons to get the effect that we are mixing these programs up in the lab to create a brand new way of doing things.
I then jumped into the website mockup to see how it looked. To my surprise it doesn’t look half bad for something that took about 1 hour from beginning to end. My head is racing with tons of possibilities for new ways to use Revit!
If you have a cool Revit use let us know in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
Follow me on Twitter for great Discussion and Insight on all things Design, Revit, and Tech oriented!
Follow me on Twitter @jadamthomas
Tags: Amazing, Do What, Graphic Design, Illustrator, Mindblowing, Photshop, Revit, Simple, Web Design
Posted in Design, Experimentation, Illustrator, Photoshop, Revit, Web Design | 2 Comments »
Visualization Experimentation
Hello, Jereme here, so figured I would begin to contribute to the blogosphere. I am not one to talk typically, but people have been telling me I should begin to share. Recently I have been working on a project designing a sustainable outdoor classroom here in Kennesaw, Georgia. It has been interesting utilizing Revit for a number of iterations and designs. Using Revit we have been able to quickly get plans, sections, and elevations in rough form to contractors and consultants for estimates, as well as visualizations to the client in order to receive donations. The thing about these is that they were produced rather quickly. It being my first time truly going through the entire process of getting a building constructed it has been an interesting experience to say the least.
In terms of visualizations in Revit, we have utilized its rendering technologies and graphical prowess straight out of Revit. Yes, Revit has graphical prowess! One Technique I used to produce unique Visualizations is a composite approach using Revits’ Hidden (figure 1) Line, Shaded Render (figure 3), Realistic (figure 4), wire frame (figure 2) and Mental Ray Rendering (figure 12). One thing I like to talk up is the ability to use Revit in a way that may not originally have been intended but lends itself to intriguing results. This is particularly seen when it comes to graphics. In previous screen cast and classes Adam Thomas and I have discussed some of the techniques to produce things such as exploded axons and section perspectives. One thing we did on this project is use a composite technique to produce quick, efficient, and sexy, building representations.
I don’t want to go into too much detail yet, but if you would like me to on a later blog I would be more than happy to. We took all of these different types of Revit visual styles and collapsed them in Photoshop to produce different effects, essentially only playing with the opacity settings and wand tool. This is not necessarily anything new, I have seen it done many times before, but thought it important to point out that the technique works really well with Revit styles.
In (figure 5) you see an overlay of (fig. 1 and 4). This produces a style more representative of geometry and composition with the textures and materials being placed to the background. A rendering showing the space with some attention placed to overall lighting without the harshness of shadows.
In (figure 6) a more representational idea of hidden structure of the space is used. One can start to recognize alignments in the geometry of elements not readily seen in a typical rendering. It also adds a level of complexity to what could be a bland rendering. Typically if the model I am working with does not have much detail I will use this composite, or if there is a focus more on structure and things such as furniture have not been placed yet.
In (figure 7) I used the ideas shown in (fig. 9 and 10), which is the idea of using the consistent color or shaded render as a masking tool to select different materials in the scene that would otherwise be difficult to wand or lasso. By overlaying the shaded rendering on top of the Hidden line as seen in (fig. 7) or the realistic as seen in (fig. 10) the layer can be turned off and the mask can be used to delete the floor from the hidden line rendering placing an emphasis on a certain material that plays strongly in the design intent or adds character to a space.
In (figure eight) the drawing becomes a diagrammatic timeline of the process of making through a layering of wire, hidden, and realistic to create an intriguing look into structure, geometry, and experience.
All these techniques can also be used with a mental ray rendering as seen in (figure 11) to either add more detail to edges and geometry or simply add more texture to materials that appear too soft in the scene. In the final image shown here the shaded rendering was used as a masking tool to select the floor and add detail by under-laying the realistic view style. That coupled with an overlay of a hidden line to add clarity to form all that is required then is to add entourage and adjust light streaks and warmness to produce the final image seen in (figure 12). I encourage all the readers to play around with different combinations to either improve the clarity in mental ray renderings or simply create diagrammatic shots of design intent.
PS. it’s also useful to use these same techniques to spice up plans and sections (I will save that for a later post though). Have Fun!!
Tags: Amazing, Beautiful, Design, Drawings, Experiments, Labs, Photoshop, Renderings, Revit
Posted in Architecture, Awesome News, Design, Experimentation, Photoshop, Revit, Tutorial | No Comments »
Could it be? Revit for free!
We all know that Revit is most certainly not free nor will it probably ever be. This article has risen up over the past few weeks and because of dozens of discussions about the cost of Revit and the negative impact on a small firm or individual that is trying to “keep up with the times”. The cost in some cases is simply outrageous and cannot be completely justified by a small firm. These arguments of course lead me to think about a free version of Revit or how could Autodesk make Revit free. This of course would be a very joyous occasion for us all, right? In a perfect world this would be amazing news, but at what cost to our overall Revit experience? Lets look at a few areas that I believe Autodesk could borrow some notes from its up and coming villain in the modeling world Google Sketchup. Yes, Google! For some I just lost you because the thought of “taking notes” a semi-competitor is just as outrageous as the cost of Revit, but hang in there it gets better! I am specifically taking about the use of “ads” something that Google is very familiar and good at. I am not taking about ads in their current super obtrusive; get out of my face, annoying way. I mean a new generation of ads; ads that are seamlessly integrated into a program to the point that they become invisible and actually begin to add to the overall experience. For me, product placement within Revit could be a great way for Autodesk to lower the price of the software dramatically. Autodesk already has all of the key elements inside of Revit to make this a viable and realistic option.
One way for these product placement ads to work are within families or components. Instead of leaving Revit to go to Autodesk Seek or RevitCity the user could browse through an interactive panel with 100’s, 1000’s, or millions of components without ever leaving the Revit interface. The user would have the ability to sort and search for the needed components, select them, and then boom, it populates in the model. I see this even going a step farther. What if at the end of the project you could actually order all of the components that were populated in the model from Revit directly? Cool, huh? No more placing generic items in your plans, then have an Interior Designer pick furniture that looks nothing like the Architectural Plans causing mass confusion, then ultimately still have to call or place orders with all of those manufactures one at a time. It would be a “One-Stop-Shop”!
For those that are still wondering how this could result in a “cheap” or free version of Revit its simple! It basically pulls knowledge from the likes of Google and Amazon Affiliates by allowing a new purchaser of Revit the ability to earn a percentage back from what they (and the client) buy from the suppliers in this newly integrated system I mentioned within Revit. The purchaser could basically subsidize the cost of Revit and potentially make money over time by integrating the components of manufactures that are integrated with Revit. What about the free version of Revit though? That’s even simpler and is played out all over the Internet. Instead of the purchaser making money every time a product is bought, Autodesk keeps all of the revenue from the items sold through this new system. The possibilities for product placement are endless in Revit, from materials and chairs to waterproofing membranes and paint selections.
The biggest hole I see in my “pitch” is Autodesks ability to sign contracts with all of these companies and suppliers so the experience in both positive for them and the Revit user. You don’t want only 50 companies inside of this new interface and ultimately everyone passes them up because it’s taking away from its true focus or use. Autodesk would also have the daunting task of proving to these new businesses that this new system will actually increase their business and is will worth their investments.
Part 1 of ??? I could keep discussing these ideas in detail and more than likely will over the next month if everyone is interested.
Here’s to a somewhat half-baked attempt at making dreams a reality but providing everyone with the joy of Revit! There is of course good and bad in this business model and I am curious about what your think.
Follow me on Twitter for great Discussion and Insight on all things Design, Revit, and Tech oriented!
Follow me on Twitter @jadamthomas
Tags: Autodesk, Cheap, Finally, Free, News, Prayers are Answered, Revit, Revit for Free
Posted in Architecture, Awesome News, Current News, Revit, Updates | 2 Comments »
The Revit Mindset
More times than not I see new Revit users jump into a project with no direction and no idea what they want to accomplish. Ask yourself, would you start building a house without a game plan or even a plan at all? If you answered yes there is probably no hope for you ever understanding why you wouldn’t do that and I am going to say a special prayer for you tonight, but for the sake of us all, I beg you, please keep reading.
What is the Revit Mindset? Great question! I have been telling everyone I taught Revit to for years that it’s the ability to clear your mind of any preconceived “knowledge” or “understanding” of Revit and then layout a plan of attack before even beginning a project. You could spend an entire day simply planning out your direction and needs for the project. I assure you it will payoff in the days, weeks, or months to come. For instance, if you going to create a full set of construction documents your path is completely different than someone working on conceptual design for analysis and bid presentations.
If you think about it long enough you can actually start to build in possible changes in the future in the very beginning of the project. For instance, you know the walls are not necessarily going to be in the location you draw them, but you do know that they will always follow a grid. Well, put that in from the beginning that way next time a room needs to change in size 14 times in a single day you still spend most of the day relaxing. The more you know before starting the model the better off your end result will be. However, most of the time you don’t know everything about a project when you first start, so here are a few quick dos and don’ts for beginning.
Grids and references are your friend! Most of the time buildings have a grid running through them so why not go ahead and lock the walls that should follow that grid to the grid line itself?
Do you really need to lock that? I have a very simple solution to this problem. Ask yourself does that object always need to move or be connected to the object you are locking it to? If you say “no” or “maybe” don’t lock it! If you said “yes”, then go ahead and give that lock a nice big confident “click”! Feels good right?
Instead of arbitrarily offsetting things from other levels just add in a level to help you control those objects on a more granular level. Say you had 25 different walls throughout a ceiling plan that were being shown as a type of soffit in multiple rooms. Not all of the walls may be the same so offsetting their base 8 feet from the floor or -2 foot from the level above may not be the best. Instead, add a level that is called Level 1 Soffit Offset (or some fancy name you choose) that way you can tell the wall base to attach to that offset level. Then when you change the offset levels height in elevation those walls will automatically update.
Dimension strings can do a lot more than give distance. Dimension strings can actually me used to help you space furniture, or better yet urinals in a restroom. Never pull out a calculator to divide 8’ 6” by 4 to figure out the spacing, simply dimension from the appropriate reference and hit EQ. Ta-da!
The Revit mindset is all about forgetting what you thought you knew, refocusing and planning your attack, then learning new and fun ways to use common tools or items to do so much more than you thought they could. Hope this helps! Keep your mind open, your wheels turning, and your fingers nimble and you will never have a more enjoyable modeling experience in your life.
I know the last part was corny, but thanks for reading!
Follow me on Twitter for great Discussion and Insight on all things Design, Revit, and Tech oriented!
Follow me on Twitter @jadamthomas
Tags: Beginners, Brainpower, Fun Stuff, Gears, Helpful, Mindset, Revit, Tutorial
Posted in Architecture, Design, Revit, Tutorial, Updates | 1 Comment »
